[10-09-07 – Satellite Today] The  European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Transcore and Novacom Services, a subsidiary of Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), to lead the development of an asset-tracking prototype that will provide continuous visibility of intermodal containers and eliminate the line-of-sight complication that hinders global tracking of containers while in transit, the companies announced Oct. 9. The prototype should be completed by end of 2008.

According to Transcore, the worldwide container traffic by sea, rail and truck is estimated to reach approximately 19 million units by 2012, yet there is no way to track and monitor individual containers from the point of origin to the point of destination on a continuous basis. This prototype would aim to solve such issues and make it more efficient to track containers internationally.