Wiliot and Thinaer Partner to Deploy Physical AI for U.S. Defense Manufacturing
The partnership begins with a planned deployment of 1.7 million battery-free IoT Pixels at a major U.S. aerospace and defense manufacturer in Q1 2027.
Wiliot and Thinaer have announced a partnership to provide secure, real-time asset visibility across the U.S. defense industrial base. The collaboration begins with a deployment by Thinaer at a major aerospace and defense manufacturer serving the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), tracking critical materials and parts throughout its internal supply chain.
Thinaer plans to begin deploying 1.7 million Wiliot IoT Pixels in the first quarter of 2027. The initial implementation is intended to establish a foundation for wider adoption across defense manufacturing operations.
The partnership also marks Wiliot’s entry into the defense market, following deployments across retail, post and parcel, logistics, and food and beverage.
IoT Sensors to Track Materials Across Manufacturing Operations
Defense manufacturing processes can involve ten or more transformations as materials and components move between production stages and locations, including temporary external facilities. Limited visibility during these transitions can make it difficult for teams to locate critical components and maintain production schedules.
Continuous tracking can help manufacturers identify where materials have stalled and address potential delays before they affect wider operations.
Bryan Merckling, CEO of Thinaer, said, “True Physical AI closes the gap between raw material and intelligent action. When every object on the factory floor is ambiently connected, the floor becomes a dynamic, self-navigating ecosystem where materials communicate their own state, location, and operational readiness to the systems and humans moving them,” He added, “Wiliot IoT Pixels’ combination of size, cost, and battery-free operation lets us connect far more of those materials to the ‘Connect Everything’ layer of our Physical AI platform.”
Wiliot IoT Pixels are stamp-sized, battery-free Bluetooth sensors that attach to materials, parts or containers to collect real-time location data. Wiliot’s Physical AI platform processes the data into asset-level insights, which Thinaer integrates with information from its wider sensor infrastructure.
The combined system is designed to provide defense teams with a shared view of operations across facilities, helping them monitor asset movements, identify bottlenecks and address delays. The data can also provide AI systems with physical-world context to anticipate disruptions and support production planning.
Encrypted Data and Secure Cloud Infrastructure
Data protection is a central component of the partnership. Wiliot IoT Pixels transmit encrypted data that remains protected during collection and relay until it reaches a processing environment behind secure firewalls.
Thinaer’s platform operates in government secure cloud environments, including Impact Level 5 environments, providing security infrastructure for the partnership’s defense applications.
Alex Sliwinski, Wiliot Vice President of Sales, said, “Defense manufacturers need continuous insight into their operations and control over the sensitive information those operations generate,” He added, “Encrypted data at the asset level is fundamental to serving this market. With Thinaer, we can put that data to work securely across the materials and parts on which defense production depends.”
Partnership Roadmap Targets Millions of Tracked Assets
The initial deployment is intended to support broader adoption of Physical AI across defense manufacturing, with a roadmap targeting millions of tracked assets.
Thinaer has identified additional customers for the joint solution. The company’s work in healthcare and other industrial markets could also provide opportunities to extend the partnership beyond the defense sector.