Go and Track GPS Tracking News

New Finds in Real-Time Location

GPS Tracking Guy — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:24:01 +0000

New Finds in Real-Time Location
By Eric Griffith

The Wi-Fi Real-Time Location Services (RTLS) market is on fire with new announcements this week, many coming out of the location-heavy needs of the healthcare industry as shown at the HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Annual Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans through March 1.

First up is AeroScout, with new Wi-Fi tracking tags. The T3 tags have a new, flatter shape they call "credit card" rugged, and consume less power than previous versions, with up to four years of battery life. The tags use both RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) and TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) to be located by the software running on the wireless LAN. If anyone tries to tamper with the T3, it will send an alert across the network. There’s two buttons on it for calling and alerting people. The company also announced a major hospital deployment (with partners Cisco and Emergin) at the University Hospital of Ghent in Belgium. Aeroscout, which is based mainly in Israel, received $21 million in its C round of venture capital, for a total of $55.5 since it was founded as BlueSoft in 1999.

Ekahau, which announced its own new tags last week (complete with tiny text screen) announced at the show a partnership with Nortel Networks. The Ekahau Positioning System software and tags will be coupled with the Nortell WLAN 2300 series for customers. Ekahau also offers a software "tag" to put on devices like laptops to make them equally trackable. (Nortel has also upgraded the voice capabilities and intrusion protection of its equipment.)

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Ekahau Powers Nortel’s Wireless Location Offering

GPS Tracking Guy — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:06:10 +0000

Ekahau’s Comprehensive Wi-Fi-based RTLS Solution Helps Nortel Customers Leverage Wireless Infrastructure for Tracking Applications.

Ekahau Inc., a leading provider of Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), has been selected as Nortel’s provider of location tracking solutions. Ekahau’s turn-key Wi-Fi-based RTLS will enable Nortel to offer its customers in industries such as healthcare, education, retail, hospitality and others, a way to easily and cost-effectively deploy location-based applications while maximizing investment in their wireless local area network (WLAN).

The Ekahau RTLS is a software-based RTLS solution that can be seamlessly implemented over standard Wi-Fi networks. The most accurate solution now available, the Ekahau RTLS enables location of assets or people with up to 1 to 3 meter accuracy and can track more than 10,000 objects on a single server.

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LoJack Recovers 100,000th Stolen Vehicle in U.S.

GPS Tracking Guy — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:13:56 +0000

Radio Frequency Technology and Integration with Police Integral to Recovery.

LoJack Corporation announced it has recovered a milestone 100,000th stolen vehicle in the United States. The recovery, which took place in Philadelphia and leveraged LoJack’s Police Tracking Computers that are installed in police aviation units and squad cars, is another proof point that LoJack’s radio frequency technology and direct integration with police is the optimal solution for stolen vehicle recovery.

"We are proud to reach this milestone and, most importantly, we are proud of LoJack’s continued ability over the past two decades to partner with police departments such as those in Philadelphia to help in the fight against vehicle theft," said Richard T. Riley, LoJack’s Chairman and CEO. "The LoJack System’s integration with more than 1,800 law enforcement agencies in the United States has proven time and time again to be a solution that works. It has enabled law enforcement utilizing our system to recover over 100,000 stolen LoJack-equipped vehicles, while also helping them put criminals, of these and other more serious crimes, behind bars."

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Text to the Tracking Tag

GPS Tracking Guy — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 17:33:19 +0000

Text to the Tracking Tag
By Eric Griffith

Ekahau’s newest generation of Wi-Fi tracking tags does more than find things. It’ll find you. And it’ll send you a message.

The third-generation T301-B is the first from the many Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) companies that make Wi-Fi tags (Aeroscout and Pango Networks are some others) to build in a small display screen to receive text messages.

"The form factor is easy for putting into a pocket or wearing as a pendant," says Arttu Huhtiniemi, Ekahau’s director of product management. "The display lets an application send a text message to the user of the tag, all on the same channel we use to locate them via Wi-Fi."

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New GPS-Wi-Fi Hybrid Positioning to Accelerate LBS

GPS Tracking Guy — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 20:12:55 +0000

From ABI Research

New GPS-Wi-Fi Hybrid Positioning to Accelerate LBS

Technorati Tags: General News, GPS Security Tags, Wifi & RFID Location News, Sirf, Wifi positioning, Lbs, Gps tracking

SiRF’s Multimode Location Platform Promises to Boost LBS Availability, Revenues.

SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. and Skyhook Wireless, Inc. today announced that SiRF has licensed the Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) in order to create a single positioning system for wireless carriers that combines the best of both GPS and Wi-Fi technologies.

This system, which is scheduled for release as part of SiRF’s Multimode Location Platform later this year, promises to boost the availability and adoption of location-based services. The two companies will present a demonstration of the new hybrid GPS-WiFi location technology at the 3GSM World Congress 2007 being held February 12-15 in Barcelona, Spain.

The technology will be applied to special client software from SiRF for mobile handsets that synthesizes GPS and Wi-Fi measurements as well as to SiRF’s SiRFLoc Server to enable it to establish precise positioning from these measurements. As handset makers roll out a new generation of Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones to enhance both data and voice communications, the SiRF-Skyhook hybrid technology will leverage this hardware ecosystem to provide greatly enhanced positioning availability and accuracy for location-based services. Using this new technology, carriers can boost their revenues by offering enhanced location-based services that are easier to use, handset makers can better differentiate their products, and application developers can create exciting new services that work anywhere, even when GPS signals are not present. The system will benefit consumers by enabling them to more quickly and reliably perform tasks such as planning a trip, finding friends nearby or locating the closest ATM machine.

