Ubisense News

Employee Spotlight: Deb Miller

2012-02-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

Name: Deb Miller

Hometown: Vancouver, B.C.

Ubisense Location: Denver, CO

Ubisense Department: Geospatial

Education: Master’s Degree in Computer Science; Master’s Diploma in Cognitive Science

How long have you been with Ubisense and what is your background?

Deb: I started with Ubisense in 2004, but have been in GIS now for 15 years. I originally started with GeoData Solutions, which was one of the first Smallworld consulting companies in the U.S. After that, I ran a small consulting company before finally joining Ubisense.

In university, I specialized in Artificial Intelligence, and during my master’s degree, I developed a neural net to control lighting in a house. It was actually installed in my professor’s experimental house, and to test it, I had to walk around and flap my arms to set off the motion detectors.

What’s a typical day like for you?
Deb: Currently I’m working on a major installation of Smallworld GIS and PowerOn Outage Management at a north west utility.

What is the most significant trend you’ve seen in your field?
Deb: GIS has followed the same trend as technology in general: Geospatial solutions have been getting faster, better, more affordable, and more accessible. GIS solutions used to exist only on expensive IBM mainframes; now they’re embedded everywhere, in every phone and tablet computer. MyWorld pushes that trend even further, bringing enterprise GIS solutions to any web-enabled device. It’s a pretty exciting time to be in the industry.

How did you become interested in GIS?

Deb: When I finished my master’s degree – and gave up my career as an arm flapper – I ended up in GIS almost by accident. Russ Chandler, a friend, was starting GeoData and offered me a position. I planned to stay a couple of years, but got hooked on Smallworld and never looked back. I was fortunate to start on some very interesting work; for example, I became the chief architect of the PowerOn network model, which provided some major design and mathematical challenges.

What was your very first job?
Deb: My first job, in high school and first year in college, was a librarian for a children’s library. When I wasn’t shelving books or studying, I got a chance to read some serious classics; my favorite: Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.

What do you enjoy doing in your time off?
Deb: I like to spend time outdoors – mostly hiking and biking; especially winter hiking. I enjoy travel and spent a year in Europe, the middle east, and North Africa. I was also fortunate to be able to spend 4 months in South America, mainly camping and hiking in the national parks and wilderness areas of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.

What is your favorite city?

Deb: It’s really tough to choose just one city, so I’ll name a few: Florence, Italy (art and food), Goreme, Turkey (amazing rock formations and friendliest people), Chachas, Peru (this small village is so remote it has no roads or electricity, and can only reached by a grueling all-day trek down a steep canyon, and back up the other side).

Jumping a crevasse

Exploring How RTLS Can Begin to Reduce the 7 Wastes of Production

2012-01-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

By Lyndsey Heavner, Ubisense France

The concept of Lean Manufacturing is no longer just buzz terminology. Lean Manufacturing concepts are proven and practiced approaches to holistically improve operations through the streamlining of processes via the reduction of specific wastes. Coming from the Japanese philosophies of the Toyota Production System, the original categorisation of "wastes" within production resulted in 7 Wastes - Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Over processing, and Defects. (A helpful acronym to remember the 7 Wastes is “TIM WOOD”.) Without going into to much detail of what each of these wastes are, we can effectively say that having any of these wastes in a production facility adds up to one business issue: more money is tied up in goods, assets and labour than necessary. So, reducing the 7 Wastes means reducing costs, and in today's economy, that's big money.

Within the manufacturing sector, notably in large industrial equipment manufacturing arenas such as automotive, aerospace, etc., applying Lean Manufacturing philosophies can be challenging. Where do you start? How do you identify the areas to target for improvement projects? How can you quantitatively and qualitatively measure wastes? The use of Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) can provide the automated, accurate visibility of process performance, asset usage, space usage, etc., that is needed to identify wastes and define improvement initiatives to reduce them. There are 2 key areas where Ubisense Location-driven manufacturing solutions can highlight the 7 wastes and enable process improvements - real-time process tracking and real-time asset tracking.

Real-time Process Tracking

Tracking parts or components as they move through an assembly process will provide visibility on a few of the mentioned waste areas. Let's start with Inventory. At a very basic level, real-time process tracking ultimately enables the accurate identification of all work in progress (WIP) in a factory. Visibility of WIP = visibility of inventory, both in progress part inventory and parts in stock. Lean philosophy is all about moving to single part flow and just-in-time manufacturing – i.e, reducing the ‘waste’ of on hand inventory. Having stock on hand - either pre-process parts, excessive work in process inventory, or finalised goods in stock – means more cash has been invested than necessary to keep the processes moving. High inventory levels are commonly a result of inaccurate or poor inventory visibility, causing (and also resulting from) poor demand planning (i.e., the “Bullwhip Effect”). This is exactly where real-time tracking of components can help! Using location information, it’s possible to begin to monitor and track part flow accurately, unveiling areas where unnecessary inventory build-up is occurring. Are there parts in non-value added areas - i.e, waiting to be processed? Are there finished goods building up in stock (Overproduction)? Is there a surplus of parts at 50% complete (preempting Overproduction)? As you can see, having accurate visibility of your process and inventory also starts to shed light on the other wastes as well.

Real-time Asset Tracking

The waste of Inventory is not just about part stock; it’s also about asset inventory, such as logistics media, specific tools or other equipment used to keep goods flowing through the process. Ubisense location-driven manufacturing solutions can also provide visibility of your asset inventory, allowing you to understand what further wastes you can reduce. Using location information gathered about tracked asset inventory, it’s possible to accurately analyse asset usage. Are assets waiting to be used, or are they used to their full capacity? With real-time tracking it’s possible to calculate the “down time” of assets and analyse if all the media, equipment, tools in stock are truly needed, which in turn can drive an inventory reduction. Additionally, real-time tracking of assets can reveal other wastes within operational processes that may not be evident until you actually see them. Think about logistic movements. Are transport flows as lean as they can be? How far are good transported and how often they are transported? Using historical location information, “spaghetti diagrams” can be built, depicting the travel paths of tracked asset. Seeing how assets are truly utilised enables the analysis of motion and transportation which paves the way for further waste reduction via flow optimisation, and perhaps even plant layout optimisation.

The few points that have been discussed are just starting to scratch the surface of how real-time location solutions can drive waste reduction and process improvements in manufacturing. Location information provides visibility, and visibility is necessary to begin to measure current the state of operations and effectively analyse areas where wastes exist.

Employee Spotlight: Corey Holland

2011-12-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

Corey Holland

Hometown: Montezuma, Iowa
Ubisense Location: Denver, CO
Ubisense Department: RTLS Pre-sales
Education: Electrical Engineering / MBA

How long have you been with Ubisense and what is your background?
Corey: I began working with Ubisense in March of 2011. I spent the prior five years working in the on-board digital surveillance field for transit in both Bus and Rail.

What’s a typical day like for you?
Corey: If I’m in the office then a typical day begins early here in the Denver Tech Center (early enough to beat the majority of the rush hour). Once I’m settled in it’s time to catch up with the East Coast, discuss pipelines and upcoming visits before getting a chance to make it to that second cup of coffee! Staying up with the RFP distribution groups and catching up on emails can consume much of the morning. Preparing presentations, RFP completion, proposals and keeping up with Harry Pappas consumes the rest of the day!

What is the most significant trend you’ve seen in your field?
Corey: Over the course of the last few years (specifically with my previous employer) seeing the addition of RTLS in transit facilities and the fact that it continues to grow would be the most obvious and significant trend. The value of the services our product provides is unmatched when compared with wasted dollars and time savings.

How did you become interested in RTLS in Transit?
Corey: I didn’t know it but I became interested in RTLS in transit during my first visit to the Chicago garages five years ago with my previous employer. As contractors for the City of Chicago my crew and I wasted ridiculous amounts of time simply attempting to locate specific buses inside the garages.

What was your very first job?
Corey: My very first job was as an apprentice at a fiberglass/composite manufacturing company in Central Iowa. I did everything from picking up and delivering finished goods to sweeping the floor and painting the offices. I was however lucky enough to get a chance to work on not one, but two projects with the Walt Disney company building amusement park rides that are still extremely popular today.

What do you enjoy doing in your time off?
Corey: Of course spending time with my wonderful wife and three children (8, 7 and 3) as well as supporting their athletic endeavors and participating in their after school activities. I also enjoy golfing and Colorado State Football (although not so much this year…)

What is your favorite city?
Corey: This is a tough one as I’ve spent the majority of the last 15 years of my professional life traveling throughout the United States. Having been to quite a few I would have to pick Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s unmatched skiing and close proximity to Yellowstone National Park make it a close second to living here in Denver!

Corey with his family

Happy Holidays

2011-12-22T10:00:00.010-07:00

On behalf of the entire Ubisense team, we would like to thank you for your support and business in 2011. We are excited for the upcoming year and look forward to sharing it with you.

All the best to you and your families during this

joyous holiday season!

