Ekahau Extends RTLS Beyond the Building Using Wi-Fi Enabled iPhones and Android Phones
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on April 11, 2011 at 8:07:01 AM
Ekahau Extends RTLS Beyond the Building Using Wi-Fi Enabled iPhones and Android Phones
Ekahau Transforms Smart Phones Into RTLS "Hot Spots" to Locate Assets and Individuals Outside the WLAN's Reach
RESTON, Virginia, April 11, 2011/PRNewswire/ -- Ekahau Inc., the worldwide leader in high performance
Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) (
http://www.ekahau.com/products/real-time-location-system/overview),today
announced that Ekahau RTLS customers can now use their iPhone or Android
smart phones to extend location tracking capabilities to areas outside their
defined wireless local area network (WLAN). By using the smart phones as an
additional wireless access point, this new functionality gives Ekahau RTLS
users a way to track assets during transport or between Wi-Fi enabled
facilities.
(Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090513/347052 )
"Many of our customers with multi-site or mobile operations
have been asking for an inexpensive way to set up a 'hotspot' to extend RTLS
presence outside of their WLAN coverage area for managing inventory and
accounting for personnel," said Tuomo Rutanen, Ekahau's senior vice president
of Worldwide Marketing and Business Development. "With our latest innovation,
a Wi-Fi-enabled iPhone or Android smart phone now can serve as an extension
of a Wi-Fi network's RTLS capability, giving usersreal-time location and
status of critical staff and assets anywhere in the world."
To transform the iPhone or Android handsets into a portable
Wi-Fi access point, Ekahau RTLS users turn on the tethering feature of their
smart phone. With this feature activated, any Ekahau Wi-Fi tags in the
vicinity of the phone are able to communicate their presence back to the
Ekahau RTLS Controller (
http://www.ekahau.com/products/real-time-location-system/positioning-engine.h
tml) location-tracking engine, which can be installed on a server anywhere in
the world as a cloud-based RTLS.
(Due to the length of the above URL, it may be necessary to copy and
paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove
the space if one exists.)
Adding 'Sight' to Wi-Fi Blind Spots
By using the iPhone or Android handsets as ad hoc Wi-Fi
hotspots, Ekahau RTLS customers can track assets even in blind spots in their
logistics or supply chain - such as in temporary staging areas or mobile
environments such as transport trucks, vans or ambulances.
For example, Ekahau is currently piloting use of iPhones and
Android smart phones with ambulance drivers, to give hospitals a way to track
medical equipment, patients and staff who leave the hospital site. Other
planned uses include transportation logistics for high-value assets and
verifying inventory of on-board cargo.
Demonstrations at RFID Journal LIVE!
Ekahau will be demonstrating its iPhone and Android
capabilities in Booth 116 atRFID Journal LIVE! 2011 (
http://www.rfidjournalevents.com/live/index.php), April 12-14 at the Orange
County Convention Center in Orlando.
About Ekahau Inc.
Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing 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 300 hospitals around the world, as well as by
manufacturing, retail and industrial 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
headquarters in Reston, Va., and other offices in Saratoga, Calif.; Helsinki,
Finland; Tokyo; and Hong Kong. For more information about Ekahau, please
visit http://www.ekahau.com.
Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090513/347052
Source: Ekahau Inc.
EkahauMedia Contacts: Juliet Travis, Rocket Science PR, for Ekahau, +1-415-464-8110 x 215, juliet(at)rocketscience.com; Americas: Cindi Loveall, Marketing Director, Ekahau, +1-703-860.2850 x 1008, cindi.loveall(at)ekahau.com; Rest of the world: Annina Pierson, Marketing Director, Ekahau, +358-20-743-5913, annina.pierson(at)ekahau.com
Ekahau Transforms Smart Phones Into RTLS "Hot Spots" to Locate Assets and Individuals Outside the WLAN's Reach
RESTON, Virginia, April 11, 2011/PRNewswire/ -- Ekahau Inc., the worldwide leader in high performance
Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) (
http://www.ekahau.com/products/real-time-location-system/overview),today
announced that Ekahau RTLS customers can now use their iPhone or Android
smart phones to extend location tracking capabilities to areas outside their
defined wireless local area network (WLAN). By using the smart phones as an
additional wireless access point, this new functionality gives Ekahau RTLS
users a way to track assets during transport or between Wi-Fi enabled
facilities.
(Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090513/347052 )
"Many of our customers with multi-site or mobile operations
have been asking for an inexpensive way to set up a 'hotspot' to extend RTLS
presence outside of their WLAN coverage area for managing inventory and
accounting for personnel," said Tuomo Rutanen, Ekahau's senior vice president
of Worldwide Marketing and Business Development. "With our latest innovation,
a Wi-Fi-enabled iPhone or Android smart phone now can serve as an extension
of a Wi-Fi network's RTLS capability, giving usersreal-time location and
status of critical staff and assets anywhere in the world."
To transform the iPhone or Android handsets into a portable
Wi-Fi access point, Ekahau RTLS users turn on the tethering feature of their
smart phone. With this feature activated, any Ekahau Wi-Fi tags in the
vicinity of the phone are able to communicate their presence back to the
Ekahau RTLS Controller (
http://www.ekahau.com/products/real-time-location-system/positioning-engine.h
tml) location-tracking engine, which can be installed on a server anywhere in
the world as a cloud-based RTLS.
(Due to the length of the above URL, it may be necessary to copy and
paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove
the space if one exists.)
Adding 'Sight' to Wi-Fi Blind Spots
By using the iPhone or Android handsets as ad hoc Wi-Fi
hotspots, Ekahau RTLS customers can track assets even in blind spots in their
logistics or supply chain - such as in temporary staging areas or mobile
environments such as transport trucks, vans or ambulances.
For example, Ekahau is currently piloting use of iPhones and
Android smart phones with ambulance drivers, to give hospitals a way to track
medical equipment, patients and staff who leave the hospital site. Other
planned uses include transportation logistics for high-value assets and
verifying inventory of on-board cargo.
Demonstrations at RFID Journal LIVE!
Ekahau will be demonstrating its iPhone and Android
capabilities in Booth 116 atRFID Journal LIVE! 2011 (
http://www.rfidjournalevents.com/live/index.php), April 12-14 at the Orange
County Convention Center in Orlando.
About Ekahau Inc.
Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing 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 300 hospitals around the world, as well as by
manufacturing, retail and industrial 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
headquarters in Reston, Va., and other offices in Saratoga, Calif.; Helsinki,
Finland; Tokyo; and Hong Kong. For more information about Ekahau, please
visit http://www.ekahau.com.
Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090513/347052
Source: Ekahau Inc.
EkahauMedia Contacts: Juliet Travis, Rocket Science PR, for Ekahau, +1-415-464-8110 x 215, juliet(at)rocketscience.com; Americas: Cindi Loveall, Marketing Director, Ekahau, +1-703-860.2850 x 1008, cindi.loveall(at)ekahau.com; Rest of the world: Annina Pierson, Marketing Director, Ekahau, +358-20-743-5913, annina.pierson(at)ekahau.com