Australia-based IoT hardware specialist Digital Matter has launched the Griffin Air, a rugged GPS asset tracker designed for air freight and global logistics operations, as it seeks to address long-standing visibility and compliance challenges across multimodal supply chains.
The device is aimed at high-value and condition-sensitive cargo, combining airline-compliant flight detection, multi-year battery life, and integrated Bluetooth 5.2 gateway functionality in a single “deploy-once” unit intended to operate across air, road, warehouse, and storage environments.
Air freight tracking has traditionally been constrained by strict aviation regulations, limited in-flight connectivity, and fragmented data continuity between transport stages. Digital Matter said existing solutions often force operators to trade off between compliance requirements, battery longevity, and end-to-end visibility.
“Air freight tracking has historically forced organisations to choose between compliance, visibility, and operational practicality,” said Ilan Gluck, EVP and Head of GTM, North America at Digital Matter. “By combining intelligent flight-aware tracking with multi-year battery life and a rugged deploy-once design, the Griffin gives global logistics operators a scalable way to maintain visibility across the entire asset journey without adding operational complexity.”
The Griffin Air automatically detects when it is airborne and suspends radio transmissions to comply with airline requirements, while continuing to log sensor and event data. Once the aircraft lands, it resumes connectivity and transmits stored information, enabling retrospective visibility into in-transit conditions.
The device is DO-160 certified and approved for use across major global carriers, allowing deployment without additional per-shipment certification processes. Powered by user-replaceable AA batteries, it delivers up to seven years of operational life depending on configuration, with periodic tracking mode optimised for long-term deployments.
Beyond aviation use cases, Digital Matter is positioning the device as a lifecycle asset tracker capable of operating continuously across logistics networks. It supports GPS, Wi-Fi scanning, and cellular triangulation for indoor and outdoor positioning, alongside 4G Cat 1bis connectivity with 2G fallback.
The Griffin Air also functions as a Bluetooth gateway, capturing data from connected BLE sensors for applications such as pharmaceutical cold chain monitoring, aerospace equipment tracking, and returnable transport item management. It includes configurable impact, tip, and rotation alerts designed to flag potential handling issues during transit.
“Most air freight tracking devices were designed either for compliance or for short-term shipment visibility, but not for long-term operational deployment,” Gluck said. “The Griffin Air was built specifically to bridge that gap.”
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