Ubisense Tracking Tennis Players

The Clarity Center and Tennis Ireland have built a fantastic application that tracks and records the movements of tennis players for analysis and real-time camera control.

Visit the TennisSense web page for more information LINK

Ubisense and Skillweb launch pre-integrated precise real time location system for effective warehouse management

Ubisense, the world leader in precise real-time location systems, together with Skillweb, a recognised UK leader for logistics support systems, announce a partnership and immediate availability of purpose-built applications for the UK Transport and Logistics market

Cambridge, UK, 4 May 2009 - “The challenge of acquiring reliable location data on assets and equipment in complex warehouse layouts has been a major obstacle, and has so far prevented substantial improvements in productivity” says Paul Ridden, Managing Director of Skillweb. “We have been searching for a solution that could reliably find individual pallets, fork-lifts, scanners or people and track their movements in real-time. Having evaluated many systems that claim to do so, we were delighted to see Ubisense installations that really work and are reliably accurate – right down to 6 inches.

Using the precision and reliability of the Ubisense Solution allows us to track individual asset locations and trace their movements anywhere within the warehouse, in 3D. This allows us to design much more sophisticated solutions for our customers who want the flexibility of a warehouse management system that doesn’t rely on a fixed network of RFID readers and locations. By simply integrating with our standard track and trace software we can deploy the Ubisense System quickly, with minimal equipment, and maintain a very flexible approach across the whole warehouse/depot environment”.

Skillweb have invested in a test laboratory installation at their Headquarters in High Wycombe where they have extensively tested the system with real operational requirements. Customers are invited to experience the technology first hand. Skillweb are integrating the technology with their portfolio of systems in order to make it available for their customers such as DHL, Air Products, British Telecom, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man Post offices

Ubisense Process Tracker drives production optimization for manufacturing market

Ubisense, the World leader in precise real-time location systems, today announces the availability of its Process Tracker Application meeting the needs of its rapidly growing Industrial customer base.

The application already in use at customers such as Aston Martin and Cummins provides real-time visibility throughout processes such as rework and finishing in automotive manufacturing plants, engine manufacturing plants, aircraft assembly and MRO. Visibility alone can highlight problem areas and can be used to significantly reduce costly work-in-process by generating alerts when a product becomes stuck. But Process Tracker adds to this with weekly or daily key performance indicators (KPIs) that include such data as the ageing of product in-process, direct measurement of mean times in process steps, and more advanced measurements such as “Right-First-Time” and “Non-Value-Added-Time” by product model or across the entire process.

The application allows production engineers to draw their process step locations on a map, and to enter basic process parameters such as how long a step should take (dwell time) and constraints on step ordering (process flow definition). Combining this data with the location of tagged assets, the application delivers product tracking, dwell time and process flow monitoring, along with a range of standard output and analysis options.

Simon Holloway, Practice Leader for Process and RFID at Bloor Research says, “precise RTLS from Ubisense is clearly delivering major process improvement opportunities for manufacturing companies and Ubisense is becoming a standard in challenging manufacturing environments where both precision and reliability are key”.

Ubisense precise Real-time Location System (RTLS) is a winner for Aston Martin and BMW

Investment in the Ubisense precise real-time location system enables high-end automotive manufacturers to reduce costs by improving productivity in their assembly plants, reinforcing Ubisense’s position as the market leader.

Cambridge, UK, April 16 2009 - Ubisense, the leading global supplier of precise real-time location systems, announces further wins for its award winning product line. Two of the world’s top automotive brands are part of a growing community of leading blue-chip companies employing Ubisense to accurately track and monitor manufacturing processes providing previously unattainable visibility and automation. In challenging economic times, manufacturers are looking at ways of significantly reducing their costs while maintaining their competitive advantage, Ubisense facilitates new efficient manufacturing methodologies with its precise real-time location system (“RTLS”).

Ubisense has now delivered to more than 375 customers in over 25 countries since the launch of its precise RTLS and has an extensive network of global partners and applications that support customers including Aston Martin, BMW, BP, Caterpillar, Continental, Cummins, DHL, IBM, Lockheed Martin and the US Army. Ubisense specializes in automating processes by identifying in real-time exactly where products, tools, assets and people are in complex processes, automating those processes, improving safety and helping customers drive out costs.

