Reelable shows a new way to track shipped packages using cheap paper-based electronics that are on one side of a shipping label.
Making his debut at CES 2025the technology uses paper-based electronics that have been around for a while – I wrote about them when Xerox is partnering with Thinfilm in 2015 to make printed circuits on thin materials. But nearly a decade later, the cost of this type of infrastructure has come down so that Reelables can integrate 5G and GPS tracking electronics, along with a coated zinc battery, into a shipping label.
It is possible to track packages today, but you have to trust the shipping company to do it right for you, and often you only get to know which city it is in. With this, you will be able to tell where it is wherever it is. 5G cellular connection. That means if it reaches its destination, you'll know and have peace of mind that what you sent to someone actually got there.
If your package goes off course or is stolen by someone, you'll be able to figure that out too and report the theft. This may not cause you to recover the package. But it might give you more confidence in the whole shipping system.
The company will unveil the product at CES 2025 at LVCC North Hall, Booth 8364.
How it works
An industry first in printed electronics, Reelables will be showing its latest printed cellular shipping labels at CES, said Brian Krejcarek, founder of Reelables, in a message to GamesBeat.
He said these smart labels are similar to standard UPS or FedEx labels, but connect to cellular networks to live track packages and goods with real GPS location data, independent of shipping carriers. They don't rely on cumbersome and error-prone barcode scanning by delivery drivers or warehouse workers, he said.
“This is a game changer because this new category of smart labels does not require the installation of expensive RFID readers or infrastructure,” said Krejcarek. “The range of typical passive RFID tags is only 10-15 feet or less. The range of Reelables active beaconing labels is like a mobile phone, connecting to cell towers a mile away. Or, in the case of Reelables Bluetooth labels, the range of hundreds of feet. That means they are able to check the inventory of an entire warehouse every ten seconds.”
He said GPS tracking devices have been around for a while, but for the first time, a true label format feature and cost enable the consumer to track almost everything, not only high value products. The label is less than 0.5 millimeters thick and can be printed in off-the-shelf barcode printers. That means there is no need for new workflows or training. Just print, stick, and send as companies are doing today, said Krejcarek.
Reelables has developed the technology and manufacturing capability in-house to produce these active smart labels such as tape, with safe plane-coated zinc batteries at mass scale, and are producing them today. Unlike lithium battery-based devices, Reelables labels are flight-safe, non-hazardous goods and specifically classified by US Customs and Border Protection as packaging materials, he said.
No need for return logistics. As shown in a study by Westrock and Western Michigan University Paper Pilot Centerthe disposable labels are in normal waste streams on corrugated paper and do not require e-waste processing, Krejcarek said.
Only now is the widespread cellular infrastructure of the 5G Internet of Things (such as NB-IoT from AT&T and Vodafone) combined with the thin-film printed electronic technology that enables this printing, recycling, and soon, a price point under $10, including the label. , connection, and tracking service, Krejcarek said. As you can see from the cover image for this story, Krejcarek was able to see the exact path a package took to get from one destination to another. That's what you would see on your package tracking page.
Reelables doesn't use UK Thinfilm or Pragmatic, because it doesn't need the flexibility because the chips it uses are so small. Reelables was discovering instead how to use a mainstream silicon-based wafer for the RF chipsets, bonding directly to the substrate with epoxy, on a fully solderless reel-to-reel process.
“At Reelables we produce millions of active Bluetooth beacons and internal cellular labels, with direct coat zinc batteries, meaning the active electrochemical parts of the battery share the same substrate as the true RF circuit for Bluetooth and NB-IoT,” said Criosc. “The zinc batteries that are coated to our substrate mean that our labels are non-hazardous goods and aircraft safe. They are also available through normal recycling streams and do not need to be treated as e-waste.”
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