Sincerely,

The Ubisense Team

Ubisense Ugly Sweater Holiday Party

2011-12-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Jay Cadman, Corey Holland, and Andy Schuerzinger

Peter Batty, Deb Miller, and Russ Chandler

Chris Doernbrack and son, Jack

Our magician tricking all the ladies

Peter Batty guessing how many boxes are in the one box

Americas GIS team: Lance McGee, Scott Casey, Kyle Eagen, John Fowler, Dave Harris

Our magician tricking Russ Chandler

Christian Almazan, winner of the "box game"

Scott Casey showing off his muscles and his ugly sweater

Aubree Topai (right) with friend Lyndsey

Ubisense Product Spotlight

2011-12-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

Ubisense Series 9000 Compact Tag
Korean-certified compact location tag for personnel and assets

Specifications

Dimensions: 38mm x 38mm x 16.5 mm

Weight: 25g (0.9oz)

Temperature: Standard -20 C to 60 C (-4 F to 140 F)

Humidity: 0 to 95%, non-condensing

Overview

The Ubisense Series 9000 Korean-certified Compact Tag is a small, rugged device that, when attached to assets or worn by people, allows them to be located to an accuracy of 15cm in 3D in real time. It is designed for use in a variety of different environments, including industrial sites. In addition to its tracking capabilities, it includes additional features such as an LED for easy identification, a motion detector to instantly activate a stationary tag and a push button to trigger events.

Qualities

Accurate location: The tag transmits ultra-wideband (UWB) radio pulses which can be used by the Ubisense location system to find its position to within 15cm in 3D.
Two-way communication: Ubisense tags employ a unique dual-radio architecture- in addition to the one-way UWB radio used for tracking, tags have a conventional bi=-directional 2.4 GHz radio for control and telemetry.
Flexible update rates: The Ubisense software platform allows the tag's update rate to be dynamically and automatically varied depending on the tag activity. When stationary, tags sleep to conserve power, an inbuilt motion detector ensure the tag transmits again when moved.
User interaction features: The tag has a button to provide context-sensitive input to interactive applications.
Long battery life: The tag's low current consumption and power management techniques result in long battery lifetimes. It has an expected lifetime of over four years, depending on application characteristics.
Rugged and adaptable: The Compact Tag is designed to be rugged for use in harsh industrial environments. It is mechanically robust, dust and water resistant, and can be securely mounted using a variety of attachment mechanisms.

Ubisense Support Goes Viral

2011-12-07T10:48:00.002-07:00

Supporting our customers is a top priority at Ubisense and an area we’re always looking to improve. It became clear that many of our customers, whether new or existing, would often require refreshers with general setup and maintenance tasks but would not have access to remote desktop sessions for support. As with any phone support experience, the calls can sometimes be long and technically difficult for both the customer and the support engineer because neither party can visually see the setup.

In an attempt to both reduce support calls and to impart more knowledge to the customer, the US support team has begun developing short instructional videos on such topics as software installation, hardware installation, calibration, etc. such that customer can view specific topics at their own pace and visually see the required steps for the particular task. Many times we find that our customers overlook a very small step during setup and configuration of the Ubisense system and the videos allow them to go step by step through an entire setup with screen shots, live examples, and tips on how to accomplish key tasks. The feedback thus far has been very encouraging and more video training tutorials are currently in the works.

Please visit our support channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/UbisenseSupport and make sure to register as a user so that you can be updated as more videos become available.

Author: Chris Doernbrack, Applications Engineer, Denver Office

Employee Spotlight: Jim Stippich

2011-12-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

Jim Stippich
Hometown: Hettinger, ND
Ubisense Location: Denver, CO
Ubisense Department: Americas RTLS Delivery Team
Education: BS in Computer Science, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD

How long have you been with Ubisense and what is your background?
Jim: I started with Ubisense in July 2010. My background revolves around technology (mainly software dealing with locations) and goes like this...
1. I started with Hughes Aircraft Company working on satellite systems
2. I than moved to a GIS consulting company that specializes in utilities
3. Following that I worked at Smallworld/GE for 10 years
4. And started my own business for 3 years
5. Until I finally joined Ubisense in 2010

What's a typical day like for you?
Jim: If I'm on-site than I am usually working on installations and troubleshooting in bus/locomotive garages. If I'm in the office than my day is divided amongst conference calls, assembling/testing equipment and documenting and tracking ingoing/outgoing inventory.

What is the most significant trend you’ve seen in your field?
Jim: Applications becoming more mobile – still some room for growth, but its heading in that direction.

How did you become interested in RTLS?
Jim: I have always worked in location based technology, so RTLS looked like a space where I could contribute and learn something at the same time.

What was your very first job?
Jim: My very first job was operating heavy equipment for my grandfather’s construction company.

What do you enjoy doing in your time off?
Jim: Bicycling and rock climbing

What is your favorite city?
Jim: This isn't an exact city, but anywhere on Hawaii.

Christian and Jim working at the Denver office.

Ubisense Product Spotlight

2011-11-30T11:15:00.001-07:00

Ubisense Series 7000 Trimode Tag
Ruggedized location tag for indoor and outdoor asset location

Specifications

Dimensions: 71mm x 64mm x 47mm
Weight: 4.5 oz
Temperature: -20 C to 85 C (-4 F to 185 F)
Humidity: 0 to 95%, non condensing
Operating range: Ultra-wideband link: Up to 160m*/2.4 GHz link: Over 300m (with directional antenna on receiver)

*Dependent on system configuration and environment

Overview

The Ubisense Trimode Tag is a small, rugged device that can be attached to assets, allowing them to located both indoors and outdoors using GPS, 2.4GHz signals (to presence-level accuracy) and/or ultra-wideband technology (to an accuracy of 15cm in 3D in real-time). It is specifically designed for use in sites where assets need to be located precisely indoors and approximately outdoors (e.g. vehicle at an assembly plant). In addition to its tracking capabilities, it includes additional features such as three LEDs for easy status identification, a motion detector to instantly activate a stationary tag and a push button to trigger events.

Qualities

Rugged and adaptable: mechanically robust, dust and water resistant, and it can be securely mounted using a variety of attachment mechanisms.
Long battery life: The low current consumption and power management techniques result in long battery lifetimes. Status reports and alters make maintenance easy, and batteries are technician-replaceable.
User interaction features: The tag has a button to provide context-sensitive input to interactive applications.
Flexible update rates: The Ubisense software platform allows the tag's update rate to be dynamically and automatically varied depending on the tag activity. When stationary, tags sleep to conserve power, an inbuilt motion detector ensure the tag transmits again when moved.
Two-way communication: The tag's two-way 2.4GHz communication capability allows the Ubisense system to dynamically manage the tag's update rate, flash the tag's LEDs, report battery status and button presses, and wirelessly reprogram the tag to enable new features.

New Inside Positions Available

2011-11-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,

It seems that each edition of Inside Positions begins with the words "the last few months have been eventful ones for Ubisense" and that is never truer than now. Ubisense has once again been expanding in all dimensions, delivering over 40% growth over last year, adding an operating division in France and winning more business with blue-chip customers. If that wasn't enough to keep us busy, there was also the small matter of taking the company public in June of this year.

On June 22nd Ubisense was listed on London's AIM market in a significantly over-subscribed initial public offering. At a time of very few successful IPOs, the over-subscription is a strong endorsement of Ubisense's position as the leading location solutions provider. The IPO puts us on a very strong footing for supporting existing customers while expanding our customer base and bringing new location solutions to market.

Momentum continues to grow in our core manufacturing and public transportation markets, and exciting milestones have been achieved both with our military training solution and by our many research partners. With our second annual User Conference, and further announcements to be made, one thing is certain: the next few months will definitely be eventful ones for Ubisense!

Sincerely,

Richard Green

CEO, Ubisense

If you would like to recieve a hard copy of our latest Inside Positions Magazine, please contact aubree.topai@ubisense.net with your name and address.

GIS Case Studies: What are people doing with our systems?

2011-11-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

1. Black Hills Corporation
Project: Electric Office Implementation

Challenges: The rapid growth of the business left BHC with many overlapping information technology systems. As a result, BHC commissioned multiple projects to consolidate the various systems into a single corporate standard based on the GE Smallworld Office Suite platform.

Ubisense Solution: Ubisense completed a system upgrade evaluation phase which concluded that the GE Office Suites (EO and GDO) were the best option for BHC. Ubisense is currently working with BHC to implement Electric Office and Gas Distribution Office. The new solution has been successfully deployed in multiple regions.

Results: "Standardizing all business units on one platform and database is a critical priority for Black Hills," said Matt Seidl, Manager of GIS Support at Black Hills Corp. "The Ubisense team brought a tremendous amount of experience to the project, which as helped us make decisions quickly. We were impressed by Ubisense' professionalism, organizational and management skills, and Smallworld experience."

2. First Energy
Project: Electric Office Project Development
Challenges: First Energy, a long time PowerOn customer, was having issues with the quality of GIS data that was being fed to PowerOn.

Ubisense Solution: Ubisense worked closely with customer to identify the root cause of the data quality issues, and developed the PowerOn Integrity Checker application to identify and resolve data quality issues that impact OMS.

Results: The PowerOn Integrity Checker has greatly improved the quality of First Energy's OMS data. Our solution included automated data repair actions and a logging mechanism to identify areas where manual fixes are required.

3. Duke Energy
Project: Electric Office Implementation

Challenges: The merger of Duke and Cineregy left Duke with many overlapping information technology organizations and systems. Duke commissioned multiple projects to consolidate the various systems into a single corporate standard based on the GE Smallworld Office Suite platform. Duke was the first Electric Office customer.

