The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, has developed a new sensor that promises to prevent supply chain fraud in Australia.

The new tech uses vibration energy harvesting (VEH) and machine learning to identify anomalies in the transport of meat, including stops occurring en route to the meat’s final destination, usually the processing plant.

According to its developers, the VEH powers the sensor while also monitoring both the vehicle and products aboard. Meanwhile, machine learning is applied to detect interactions, trends and anomalies within the VEH patterns and thus potential handling errors or when products are substituted or stolen.

Researchers explained: “Using VEH we can generate enough energy to power a battery-free anomaly detection motion sensor, while still retaining the same degree of accuracy as a conventional battery-powered device. This is more environmentally sustainable and also means it can extend the run time of GPS location tracking.”

Going forward, the researchers intend to incorporate solar and radio frequency energy harvesting into future iterations of the technology.