Michael Gilvar, CEO of Dallas based Fish Software and one of Ubisense’s leading partners, says, “We searched the market for a complete precision location platform upon which to build our real-time measurement system for the exhibition industry and found nothing that could compare to the breadth and depth of functionality, or market traction, of Ubisense.” Fish recently announced that they had secured a world first in agreeing to deploy their real-time measurement system (based on Ubisense) at the UK’s leading exhibition centre ExCel.

Richard Green, CEO of Ubisense, comments “This is incredibly rewarding for everyone who has contributed to the success of Ubisense. I wish to thank our customers and partners for their confidence in us and our employees and shareholders for their dedication and support.”

Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant implements Ubisense Precise Real-time location to improve plant efficiency

Ubisense improves efficiency at Cummins by precisely tracking and recording engines as they move through the test process.

DENVER, CO, January 25 2009 - Ubisense, the market leading provider of precise Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) is working in conjunction with Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant to track engines as they move through each stage of the testing process. By recording when an engine enters or leaves a test or work cell Cummins can see exactly how quickly an engine moves through the testing process and identify any differences between engine types and options. The system is integrated with an Allen-Bradley Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) from Rockwell Automation.

Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant (JEP) was established in 1974 and produced its 1 millionth engine on March 31, 2008. JEP is the sole manufacturer of heavy-duty Cummins engines in North America and is one of the Company's largest manufacturing facilities. The facility currently employs over 1,300 people making it the largest private employer in Chautauqua County, New York.

A key business challenge at any manufacturing facility is process improvement and Jamestown is no exception. JEP faced additional challenges due to the highly metallic and reflective environment within its facility, limiting the viability of most available tracking technologies. Using the Ubisense system with its Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, an engine enters the test area and a tag is associated and attached to the engine. From that point on the Ubisense sensors operating over a standard network, monitor the areas required and report in real-time on the location of the engine to 1 foot precision. Every time an engine enters or exits a work cell the exact time is recorded in a standard database and passed into the Allen-Bradley PLC. Visibility of the complete process has provided Cummins’ production engineers with a new tool with which they can evaluate improvements.

“By precisely knowing the time each engine spends in each work and test cell we can streamline the process to improve throughput,” said Joshua Pickup, Technical Services Leader at JEP. “Previously we would be working with a limited amount of data which was manually gathered, now we can continuously gather data and monitor each change to the process we make for quality control. Ubisense was the best solution we found for tracking engines within our environment.”

Ubisense is committed to helping its manufacturing customers streamline processes and cut costs. “In these challenging economic times we see it as vitally important to work with market leaders such as Cummins to develop applications that provide real business benefits. Cummins has provided great insight into the requirements and our goal is to provide them compete visibility of their testing process.” says, Richard Green, CEO Ubisense.

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S3-ID launch an integrated Location Awareness and Muster system

Following testing and development stimulated by demand from leading companies such as BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, AGIP/ENI and StatoilHydro, S3-ID have integrated their hazardous area e-Locator™ and e-Muster™ system with the market leading precise real-time locating system from Ubisense to provide a fully integrated Personnel solution

Cambridge and Rotherham UK – February 2009 – S3-ID and Ubisense announced today that they had achieved a level of integration of S3-ID’s patented approach to personnel location and mustering used on many offshore Oil and Gas Complexes with the world’s leading precise real-time location system used in many industrial complexes, creating a unique product for the oil and gas industry.

"The features of the new product were put together following a combined 25 year pedigree in the deployment of systems to many Oil companies like BP, Statoil Hydro, bhp billiton and Nexen" says Eivind Frediksen, Managing Director of S3-ID "this will revolutionise personnel safety on offshore and on-shore installations. Never before has this level of integration been achieved in such complex and harsh environments as encountered in the offshore industry."

The combined product will allow our customers to extend current location and muster systems capability from identifying when personnel enter or exit defined areas to that of continuous monitoring wherever they may be. In the event of an incident continuous monitoring decreases the time to identifying the location of all personnel in a timely manner.

Ubisense’s CEO, Richard Green stated "The adoption of our system by such a long-standing and respected company in the safety market is testimony to the robustness of our system in such challenging environments. This development further expands the applicability of our solution to the whole oil and gas market and expands our customer base to the offshore field as well as on-shore".

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Ortrander Ironworks Rolls Out Real-Time Location System

RFID Journal

The German foundry is deploying a combination of active and passive RFID technology so it can track the location and movement of forklifts and containers.