Ubisense Solution: Ubisense is providing project management, development support, and day to day operational support for Duke's Office Suite implementation. Currently we have 8 consultants assigned to this project, working on EO, GDO, and GTO.

Results: With the support of Ubisense, Duke has successfully rolled out the GE Office Suite projects to several regions.

How can Ubisense help?

Extensive experience with enterprise GIS for utilities and communications industries
Trusted partner to mare than 25 customers around the world
Currently over 400 customers in 30 countries
Most of our team has more than 15 years experience with the full Smallworld project suite across a broad range of industries and applications
Founders Richard Green (CEO) and David Theriault were founders of GE Smallworld. Team includes Peter Batty, Terry Phebey, Jorg Poswig, Russ Chandler, and Dave Harris
Our team has direct experience with all the major GIS technologies: GE Smallworld, Intergraph, ESRI, AutoCAD
We can provide strategic advice and coaching for business and technical direction, merging utilities, and for data integrity business impact analysis
We are leading the way in bringing emerging technology to our customers: MyWorld, Google Maps, OpenStreet Map, Field and Web based tools to bring the most out of geospatial information investment.

RTLS Case Studies: What are people doing with our systems?

2011-11-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

1. Metro Transit Bus Depots

Minneapolis, MN, USA
Sensors: 450
Accuracy: 100cm in 2D
Solution: Transit Yard Manager (TYM)

Problem: Buses were being manually located and their location input into the Scheduling and Dispatching System using a paper mark-up sheet which was often out of date.

The Ubisense Solution: Each bus of the 1000 buses of Metro Transit is tagged allowing the Ubisense platform to determine an exact bay, lane, and position of each bus, as soon as it is parked inside the garage and in some outdoor areas. Dispatchers have real time visualization of vehicles for assignment.

Results: Elimination of need for dedicated search personnel in each of the five Metro Transit garages.
Faster and more reliable information about bus location.
Assistance in determining bus departure and arrival times and time spent in maintenance.

2. BNFL Nuclear Power Facility
Sellafield, UK
Sensors: 8
Accuracy: 30 cm in 3D
Solution: Ubisense Location Platform for personal tracking & radiation dosimters for radiation measurements.

Problem: Sellafield is one of the 20 aging U.K. nuclear facilities being decommissioned. Employees involved in decommissioning and clean-up within the facility are exposed to fluctuating radiation. It is vital to ensure that the amount of radiation to which they are exposed during any one work period remains below the specified limits.

The Ubisense Solution: Employees carrying out work assignments at the power plant wear both Ubisense Tags and WiFi dosimeters, which measure radiation levels. BIL Solutions' software provides views of the facility, which radiation levels depicted in different colors combining location data from Ubisense RTLS with the radiation readings. Workers' dose histories are monitored real-time as an aid to scheduling their work in the plant.

Results: The radiation maps and real-time exposure records significantly improve worker safety and efficiency of the operation.

3. Posco Finex Plant

Pohang, Korea
Sensors: 80
Accuracy: 100cm in 3D
Solution: Ubisense Location Platform for personnel tracking and identification

Problem: In a huge processing plant like this blast iron furnace with multiple floors and complex processing units, worker safety is a prime concern.

The Ubisense Solution: Workers have Ubisense Tags attached to their safety helmets. A combination of precise tracking on five floors of the plant and presence detection on seven other floors improves the safety of each person- help can quickly be guided to lonely workers in case of an emergency. The Ubisense system is integrated with the IBM WebSphere Premises Server solution LAS to bring real-time location information to the plant control room.

Results: Greatly improved worker safety in the plant.

We're going to need a bigger wall...

2011-11-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

A recent VIP visit to the Ubisense office in Cambridge, UK, prompted us to refresh the display of customers in the foyer. We talk about growth and look at spreadsheets of revenue increasing 40% over last year, number of employees up to 170 so far, and many more indicators of the great health of the company. But none of those numbers is really very tangible until you perform the simple task of framing copies of your key customers’ logos, and hanging them in the foyer. When you stand back and look at that, you can’t help but smile to yourself and think, “this is what success looks like.”

In 2012, as our existing customers roll out our solutions throughout ever more of their facilities, and as new customers come on board, one thing is for certain: we’re going to need a bigger wall.

Latest News

2011-11-03T13:12:00.000-06:00

Ubisense Solutions Help Children Explore Swedish Technology Park

Denver, CO (PRWEB) November 02, 2011

A science center in Sweden is using a precise real-time location system (RTLS) from Ubisense (AIM: UBI) to offer children and adolescents a playful introduction to the world of science and technology.

In the visitor area at the Innovatum Technology Park Science Center in Trollhattan, children of all ages can explore the world of technology in an exciting and stimulating environment full of interactive exhibits. Visitors can play in virtual worlds on giant projection screens creating fire-spitting dragons in the setting of a computer-generated medieval castle or indulge in classic family favorites such as ‘Memory’ – turning cards over to find pairs on a screen based on movements in the real world.

Within the center’s gaming environment some of the interactive exhibits come to life thanks to a wireless location solution from Ubisense. Upon entry to the interactive area, visitors are given a large cube enabled with Ubisense’s real-time location system.

Each cube works like an oversized computer mouse. When taken into the ‘play’ area, a network of Ubisense sensors picks up the cube’s 3D location wirelessly. Every real-world motion made with the cube is immediately translated and turned into a virtual action. Based on the way they move their cubes, players can compete and test their skills moving counters, objects or cards on a giant projection screen.

Each tagged cube generates an ultra-wideband (UWB) location signal. Sensors in the gaming area pick up this information in real time and within 30 centimeters of accuracy. For accurate tracking the sensors can take up to 10 measurements per second. Information is then processed through an integrated software system.

Since the Ubisense system was installed, nearly 25,000 enthusiastic visitors of all ages have used the cubes and the center has deemed the project a great success.

Daniel Palmqvist, principal engineer at Innovatum Technology Park, is thrilled to be using Ubisense system. "Ubisense RTLS has never been deployed in this way but we were convinced that this system was just what we needed to realize this project," said Palmqvist.

Adrian Jennings, vice president of marketing at Ubisense, said: “Our location solutions are unique. No other company is deploying UWB quite the way we are. Our solutions are extremely popular in manufacturing environments where items need to be located quickly and efficiently – for example, parts and tools in the automotive industry. However, the project at the Innovatum Technology Park proves that our solutions can be fun as well as offer serious commercial benefits.”

Innovatum Technology Park spans 4,400 square meters of exhibition space, offering a wide range of activities for children of all ages. Every year up to 30,000 children visit the center with their family or on a school visit. Originally, the facilities used to be a production site for steam locomotives and turbines. Apart from its Science Center, Innovatum also offers a Business Incubator and Project Arena. For more information go to: http://www.innovatum.se

(ends)

Cheers to Ubisense going public!

2011-10-18T15:53:00.002-06:00

Even though Ubisense went public 5 months ago, we thought these pictures deserved to be posted!

Cheers!! Ubisense Americas team

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Ubisense UK team celebrating on the river

Peter Batty, Ubisense Americas team

Ubisense Delivery Team on site

Adrian Jennings, Ubisense Americas team

Ubisense France team

Ubisense Americas Delivery team

Picture: Better Visibility, Better Process

2011-10-17T12:28:00.001-06:00

Without Ubisense you can't see the entire picture....

But with Ubisense you can see exactly where everything is located in real time.

Better visibility = better process.

Photo: Inside the Cambridge Office

2011-10-17T11:26:00.001-06:00

Case Study: University of Illinois- Assisted Living Research

2011-10-13T10:35:00.000-06:00

Assisted Living
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been designing, implementing, and evaluating with test hypothesis an assisted-living supportive software architecture that allows technologies, software components, and wireless devices to work together, dependable, and secure and enable elderly people to regain their capability of living independently. The experiment architecture is called I-Living and has been built to meet several requirements highlighted in the ’blue-box’ above.

RFID and Ubisense technology is used to help elderly people to interact, and make sense, with the environment. Tests will be carried out as well as user group assessments for clear testable hypothesis.

Research

The increase of population of elderly people is a social and economic challenge for many countries. According to MIT’s magazine Technology Review, August 2003, ‘’In the United States alone, the number of people over the ages of 65 is expected to hit 70 million by 2030, doubling from 35 million in 200 million, and similar increases are expected worldwide’. The cost of senior care is an area for concern and is recently being reduced by technological means. Because the deteriorating capabilities to sense and interact with the environment, elderly people often live with significantly degraded life quality. This is where I-Living aim to help improve such difficulties.

With the use of Ubisense tags and sensors and other embedded devices such as actuators and Bluetooth-enabled medical devices, elder people can be more self sufficient and independent.

There is an Assisted Living Service Provider (ALSP) which provides web-based interfaces to allow caregivers, healthcare providers and medical experts, to monitor the environment, retrieve/analyse data, and issue feed back. I-Living’s goal is to provide applications to its users which are explained in the ‘green-box’.

I-Living Applications

Activity Reminder - Wireless enabled devices (e.g., TV’s mobile phones, active tags) send reminder messages when it is time for the elderly person to take his/her medication or any other infor-mation.