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Cisco Unveils Wireless Location Solution for Manufacturers

GPS Tracking Guy — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:02:22 +0000

Cisco Wi-Fi Asset Tracking Solution Improves Asset Utilization and Operational Efficiencies in Aerospace, Automotive, Mining and Semiconductor Industries.

cisco wifi asset trackingCisco today announced a new turnkey Wi-Fi Asset Tracking solution specifically geared for aerospace, automotive, mining and semiconductor manufacturing industries. This solution utilizes Cisco Wi-Fi location tracking technology to improve asset utilization, reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies.

The misplacement of industrial assets such as mobile toolkits, machinery, parts and WIP inventory is a significant issue for manufacturers, sometimes costing companies as much as $1 million per incident. By implementing Cisco’s Wi-Fi Asset Tracking solution, manufacturers gain greater visibility into their enterprise, can track the presence and real-time location of high-value manufacturing assets, and substantially increase operational efficiencies by reducing misplacement incidents.

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South African Rail System Adopts Passive RFID For Vehicle, Asset Tracking

GPS Tracking Guy — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:05:30 +0000

Spoornet, the rail transport division of Transnet, a diversified organization for the South African government, will equip their general freight rail fleet of 80,000 wagons with TransCore’s radio frequency identification (RFID)-based Automatic Equipment Identification (AEI) technology in a multimillion dollar contract to improve asset maintenance and utilization. TransCore is teaming with ANSYS Integrated Systems to deliver an initial order of 160,000 tags. The project is scheduled for completion in 2008.

Managing rail wagon assets represents a large expense, ranging from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, so consequently, in-transit visibility into their location, status of a load, maintenance status, or avoiding it sitting empty in a rail yard poses an extraordinary communication process among multiple systems in an expansive transportation network. Using wireless RFID technology to monitor railway operational efficiency saves time and money by automating the process of tracking the location and status of railway equipment in both a high and low speed environment.

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MicroTRAKgps Launches GPS Personal Tracker Product Line

GPS Tracking Guy — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 23:00:20 +0000

MicroTRAKgps, a subsidiary of The Tracking Corporation, a leading provider of Global Positioning Systems ([/tag]GPS[/tag]) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wireless location services and products that track and recover valuable assets, today announced that the introduction of their new GPS portable personal product line is experiencing a successful launch and is generating strong interest in the retail market. Introduced in August by a leading retailer with nationwide stores and dominant catalog customer base, sales are exceeding original expectations. Response and demand from the security-conscious consumer during the first six weeks is evident by the tripling of unit orders from the retailer since their opening order.

From ABI Research

Go and Track Product Link : GPS Personal Tracking Devices
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Technorati Tags: Global Positioning Systems, Radio Frequency Identification, RFID, location services, GPS

CATSeye demo minitaure GPS GSM tracking device

GPS Tracking Guy — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 10:23:48 +0000

Lost and stolen electronics are a fact of life for many businesses, but UK-based and aptly named Covert Asset Tracking Systems Ltd (CATSeye) promises to help recover items with itsline of electronic tracking devices. The company makes matchbook-sized transmitters that can be tracked with GPS, GSM phone towers or even radio frequency. Company reps gave us a quick video demo at the Los Angeles CTIA Wireless convention and even claimed to find items down to one-inch accuracy.

CATSeye representatives told us the tracking devices are meant to be installed in commonly stolen electronics like laptops, GPS navigation units and desktop computers. The devices are tracked primarily through GPS, but GSM cellular tower tracking is used when there is no GPS signal.

View more covert asset tracking products on goandtrack.com

From Toms Hardware Guide

Technorati Tags: tracking devices, GPS, GSM

Wifi LBS Company Ekahau receives award by The Wall Street Journal

GPS Tracking Guy — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 22:20:45 +0000

Ekahau Inc., a leading provider of Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), this week was recognized in a special section featuring The Wall Street Journal’s 2006 Technology Innovation Awards contest winners. Now in its sixth year, the contest honors technologies that represent a breakthrough from conventional methods rather than incremental improvements to existing technology.

This year’s Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards drew more than 600 applicants, which were scrutinized by panel of independent judges – representing industry, academia and research institutions. Winners were selected in 12 industry categories and 37 runners-up. Ekahau was named runner up in the wireless category.

Ekahau was honored for its leadership in the development of the Ekahau RTLS, which uses standard Wi-Fi infrastructure as the foundation for an economical wireless location tracking solution. Competitive systems such as various active RFID systems, require the use of proprietary and expensive infrastructure to track the location or assets or people.

Ekahau has the only non-proprietary RTLS solution that can be implemented 100 percent over standard Wi-Fi networks, and delivers the industry’s best reliability and location accuracy. The technology is used in a number of markets – including healthcare, homeland security, government military, manufacturing, mining and supply chain – to streamline processes, improve customer service and comply with regulatory mandates such as Sarbanes-Oxley and JCAHO.

Via Location Intelligence

Technorati Tags: Ekahau, Real Time Location Systems, Wi-Fi