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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Ekahau Introduces Wristband Tag for Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Tracking
Reston, VA - October 14, 2009 - Ekahau Inc., the leading provider of High Performance Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), today announced that it is expanding its hardware product line with the introduction of the T301W, a wristband tag that is designed for use in applications that determine the precise location of people.
The T301W tag’s small size and comfortable fit make it ideal for use in hospitals, where knowing the real-time location of an adult patient, child or a visitor is a requirement for ensuring patient safety and satisfaction. The wristband tag also can be used in places like amusement parks, cruise ships and other hospitality venues, where there is a potential for children or adults to be separated from their group. Enterprise uses of the units include deployments in mines, where it is important to know the location of individuals in the event of an accident; and in highly-sensitive facilities, where visitor access may be restricted to specific areas.
“Ekahau is first on the market again with a wristband format Wi-Fi tag,” said Arttu Huhtiniemi, vice president of Product Management at Ekahau. “Our new, small form factor tag incorporates Ekahau’s industry leading location tracking technology, enabling accurate, real-time location tracking over the customers’ existing Wi-Fi network.”
Location accuracy is critical in safety and work-flow related applications. The T301W tag works like Ekahau’s other tags to provide an unprecedented degree of location accuracy, movement tracking and workflow visibility. Combined with the recently announced Ekahau room and bed beacons, the wristband tags guarantee precise location capabilities down to less than a few feet in both confined and open spaces.
The wristband tag houses a programmable push button that, when pressed, sends a pre-determined message to the RTLS system that then processes the button press based on a sophisticated set of business rules. These messages could be an alert that assistance is needed, or signals an event, for instance, when an individual has completed a task or is required to check-in on a periodic basis.
The T301W is designed to make the deployment and use of the units very easy and environmentally friendly. The T301W is waterproof, allowing the user to swim or bathe while wearing the unit, and it can be fully immersed in various cleaning solutions for disinfection, supporting re-use. The tag’s battery life can vary from a few weeks to over a month, depending upon the blink rate set to update its location information. The tag’s lithium-ion battery can be easily recharged within a few hours using an Ekahau multi-unit charger, which is capable of charging up to 10 wristband tags at a time.
Because the T301W uses the customer’s Wi-Fi network for locating, it is able to take advantage of the two-way communications capabilities inherent to Wi-Fi. This, for example, allows the system to alert the person wearing the tag about an event or action, such as a request to “please return to your room” or “your turn is next , please proceed to the check-in desk.” The T301W is equipped with a vibration alarm, which can be triggered remotely either though a set of system rules or manually, allowing the user to receive alerts.
The T301W joins the Ekahau family of Wi-Fi tags, which is the most extensive collection of tags on the market today. Other tags include units that are optimized for asset tracking, personnel tracking, process optimization, temperature sensing and reporting, indoor/outdoor use and automated parts replenishment.
The T301W tags will be generally available in the fourth quarter of 2009. Cost of the tag will be approximately $60.
About Ekahau Inc.
Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing High Performance Wi-Fi-based RTLS solutions. Ekahau's customers, including several Fortune 500 companies worldwide, are realizing the benefits of Wi-Fi based location services and innovative Wi-Fi network planning and optimization tools. Ekahau’s solutions are being used in more than 150 hospitals around the world, as well as by manufacturers, mining/oil/gas companies, government agencies and the military. Ekahau partners include wireless software developers, leading system integrators and international OEM partners, who develop and market wireless enterprise applications. Ekahau is a U.S. based corporation, with offices in Saratoga, Calif.; Reston, Va.; Helsinki, Finland; and Hong Kong, China. For more information about Ekahau, please visit at www.ekahau.com.
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