Vital Sign Measurement - The patient can transmit his/her vital signs (such as glucose level, blood pressure etc.) via Bluetooth enabled devices and then to the ALSP server. Should the readings suggest any abnormal health situation, medical instruc-tions will be given to the patient.

Personal Belonging Localisation - Personal belongings such as eyeglasses, hearing aids etc, are attached with a Ubisense tag. If the person cannot find his/her belonging, with simple vocal command, Ubisense sensors will locate the object.

Personal Behaviour Profiling - The assisted living environment can profile the movement of an elderly person and detect early warning signs for depression and/or other chronic diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

Emergency Detection - In case of the need for an emergency (e.g. person has been immobile for a long time), communication channels can be established to notify the relevant care taker and facilitate transmission of electrocardiogram (EKG) in Real-time.

Latest News: RTL in Longueuil Selects Bus Yard Management Solution Provided by Solotech, ISR Transit and Ubisense

2011-10-06T15:55:00.000-06:00

Turn-key system will automate assignment, placement and scheduling of 450 buses that provide transportation to more than 120,000 customers per day.

DENVER — Oct. 4, 2011 —The Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) public transportation service in Longueuil, Quebec is implementing a fully integrated parking automation and automated driver assignment system based on the Ubisense Transit Yard Manager (TYM) solution for the precise positioning of its buses. RTL’s new fully automated bus management system will improve fleet management of its 450 buses that provide rides to more than 120,000 customers per day across five cities. Solotech and ISR Transit formed a partnership to deliver this solution to RTL and chose the Ubisense TYM solution for the RTL deployment which is scheduled to be completed in March 2012.

The solution will be comprised of:

•Bus Depot Management (BDM) Core Application, integration with RTL’s existing software and project management provided by ISR Transit;

•Digital display, PC panels, card readers, and hardware installation and integration provided by Solotech;

•Transit Yard Manager solution provided by Ubisense, with augmented functionality for RTL.

“The benefits provided by this automated solution will enable us to further streamline our operations so we can optimize the use of our resources and provide our customers with even better transportation services,” said Suzie LeHouillier, director of projects, RTL. “By investing in this leading-edge technology and delivering better service to our community, we are investing in the long-term future for our organization.”

The Ubisense TYM solution utilizes an ultra-wideband (UWB) real-time location system (RTLS) to provide precise location tracking. The Ubisense TYM solution will provide RTL with multiple benefits that will improve fleet management efficiencies and costs. Benefits include decreased human errors due to manual bus-finding, reduced search times, improved pullout-times and increased fleet availability through reduced maintenance down-time.

“Solotech and ISR Transit decided to partner with Ubisense for this project because it supplies the only location solution we have found that provides highly reliable and precise bus location,”said Youval Abenhaim, vice president of business development for ISR Transit. “That is very important for this deployment as ISR’s Driver Assignment Automation software has to give the right bus to the right driver to the right route, all the time.”

“The RTL contract reflects Solotech and ISR Transit’s continued expansion into the Intelligent Transportation System North American market and the continued trust given ISR and its partners by our valued customers.”

How it Works

ISR Transit will install the Ubisense RTLS solution, comprising industrialized bus location tags and a network of sensors, throughout RTL’s three garages. The Ubisense TYM solution will determine the precise position of each bus based on this sensor data and transmit the information to the BDM Core Application.

The location of each bus will be updated in real-time and published to a database so that anyone in the organization can see the status and location of a vehicle. Using a map-based display, dispatchers can view the location and other critical information, such as bus type, equipment options, seating capacity and maintenance status when making vehicle and operator assignments. Buses can be assigned to the bus driver in real-time by touching the distribution console with their smart card. The assigned driver is then given an exact location by the distribution console and screens displayed throughout the garage facilities provide updates.

“We believe RTL has an industry-leading vision of the future of transportation yard automation and we are proud to have been selected to deliver this vision with our partners in Montreal,” said Adrian Jennings, vice president of technology, Ubisense.

Notes to Editors
About ISR

ISR Transit builds solutions for transportation industry such as Automatic Vehicle Location, Computer Aided Dispatch, Operations and Fleet Management, Real-Time Passenger Information System, Trouble Ticket Management System and Mobile Video Security Systems based on ISR hardware, software and from selected 3rd party manufacturers. ISR products enable transit and fleet agencies to improve the operational efficiency, information dissemination, transportation demand management, and security of the public and private transportation systems.
With over twenty three years of R&D and over 60,000 units installed and deployed across the world, ISR is committed to providing world-class software and hardware for transit intelligent transport systems based on quality product and upmost service to our customer. ISR will bring to the table the latest technology while providing reliable delivery and services to the customer.

About Solotech
Solotech specializes in the integration of intelligent transportation systems through the use of various audiovisual and electronic technologies. We propose global solutions that optimize the use of transportation infrastructures and maximize those networks. Our solutions allow our clients to better control their operations and to improve security while at the same time offering better customer service to public transit passengers.

Our field of activity consists of: RFID detection, GPS and video monitoring, network communication between the various components of the systems, operational and control rooms, operational system and data broadcast software, video display and public announcement systems.

(ends)

Released: 4 October 2011

Ubisense in the News

2011-10-06T15:49:00.001-06:00

Collection of recent articles:

CambridgeFirst
Oct 6, 2011
BMW rolls out Ubisense tracking system

MarketWatch
Oct 5, 2011
IBS and Ubisense Revolutionise Car Manufacturing with Real-Time Location Identification System

GrowthCompany
Oct 5, 2011
Ubisense gains Realworld

Cambridge Business News
Oct 5, 2011
Ubisense buys its neighbour for 2.4m

Mandadeals
Oct 5, 2011
Ubisense gets busy on AIM

Cambridge First
Oct 5, 2011
Ubisense acquires geospatial firm for 2.4m

Cambridge Business Media (Cabume)
Oct 5, 2011
Ubisense acquires Cambridge neighbour, Realworld

Tech Market View
Oct 5, 2011
Ubisenses the Realworld

Ubisense in the News: Business Weekly

2011-10-06T15:11:00.000-06:00

BMW rolls out Ubisense tracking system globally

05 Oct 2011
By Tony Quested

A new deal has been forged between BMW, IBS and Ubisense, extending the deployment of a real-time Location Identification System (LIS) across the global vehicle manufacturer’s production facilities.

The LIS system comprises a communication platform from IBS and identification tags and sensors from Ubisense.

IBS and its software partner Ubisense will expand the roll-out of LIS, which is already delivering significant productivity improvements at two of BMW’s eight vehicle assembly plants. The solution will now be implemented at three additional BMW assembly lines in Asia, Europe and the US.

The LIS integrated real-time location system (RTLS) solution, developed specifically for BMW, combines best-in-class ultra-wideband (UWB) radio tags and sensors with advanced quality management and traceability software, bringing the production process a step closer to Six Sigma and the vision of complete traceability.

The technology tracks individual vehicles through on-line and off-line final assembly. It determines the identity and location of each car in the assembly facility and, based on the proximity of the vehicles to both fixed and mobile equipment such as tools and scanners, programs and controls the devices.

Delivering unprecedented levels of accuracy and reliability for an RTLS-based solution, the system improves quality and enables line operatives to work more efficiently, achieving time-savings, process safeguarding, zero defects and cost reductions.

In 2008, Ubisense and IBS deployed LIS on a 1.8km long assembly line at BMW’s Regensburg plant in Germany. In 2010, LIS went live on the new X3 assembly line at BMW Spartanburg in South Carolina – home to the company’s SUV range.
The solution will now be deployed at plants in Shenyang, China; on the X5 and X6 production line in Spartanburg; and at the dedicated Mini plant in Oxford, UK.

How the technology works

Vehicle assembly is a complex process – particularly at plants where different models are manufactured on the same line. At BMW Regensburg, Series 1 and Series 3 vehicles are assembled alongside Z4 Roadsters. With each model built to exact customer specifications and travelling along the production line, more or less in the order of purchase, assembly line operatives have to identify the next vehicle at their station quickly and accurately in order to select the right component or tool setting and complete the work necessary in the seconds they have available.

Previously,operatives identified vehicles using hand-held scanners and paper barcode labels, which were attached to the bonnet of each car. They then had to take their Direct Current (DC) tool to the correct location on the vehicle and wait for the correct settings to load before starting work – a time-consuming process in a manufacturing environment where every second counts.

Working with BMW, IBS and Ubisense have automated this process within the BMW IT environment, shaving valuable seconds off assembly line operations. The RTLS tags now replace the barcodes on car bonnets and have been fixed to DC programmable tools.

As the cars move through the plant, the tags communicate their location via UWB radio to sensors located along the production line. The sensors instantly relay this data via a local area network (LAN) to LIS, which is integrated with the BMW IT environment. Running under SAP, the BMW IT environment comprises a so-called “communication machine” (KM), the Integrated Production System (IPS) and the Automotive Production System (APS).

LIS determines when the tools enter the pre-defined work zones around each moving vehicle, identifying the vehicle and generating a “positive event.” This prompts the APS to automatically load the correct vehicle-specific program to the operative’s tool so the next job can be performed.

Ubisense CEO, Richard Green, said: “Extending our agreement with BMW via IBS is a major endorsement of the Ubisense solution, demonstrating the quality improvements as well as time and cost savings it can deliver.

