Coco-Dates concept aims to track industrial waste

The Coco-Dates (Correct Coordinates and Date Stamp) system is a type of tracking service that uses a global positioning system together with images of cloud formations captured by a meteorological agency to verify the location of an object at any given time.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. is has already used Coco-Dates to build a traceability system for imported produce and is now investigating the potential this technology could offer for tracking industrial waste. It is also looking at ways of using the technology to monitor the use of printers and copy machines connected to the internet in order to assist companies in protecting privacy and preventing leaks of sensitive information.

Mitsubishi is working with a company called Earth Design International Inc. to apply Coco-Dates to that firm’s industrial waste remote-monitoring system. They are testing a system that monitors images captured by digital cameras attached to trucks hauling such waste, with the aim of having a practical system ready for next fiscal year.

By broadening the applications for Coco-Dates, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. aims to realise substantial sales by developing the service into a business.