By Rhea Wessel

Feb. 9, 2009—Ortrander Eisenhütte, an iron foundry located near Dresden, Germany, is rolling out an RFID-based system to track forklifts and containers at its facilities. The system, when fully implemented, will employ ultra-wideband (UWB) active RFID tags for tracking 20 to 30 forklifts, as well as passive ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID for tracking 10,000 metal containers and their contents.

Ortrander—which reported sales of €23 million ($30 million) in 2008, for its fiscal year ending June 30—casts iron parts for the automotive and domestic appliance industries. In 2001 and 2002, the firm invested heavily to expand its production, and by 2008 it had doubled product turnover. In 2007, the company's management launched an enterprise initiative to update its material flow, storage and information processes so they'd be more transparent and efficient, and better equipped to handle its higher-production volumes.

Ortrander will attach RFID tags to 10,000 containers and the forklifts that move them around the foundry.

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New Military Training Demonstration

Tracking soldiers as they move through Urban Combat training exercises provides many different location and real-time challenges. Ubisense is ideally suited to be able to precisely locate and report on the locations in real-time. Ubisense also allows events to be generated as soldiers enter and exit user defined spaces. These can be used to control cameras, shooting targets or activate events such as smoke, lights and sound. This demonstration is from a real training run at the Marines Infantry Immersive Trainer at Camp Pendleton.

Honda Italia Shifts Its RFID Deployment Into Second Gear

RFID Journal

The company is now using active ultrawide-band tags to track motorcycle production and parts inventory, ensuring that the proper components are installed, as well as automating orders for parts.

By Rhea Wessel

Jan. 26, 2009—Honda Italia is employing a combination of active and passive RFID to track components of the motorbikes it produces in what may be one of Italy's first active ultrawide-band (UWB) RFID applications since the country's government amended a law in early 2008 to allow for use of the technology. Italy had previously blocked the use of UWB RFID on the grounds that it could interfere with frequencies utilized by the Italian military.

The RFID application is an extension of a pilot Honda Italia implemented in mid-2007 (see RFID Revs Up Honda Italia's Motorcycle Production). During that pilot, the company affixed passive 13.56 MHz high-frequency (HF) tags to the motorcycles' chassis and certain components, in order to track the assembly process.

Angelo Coletta

Angelo Coletta, Honda Italia's project manager, says the company was happy with the system designed for the first pilot, which it dubbed Ariana. However, workers were bothered by the antennas that had been installed close to the production line to enable interrogation of the passive HF tags, which have a short read range. In addition, he says, since employees had to confirm that tags were successfully interrogated during the production steps, the RFID application essentially added an additional step to the existing work process.

To eliminate this extra step, and to move antennas farther from the production line, Honda Italia switched to active tags in April 2008, launching a project it calls New Ariana, with IBM serving as systems integrator. The vehicle manufacturer now temporarily installs a UWB active tag made by Ubisense to each motorbike's chassis. Thirteen ultrawide-band RFID readers form a tag-reading zone around the production line.

"We found that active tags were more operator-friendly," Coletta explains.

The system enables Honda Italia to assure that the proper parts are built onto the right motorcycle frames. For instance, the company must make sure bikes shipped to the United Kingdom have the correct headlight design for that nation, where vehicles drive on the left side of the road instead of the right, as they do in the United States and continental Europe. Honda Italia can also utilize the RFID system to trace the production of individual motorcycles. Such historical production information is essential if a bike needs to be recalled for safety repairs.

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RFID Helps Diagnose Early Dementia

A system developed by researchers at the University of South Florida wanted to determine if an RFID-based system could be used as a diagnosis tool by tracking and analyzing a patient's movements.

By Mary Catherine O'Connor

Jan. 14, 2009—In Greek mythology, Hermes acted as a messenger, relaying information between humans and the gods, while also protecting boundaries. That makes him an apt namesake for the Health Research Management and Evaluation System, or HERMES—a preventative health-care system developed at the University of South Florida that has already been tested at one assisted-living facility and is currently being evaluated at another. The system uses radio frequency identification to track residents' movements. These movement patterns are then mined for clues that could indicate early stages of dementia.

A large body of research links wandering behaviors with dementia. In fact, the tendency of individuals suffering from various forms of the disease to wander from their homes is one major reason their families place them in assisted-living facilities or nursing homes, where they can be closely monitored. RFID is already being employed increasingly within these facilities, where the technology can be combined with an alarm system designed to prevent residents from leaving the facilities unaccompanied.

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