“Working with IBS, we are delighted to have forged a long-term partnership with BMW and look forward to working with the company to drive forward new efficiencies at its global manufacturing sites.”

http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/automotive-general-news/12830-bmw-rolls-out-ubisense-tracking-system-globally?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Ubisense automates rail yard management with new Real-Time Location System

2011-10-06T14:28:00.000-06:00

Transit Yard Manager for Rails precisely and reliably locates locomotives to improve rail yard operations

DENVER - Oct. 3, 2011 – Ubisense (AIM:UBI)today introduced Transit Yard Manager for Rails,a real-time location system (RTLS) that automates yard operations and improves efficiencies and productivity. By precisely locating rolling-stock in both indoor and outdoor areas, operators gain an unprecedented level of visibility into workflow which helps to improve all areas of rail yard operations.

Transit Yard Manager (TYM) is a complete integrated solution that measures the location of rolling-stock using best-in-class sensors and translates that into actionable business intelligence through an intuitive software application. Because rail yards significantly impair the performance of most location systems, TYM is built on Ubisense’s ultra-wideband (UWB) real-time location system (RTLS) which is specifically designed to provide accurate, reliable location data in very challenging circumstances.

“Transit Yard Manager for Rails was developed as a direct result of customer demand,” said Adrian Jennings, vice president of technology, Ubisense. “Rail operators consulted with us to explain their long-time challenges associated with manual rail yard audits, and asked Ubisense to develop a solution that could help automate operations. We developed Transit Yard Manager for Rails to meet their needs, and it is already being used in operations as diverse as commuter light rail and national heavy freight.”

TYM for Rails provides rail operators with several real-time location benefits, including:

•Location of rolling-stock anywhere in the yard, indoors or out

•Reduced number of personnel required for yard auditing

•Real-time visibility of assets to operations and scheduling departments

•Integration of all existing software such as maintenance, dispatching and scheduling into a unified dashboard view

•Precise dwell-time measurements in the maintenance shops and in the yard

•Improved staging to reduce late pull-outs

•Real-time consist assembly

•Real-time view of available tracks

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Ubisense now offering downloadable podcasts

2011-10-06T11:39:00.000-06:00

Ubisense Transit Yard Manager Podcast featuring Jay Cadman
Download here: http://www.ubisense.net/en/media/downloads/38267_tym_podcast.mp3

Ubisense Manufacturing Solution Suite Podcast featuring Adrian Jennings
Download here: http://www.ubisense.net/en/media/downloads/76940_manufacturing_suite_podcast.mp3

Latest News: Ubisense Launches FTTx Planning System in North America

2011-09-28T09:17:00.000-06:00

Proven Product Reduces Capital Costs and Shortens Time to Revenue for Fiber Rollouts

DENVER, Sept. 28, 2011 – Ubisense and atesio announced today the North American release of the Ubisense FTTx Planning System. The product automates the strategic planning of fiber access networks and significantly reduces the time and capital investment required for service providers to deliver fiber connectivity to homes and businesses. The solution is in regular use at Deutsche Telekom, one of the largest telecom operators in the world with approximately 40 million access lines.

The Ubisense FTTx Planning System reduces the time it takes to analyze, plan and estimate a cost-optimized, structurally sound network design and configuration from several weeks to a few hours. The solution quickly analyzes multiple planning alternatives to find the scenario that balances revenue and capital costs across dozens of variables. It uses available infrastructure data to produce an optimized network plan that includes equipment and cable material quantities and cost estimates for various deployment scenarios such as greenfield and brownfield.

“We wanted to bring our customers a solution that would get them to market faster, with the best possible network configuration,” said Scott Casey, Ubisense Vice President of Telecom Solutions. “Planning a cost optimized fiber access network with manual methods is daunting – there are simply too many factors and alternatives to process efficiently. With our solution, network operators can quickly create plans based on their existing infrastructure and business requirements.”

Ubisense partnered with atesio on the development of the FTTx Planning System. The solution uses atesio’s powerful computation engine and high-end mathematical optimization algorithms to ensure designs minimize total network deployment costs. Planners quickly get a comprehensive view of the economic efficiency of various planning options, can adjust input parameters and rerun calculations as often as needed to arrive at the optimal network design.

The Ubisense FTTx Planning System integrates with Ubisense myWorld to allow planners to perform desk survey verification of the proposed network layouts against real world conditions using Google Maps API Premier and Street View for Google Maps. The product is also fully integrated with GE’s Smallworld Core Spatial Technology.

Ubisense will demonstrate the FTTx Planning System at the FTTH Expo in Orlando, September 28-30, 2011.

For more information visit http://www.ubisense.net/en/consulting/geo-solutions/ubisense-fttx-planning-system.html

About atesio
atesio turns state-of-the-art mathematical optimization technology into industrial solutions for the telecommunications industry. Leading fixed and mobile operators take strategic decisions (3G, LTE, NGN, FTTX) on the basis of custom-made techno-economic studies by atesio. They also master network optimization and configuration tasks (2G, 3G, SDH, MPLS) by means of atesio's award-winning and powerful network optimization software. atesio was founded in 2000 as a spin-off of a world-wide leading mathematical optimization research institute. For more information, visit: www.atesio.com.

(ends)

Photo: GIS team at the Smallworld User Conference

2011-09-28T09:12:00.002-06:00

Ubisense's booth at the Smallworld User Conference

Latest News: Ubisense acquires InMaps

2011-09-27T10:55:00.000-06:00

Acquisition of US geospatial location solutions business

Ubisense Group plc (AIM: UBI, "Ubisense" "the Group"), the market-leading location solutions company, has acquired Integrated Mapping Services Inc (“InMaps”), a US-based company focused on delivering geospatial business solutions to electric and gas utilities, for $700,000 in cash.

InMaps' provides a suite of products, integrated with GPS and geospatial products such as GE Smallworld, to help utilities improve reliability and comply with industry regulations.

The acquisition of InMaps strengthens Ubisense’s offering in the electric and gas industries and solidifies the Group’s position as one of the world’s leading location solutions companies. InMaps will become part of the Group’s Geospatial division and will operate under the Ubisense name.

In the year to 31 December 2010, InMaps had revenues of over $1m.
Richard Green, Ubisense CEO, commented:
“The products that InMaps has developed for the gas industry are a perfect fit with our own offering and the direction we are taking our Geospatial business.

“System safety and reliability are increasingly complicated and critical issues for gas and electric utilities. With the acquisition of InMaps, we will now be able to deliver a comprehensive suite of geospatial business solutions which will help our customers meet these challenges with the best available technologies.”

About InMaps

Since 1996, InMaps has been creating geospatial business solutions for natural gas and electric utilities. The Company is an acknowledged expert in deploying, customizing, and managing Smallworld systems.

InMaps’s newest product, VeroTrack® Automated Survey Tracking (AST) automates record keeping for natural gas leak surveys. Developed in conjunction with the Gas Technology Institute, VeroTrack AST is a unique solution that integrates with multiple GIS platforms.

Photo: Location Driven Manufacturing Solutions

2011-09-26T13:47:00.001-06:00

Ubisense's Location Driven Manufacturing Solutions improve productivity by providing real-time visibility for a smarter production flow. By tracking the location of critical assets, Ubisense Manufacturing Solutions provide unequalled information about current and past production activities. This data, delivered by best-in-class ultra-wideband sensors, supports lean manufacturing goals by identifying new efficiencies and opportunities for continuous improvement, and making it easier to monitor and enforce stringent quality control.

To learn more visit: http://www.ubisense.net/en/ubisense-manufacturing-solution-suite.php

Ubisense in Action: Asssembly & Automative Expo

2011-09-20T10:22:00.001-06:00

Frank Roberts, Senior Technical Sales Engineer, setting up the Ubisense booth at the Assembly and Automative Expo in Chicago, IL.

Ubisense in the News: Business Weekly

2011-09-20T09:36:00.002-06:00

Honeymoon continues as Ubisense revenues soar 41%

Cambridge location solutions company Ubisense posted a promising set of maiden results on London Stock Exchange with first-half revenues 41 per cent higher.
The UK Real Time Location systems business said H1 revenues were up from £8m to £11.3m year-on-year.

Operating profit for the six months to end-June held steady but the loss was halved to £0.1m. The company had net cash of £8.1m.

The company picked up several new and major orders in the period and also established a French subsidiary.

Chief executive Richard Green, just back from his honeymoon on Skye, is confident the market’s love affair with Ubisense will continue.

Looking at a growing order book, he predicted the momentum would be continued into the second half.

He said: “We have delivered a robust set of results, our first, as a listed company, with a strong increase in revenues, a substantial order book and growing opportunity pipeline.

“Admission to AIM marked an important landmark in the Group’s development. It has provided us with a strong platform to support the rapid growth of our business and to leverage existing customer relationships with global leaders such as Aston Martin, Atlas Copco, BMW, Deutsche Telekom and EADS.

“With good momentum in the business and a growing order book, we remain confident that this robust performance will continue in the second half of 2011.”

end

http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/hi-tech/12733-honeymoon-continues-as-ubisense-revenues-soar-41?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Ubisense in the News: Sharecast

2011-09-20T09:29:00.003-06:00

Ubisense impresses with first listed result

By Michael Millar

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Software firm Ubisense topped analysts' expectations as revenues increased 41% to £11.3m in the first half of 2011.

However, the company reported a loss before tax of £0.32m after factoring in AIM admission cots. It will not pay an interim dividend.

Ubisense, whose technology allows companies to track assets, such as tools, vehicles and people in real time, raised £5m on AIM and listed in June.

The company said its RTLS tracking technology division continued to grow during the first half, winning business from both new and existing accounts, resulting in record first half revenue of £3.9m.

During the period it signed a global licence agreement with BMW to provide its RTLS solution to all assembly plants across the BMW Group.

It added that its Geospatial mapping division delivered significant growth in the first half, led by the sale of a newly developed product - FTTx Planning System - to Deutsche Telekom.

Chief executive, Richard Green, said Ubisense had strong momentum going into the second half of 2011.

"Revenue for the first half was 64% of the revenue for the whole of 2010 financial year," he said.

"With a strong order book and pipeline, this performance is anticipated to continue in the second half of 2011, in line with board expectations."

end

http://www.sharecast.com/cgi-bin/sharecast/story.cgi?story_id=4525118

Ubisense in the News: Cabume (Cambridge Business Media)

2011-09-20T09:17:00.002-06:00

Major revenue growth for Ubisense, Cambridge's first IPO in almost 6 years

By Lautaro Vargas
Ubisense, Cambridge's first technology IPO in five and a half years, showed strong revenue growth across divisions in its first results since listing on the London Stock Exchange's AIM.

Revenue was up 41 per cent to £11.3m (H1 2010: £8.0m) though a pretax profit of £131k in H1 2010 became a loss £320k this year, largely as a result of the £320k cost of listing on AIM.

Ubisense operates two divisions, one the ultra-wideband real time location system (RTLS) and Geospatial.

The continued large-scale roll-outs of installations with BMW and Airbus underpinned 83 per cent revenue growth for the RTLS division, up to £3.9m (H1 2010: £2.1m), 35 per cent of Group revenue. Geospatial provided the balance as its revenues increased by 26 per cent to £7.4m (H1 2010: £5.9m).

Gross margins were up a point to 32 per cent while gross profit reached £3.6m, an increase of £1.1m, the same amount that administrative expenses increased by (H1 2011: £3.4m) as a result of larger staff numbers.

Ubisense CEO, Richard Green, said admission to AIM had marked an important landmark in the company's development, providing it with a strong platform to support the rapid growth of the business.

At the time of its IPO in June this year, Ubisense raised £5m, which has not only allowed it to repay its debts, but also to invest in R&D, equipment and installing a platform to fund organic and, potentially acquisitive, growth.

"We have delivered a robust set of results, our first, as a listed company, with a strong increase in revenues, a substantial order book and growing opportunity pipeline," said Green.

"With good momentum in the business and a growing order book, we remain confident that this robust performance will continue in the second half of 2011."

end

http://www.cabume.co.uk/software/major-revenue-growth-for-ubisense-cambridges-first-ipo-in-almost-6-years.html#.TnhRXvTTSIg.twitter

Photo: Ubisense In Action

2011-09-19T11:08:00.001-06:00

"Ubisense have met our expectations and have a team that delivered a reliable precise real-time location solution that fits BMW's requirements perfectly."

-Andreas Lehner, Project Director, BMW Regensberg

Giving Eyes to a Manufacturing Facility with an Indoor Location System

2011-09-16T14:01:00.002-06:00

By: Adrian Jennings
Published: July 25, 2011

Indoor location systems are providing that insight to many manufacturers today in diverse industries

Any manufacturing process is a network of interrelated motion, with raw material and subassemblies moving through carefully orchestrated steps to emerge as high quality finished goods. A manufacturing facility is a machine of many moving parts, all of which must stay synchronized in order to maintain peak efficiency. The question is: how does one manage and control so many moving parts when one doesn’t know where everything is?

Indoor location systems are providing that insight to many manufacturers today in diverse industries. There are three layers of value that a location system can bring at different levels of integration with operations. These range from providing oversight of important assets; to measuring progress against plan; to actually interfacing with tools for error proofing and quality control.

At the highest level, companies are using location-based asset managers to keep track of tools, work in progress and work orders throughout their facilities. These solutions present search queries on map displays for instant location of critical assets. Even this basic level of functionality can save many cumulative man-hours of searching for lost or misplaced items. Typically these solutions are able to integrate multiple location technologies in order to provide very precise information where necessary, approximate location when adequate and, increasingly, GPS tracking for very large sites with significant outdoor work areas. As an example, Cummins has all but eliminated search time for engines in offline storage areas, whereas previous searches for a given red engine in a sea of red engines wasted many hours per day.

Companies are also leveraging the additional reporting and alerting functionality of asset managers. By collecting data over a period of time these solutions can identify process bottlenecks, rarely used tools, and other inefficiencies not visible without ongoing oversight of where things are and how they are moving. This automated process-discovery is a critical part of any continuous improvement activity. Additionally, real time alerts can help ensure that assets are not mistakenly removed from designated areas, or work-in-progress (WIP) stalled for longer than a given period.

This last benefit leads into the second level of value that a location system brings: by integrating information about the production process, location solutions can report progress against plan. Airbus has deployed a location system through multiple sites which is doing just that. Aircraft subassemblies are tracked through the production and assembly facilities in multiple countries. Since the location system has been programmed to understand where, for example, wing skinning occurs or where the aft fuselage is attached, it can translate “where in the building” to “where in the process.” This level of integration provides not only a more detailed level of historical reporting supporting continuous improvement initiatives, but it also raises real time alerts when delays can cause a ripple effect through processes spanning months and continents.

Aston Martin uses a similar system in the United Kingdom to monitor and manage operations in the off-line finishing area. Aston Martin manufactures vehicles in relatively low volumes and each vehicle is highly bespoke. This mirrors the aerospace industry in terms of managing many variations of a single design in a relatively low throughput, long duration operation. At the other end of the scale auto manufacturers such as BMW are shaving precious seconds off high-volume operations and simultaneously improving quality.

The benefits enjoyed at BMW come from the third layer of location system value when location information is integrated directly with operations on the line. Here locations systems truly create smart environments that untether operations from the constraints of the physical production line.

In the case of BMW, a location system is used to track vehicles and cordless nutrunners in order to perform highly reliable tool/VIN matching with no manual intervention or delays. Like most manufacturers, BMW mixes model and trim types on a single line, but in the case of 1- and 3-series lines this is taken to an extreme. On these lines a very large number of vehicle variations are assembled in the order in which they are to ship. With this kind of variability it is critical to ensure that a cordless tool with a given torque setting operates on the correct vehicle. A location system is used to enable and disable tools depending on the correct tool/torque/vehicle matching with reliability exceeding six-sigma. This ensures that critical joints are correctly tightened, and saves six seconds over manual error-proofing processes at 150 steps across 1,000 vehicles per day.

The true value of using location systems in this way comes from the fact that this kind of error-proofing is enabled by location systems that flood assembly areas with location awareness. This is a marked contrast from traditional systems of identification and location which rely on devices fixed to the line in carefully chosen locations. In order to keep track of vehicles and tools traditional “spot check” methods use devices ranging from barcode readers and physical limit switches to tool tethers and articulated arms.

By decoupling vehicle and tool ID and tracking from these fixed devices, location systems add a new level of flexibility to assembly processes. Rather than physically fixed work cells, the concept of a work cell becomes a software defined zone which can be attached to a physical location or to a particular vehicle, and which can be reconfigured through software. Two very important flexibilities are introduced in this way. First, tools can now roam out of fixed work cells with no compromise in error proofing or quality control. Second, reconfiguring and rebalancing the line is significantly improved when tool control zones can be defined quickly and simply in software.

Indoor location systems are giving manufacturing facilities eyes, opening up a broad set of use cases proven to save time and improve quality. From asset accountability to WIP tracking, from automatic monitoring of progress against plan to flexible, untethered tool control, location systems are ushering in a new way of thinking about manufacturing operations.

Adrian Jennings

Adrian Jennings serves as the vice president of technology for Ubisense Inc. (Cambridge, UK), a provider of location solutions. Prior to joining Ubisense, Jennings was the president and CTO of Time Domain, a technology provider for both civilian and military use. Jennings served as the leader of the UK Foreign Material Exploitation team, and became the designated UK intelligence expert for command guided missile systems. Jennings also spent three years with the US Department of Defense as an international technical liaison. Jennings received a master’s degree in physics from Oxford University under an apprenticeship with the UK Ministry of Defense. Jennings can be contacted at Adrian.Jennings@ubisense.net

Link to article

Latest News

2011-09-16T09:53:00.000-06:00

Ubisense to Unveil RTLS Manufacturing Solution Suite at Assembly & Automation Technology Expo

DENVER - Sept. 16, 2011 – Next week at the Assembly & Automation Technology Expo in Chicago, Ubisense (booth #654) will introduce its Location-Based Manufacturing Solution Suite designed to enable manufacturers to gain real-time visibility of, and control over their assembly line operations. With precise location information of all assets and activities, manufacturers can identify areas for improvement to achieve greater efficiencies and quality control.

“For many years, manufacturers have been trying to find ways to gain visibility into their assembly processes but it had been impossible to find technology that would work effectively in that type of work environment, until now,” said Adrian Jennings, vice president of technology, Ubisense. “Ubisense’s ultra-wideband sensing system is designed to provide precise, reliable location information even in the most difficult of environments. Using this information, the new Ubisense Manufacturing Solution Suite gives operators a real-time view of the status of all of their manufacturing processes, down to the subtlest layer of detail. Now they can finally achieve the level of visibility and automatic control to help them improve operational efficiency, quality and cost.”

Ubisense delivers location-based solutions utilizing precise, real-time ultra-wideband (UWB) sensors to locate assets, vehicles or people both indoors and outdoors. Ubisense solutions provide insight into processes and operations that were previously hidden or too complicated to decipher. Customers spanning automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, transport, military, telecommunications and energy are improving their bottom lines by incorporating Ubisense precise real-time location solutions into their business operations. Customers include Airbus, Aston Martin, BMW, Caterpillar, FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies, among others.

(ends)

Released: 16 September 2011

Photo: Ubisense hard at work in Denver, CO

2011-09-12T16:23:00.002-06:00

A Day In The Life Of....

2011-09-12T09:51:00.001-06:00

Gordon Campbell, chief financial officer, Ubisense

7am Radio kicks in with the news. Get up and head downstairs for the most control-freak part of the day – making breakfast.

I never leave home without my cereal and tea (whatever time, even if I didn’t make it to bed the previous day) and it’s the only part of my contribution to family life that our two children miss when I am overseas.

1. Warm milk for three because that takes the longest.

2. Boil kettle for one.

3. Four bowls of cereal from a selection of five cereals, with no two people having the same combination.

Spoons, teabag, microwave pings and we are off.

8.30am Leave for work. If I am lucky I might find a bike out of the 17 or so that we possess that has the saddle at about the right height and enough air in both tyres for me to cycle. More often than not I’m not lucky and I end up driving.

9am Arrive at the Ubisense office in St Andrew’s Road, Chesterton. Log on, look at email, open post and figure out what the day will bring.

9.30am Settle down to spend the morning dealing with the new world we are in.

Since we IPO’d in June the crazy timetable of bankers, lawyers and accountants has stopped but has been replaced by a thirst for information on the company and its shares by staff, shareholders, institutions and potential future investors. Can I exercise my options? How do I buy shares? Why is the share price in the FT wrong? (Don’t believe everything you read!). How many shares are outstanding? What is the free float? Can I have a set of your accounts?

1pm Time to go for a run.

2pm Disappointing performance this lunchtime. After running my set course once a week in January and February, and improving my time from 43 to 39 minutes, I have had months off while dealing with the IPO and my time has slipped back to 45 minutes. I’m getting too old for this – as helpfully highlighted by my children who have found some grey hair.

4pm Good session with the Ubisense finance team.

We talked through some of the changes we will need to make to our management accounts now that we are public. We also need to gear up for our first set of public accounts. Our half-year to June 30 finished eight days after we IPO’d, so we need to report interim results. So much for a summer holiday.

5pm Completed some real accounting: journals for the fundraising and option exercises. At least now it won’t be me holding up the half-year reporting. Figuring out the accounting transactions for the share capital and cash received reminded me that we need to update our Treasury Policy and pay off our loans. Draft a letter to the bank.

6pm The US has woken up. Deal with a flurry of emails and calls. They seem to have got (or, as they are American, “gotten”) into the habit of just assuming I’ll be in the office even though it is well into the evening.

8pm Home. Just get back in time to see the children and help my wife, Claire, get them to bed. She will have juggled her own work with the children’s daily routine and if they are playing up then the stress levels will be high. Spend a bit of time reading with my son Matthew and then checking my daughter Laura’s homework (but only if it’s maths – Claire does the rest).

10pm Dinner, on my lap in front of the BBC News. Try and stay awake for the weather.

11pm Back on my laptop, dealing with email and catching up on other outstanding actions.

Sneak a quick look at the Ubisense share price . . . still up from the float price. Of course it is – why wouldn’t it be – it’s a brilliant company! Watch a bit of sport on telly.

1am Bed. Six hours in bed and that usually means six hours of sleep. I’m out for the count before my head hits the pillow.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Business/Working-day/Gordon-Campbell-chief-financial-officer-Ubisense-06092011.htm

Case Study: Ubisense Illustrate Art's Impact on People

2011-09-09T11:17:00.000-06:00

University of Applied Science Northwestern Switzerland: Art's Impact on People

The institute for Art and Design and the University of Applied Science Northern Switzerland spent five weeks observing the reactions of visitors to a special exhibit at the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen. The goal was to obtain new insight into the emotional and cognitive reactions of visitors to the art objects.

Upon registration at the museum entrance, visitors receive a special glove, which is equipped with biometric sensors and an active Ubisense tag. The exhibition is equipped with 20 Ubisense sensors that can locate the visitors positions with an accuracy of 15cm, as they move through the exhibition. In parallel the heart rate and electrical conductivity of the skin is measured and sent to the central server, which receives and analyses the results. At the end of the exhibition, visitors can view the results on a plasma screen showing their emotional excitement levels during the exhibition as well as other interesting data.

A glove wearing visitor

‘’We are delighted with the performance of the Ubisense tracking system’’, declares Roland Waespe, director of the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen. ‘’Our museum building presents a number of architectural challenges for radio based systems and we have been impressed with the reliability and precision of the system in this environment’’.

Research
Ubisense RFID tags transmitted the location data to Ubisense Series 7000 sensors, then forwarded that information to Ubisense’s Location Platform, that exported the captured data to other applications. The biometric data was transmitted via wireless LAN to MySQL database, where it was merged to location information. The location data was then used to determine which specific artworks the visitor had been viewing, how long that individual had looked at each piece. By comparing the biometric data, the researchers could measure a participant’s biological and cognitive reaction to each work of art.

It was found that more educated and elderly visitors had much more interest in classical works of art, whereas younger visitors, tended to be more stimulated by newer, more abstract works.

A computer screen displaying a visitor's tracks through the museum. The location data, merged with the bio-metric data, showed the visitors which artworks provoked cognitive or emotional responses. Each museum patron was then asked whether the recorded data matched his or her impression of how he or she responded.

Latest News

2011-09-08T10:52:00.000-06:00

University of South Florida employs Ubisense's Real-time Location System to predict dementia from person's movement

Ubisense solution provides reliable, precise location accuracy to track the movement of people with cognitive decline and help to identify persons with dementia.

DENVER, Sept. 6, 2011 – A recent study conducted at the University of South Florida employed Ubisense’s real-time location system (RTLS) to track the movements of residents of two assisted living facilities (ALF). Using Ubisense’s solution and fractal mathematics, the researchers discovered that persons with dementia demonstrated more random movement in their walks and this random component was a better predictor of dementia than the Folstein Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE), a primary tool used by clinicians to test for dementia.

Leading the study was Dr. William Kearns, an associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counselling at the University of South Florida. Dr. Kearns and his team tracked the daytime movements of 25 elder ALF residents, 14 of whom had been diagnosed with dementia. The elders agreed to wear the Ubisense Compact Tags secured by a wristband and be monitored for 30 days during waking hours. Ubisense sensors were installed in the common use areas of the ALF.

The study’s primary aim was to examine the relationship of dementia to path tortuosity (the number of changes in direction of successive movement paths) and to movement speed and path length variability. Ubisense’s RTLS system tracked both changes in path direction and rate and duration of movement. The researchers found path tortuosity was greater in persons with dementia, and may be linked to impaired spatial memory required for successful navigation.

“We consider this to be a substantial finding and one that could potentially help us diagnose dementia earlier and enable us to provide better care for people demonstrating cognitive decline,” said Dr. Kearns.“Peoples’ behavior is the best indicator of what’s going on with them, and Ubisense’s RTLS system is the best solution we’ve found to provide the level of precise accuracy we need to validate our findings.”

Dr Kearns has been studying people with dementia for seven years in order to better understand the relationship of movement changes to future cognitive decline and fall risk. His goal is to discover ways to allow older persons to remain in their homes longer and to ease caregiver burden. More than 35 million people live with dementia worldwide. Over the next 40 years that number is projected to hit 115 million.[1]

Dr. Kearns first attempted to use an RFID-based system for his studies but found it produced inaccurate location data. A colleague in the USF College of Engineering suggested he consider ultra-wideband (UWB) technology for more precise accuracy, and Dr. Kearns sought help from Ubisense.

“This is great validation of our support for academic partners,” said Adrian Jennings, vice president of technology for Ubisense. “It’s people like Dr. Kearns who develop important new applications for our location solutions, applications which would be difficult to research outside of academia. We’re delighted to see the results of that openness, and proud to be a core element of Dr. Kearns’ important work.”
As a result of their valuable research, the United States Patent Office recently awarded a patent to Dr. Kearns and his colleagues for the “Human and Physical Asset Movement Pattern Analyzer,” which is an extension of their research using Ubisense’s RTLS. The Pattern Analyzer, based on UWB technology, helps identify changes in older individuals in ALFs. It is equally applicable to the study of traumatic brain injury in veterans.

For more information on Dr. Kearns’ research, see:
Kearns W.D., Fozard C.H., Nams V.O., Craighead J.D., Wireless telesurveillance system for detecting dementia, Gerontechnology 2011; 10(2):90-102; doi:10.4017/gt.2011.10.2.004.00 or see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM89flOpwWQ

[1] http://www.alz.co.uk/research/statistics

Released: 6 September 2011

Photo: Ubisense myWorld

2011-09-08T10:39:00.000-06:00

Photo: Ubisense In Action

2011-09-08T10:36:00.001-06:00

Aston Martin has been benefiting from Ubisense's technology at its production line in Gaydon.
Photo: Bloomberg By Richard Tyler, Enterprise Editor

The 2011 FOSS4G Map by Jason Sanford

2011-09-08T10:28:00.000-06:00

If you’re like me, at any given time you’ve got a number of new software products you’ve been hearing about, but just haven’t had time to tinker with. A few weeks back Peter Batty asked if I’d be interested in creating an interactive map for the upcoming FOSS4G conference that will be here in Denver. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to try out some new open source geo tools.

I’ll start with a link to the map (http://2011.foss4g.org/content/foss4g-map) and tell you a little about how it works and what was used to create it. Visiting the site above displays a slippy map that you can pan and zoom like any other. The initial map shows four FOSS4G Venues as well as some light rail lines and stops to help you get around. As you zoom into the map you’ll see more information about bars, cafes, restaurants and even bicycle rental stations. Clicking these icons will show varying amounts of information in either a popup window or a small panel in the bottom left corner of the map.

All the pieces
The mapping library I’m using is Leaflet, from CloudMade. This is a great library that is very lightweight, easy to use, works great on mobile and most importantly, is open source. The core developer is very responsive to bugs and feature requests which is encouraging for those just getting started with Leaflet. If you haven’t checked out Leaflet yet or haven’t in the last few months, do yourself a favor and take a look. It’s grown by leaps and bounds lately and bugs are squashed often.

As I mentioned before the map shows various local amenities in the downtown Denver area. These come from OpenStreetMap and are periodically updated to keep the map fresh with updates from you. I’m sure you’ve all heard about OpenStreetMap. It’s awesome. End of story.

The OSM data is stored in PostGIS where we reference it for tile creation and map feature selection. PostGIS (/post’-jis/) is a spatial extension of the open source PostgreSQL database. PostGIS essentially adds spatial data types (geometry and geography) and lots (no really, hundreds) of functions to interact with these data types. If your data has a geometry question, PostGIS has one or more functions to answer it. PostGIS has installers for Windows and Mac and even has install packages for various linux flavors. It’s also not terribly hard to compile the source yourself. Even I’ve done this, once without cursing.

I’m creating map tiles with TileMill from Development Seed. TileMill is a browser based map design studio that can read from various data sources including shapefiles, KML, GeoJSON, PostGIS and GeoTIFF. With TileMill you create your map styles with Carto, a CSS-like map styling language that translates to Mapnik styles (correct me if I’m wrong) for super-fast tile rendering. Creating beautiful maps is so easy you’ll forget all about SLD. Recent updates include easy installation for both Mac OS X and Ubuntu (time to fire up the VMs windows users).

The product of a TileMill export is an mbtiles file which is an open spec for storing tiled map data in a SQLite database. This makes it much easier to transfer millions of map tiles to different locations as a single file, not the z/x/y.png directory hell that is the end result of most tiling jobs. I once vowed to quit map tiling efforts. Then I found TileMill. Anyway, we need a way to serve these tiles in this mbtiles format. Development Seed has another piece of open software for serving these, TileStream. You can download the source code for TileStream and build your own service or use a hosted solution for a fee and have your map tiles on a globally distributed CDN. Another solution, and the one I chose, is TileStache which python-based web application written by Michal Migurski that can serve and cache map tiles. With just a few lines of code you can tell TileStache where to find your mbtiles file, what URL to serve them from and where to cache the generated tiles.

Last but certainly not least is MapFish. MapFish is a Pylons (python) based application that lets you Create, Read, Update and Delete (CRUD) geographic features via HTTP POST, GET, PUT and DELETEs. For this application, I’ve extended MapFish to create a select service that simply runs multiple spatial queries against a few layers (bars, cafes, restaurants, bicycle rentals) with just one HTTP request. I’ve been using MapFish for a while now for a number of projects and highly recommend it.
Credit where credit is due
In addition to the projects above, there were a number of other resources used that deserve mention.
The OpenStreetMap data was downloaded from Geofabrik who graciously provide OSM data downloads to the state level updated daily. In my case it was very simple (and fast) to download just the data for Colorado. What an effort! Thanks Geofabrik.
The base map tiles come from MapQuest, who recently as part of their Open MapQuest efforts have released both street and aerial maps free for use, with pretty generous terms. Thanks MapQuest!
Speaking of OSM, our local Denver OSM Meetup Group have had a few recent efforts to help create a more accurate and complete map of downtown Denver. Thanks.
A note to local Denver folks: If you see a missing or incorrect bar, cafe, restaurant, etc in the map, update it in OpenStreetMap. I’ll be pulling fresh OSM data a time or two more before the conference.

About

I’m Jason Sanford. I work for Ubisense building web mapping applications for electric/gas utilities and telcos. Over the last few years working with geospatial technology I’ve found that some of the best help I’ve received came from bloggers simply documenting their experiences, challenges and solutions. My goal here is to do the same.

Check out all of Jason's articles at http://geojason.info/

Latest geothought by Peter Batty

2011-08-15T14:16:00.000-06:00

How FOSS4G had a profound impact on my geospatial technology path

As some of you will know, the FOSS4G 2011 conference is coming up in Denver and I am the conference chair. I have only been to one previous FOSS4G, which was in Victoria in Canada in 2007. That event had a profound impact on my perspective on the geospatial industry, and on the software platforms I've chosen to implement geospatial applications on since then. And it has saved my companies a lot of money! So I wanted to share some perspectives about my experience at FOSS4G and what I've learned about open source software, to explain why you should come to FOSS4G, especially if you've never been before.

Back in 2007 I had just left my job as CTO of Intergraph and was weighing up what to do next, and looking at ideas for a geospatial startup company. I'd spent 20 years in the geospatial industry working with closed source products, and knew very little about open source geospatial products. Towards the end of my time at Intergraph, I'd been getting quite a few questions from sales guys, in Canada in particular, about the fact that their customers were showing interest in open source software, which was free, and how should they sell against that? So I'd done a bit of research and had become interested in particular in PostGIS, the open source spatial database, as a possible platform for applications I was looking at in my new (yet to be created) startup, Spatial Networking. The fact that it was free was obviously attractive to a new startup owner, especially as I was looking at a system that (I hoped) would need to be deployed on many servers to cope with large numbers of users.

Open source software tends not to have such flashy marketing material as closed source software, so after a bit of digging around online and not finding all the information I was after, I got in touch with Paul Ramsey, who is one of the main people behind PostGIS. He suggested I should come up to FOSS4G to find out more. I did and was really impressed by the whole experience, both the event in general and what I found out about PostGIS - you can read my writeup at the time here. As I said in that writeup, there was much more energy and buzz than I had seen at other geospatial conferences I was used to attending.

I went ahead and used PostGIS at Spatial Networking and on other projects, including my current project Ubisense myWorld. I continue to be very impressed with PostGIS - it does all the core things you expect a spatial database to do (I had a lot of previous experience with Oracle Spatial and other systems), and it's FREE! I have never hit a bug during my time using it.

So what have I learned about open source geospatial software in those four years? First of all let me say that I have no strong predisposition to open or closed source development approaches, per se. I am happy to chose either open or closed source products depending on what I need in a given situation. What I do have s strong predisposition to is FREE. Obviously a product needs to meet your requirements, but assuming it does then free is rather attractive compared to having to pay for something. This is especially true in a cloud environment, where you may scale up to running many servers, and traditional per server licensing costs can really hurt you financially.
People in the closed source world often raise concerns about support in the open source world. My experience hasn't borne out this concern. With PostGIS, I've never needed support, it just works. With MapFish, another open source product we're using for myWorld, we needed a few enhancements. Some were addressed by the community within a month or two, others we were able to do ourselves as we had access to the product source code. I very much doubt that we could have got enhancements made in a mature closed source product in that timeframe. There are also more and more options in the open source geospatial world to pay people to do enhancements or fixes for you. Again it's a bit dangerous to make generalizations, you can get good support or poor support on different closed source products, and you can get good support or poor support on different open source products. But my experience with the open source products we've chosen has been very good.

I think that after price, perhaps the aspect of open source that I value most is longevity and predictability. Many times during my career, I have seen projects suffer because a vendor has decided to stop development of a product (or feature). I have also seen dramatic changes in terms of service or costs of online services. Google App Engine is one example of the latter - many people put significant effort into developing applications that were running for free, then Google changed the pricing model and people found themselves facing large costs they hadn't planned on. With an open source product that has a strong community behind it, there is much more long term stability. You know it's not going to go away tomorrow. Even if some developers leave, others are there to cover for them. And in the worst case you have access to the source code so could continue to maintain it yourself (though that's a very unlikely scenario as long as the community of developers has a certain critical mass). I have been moving more components of myWorld towards open source because of this predictability.

So anyway, if you are still paying for geospatial software you owe it to yourself and your company to come to FOSS4G and find out what all this open source software is about. There is a parallel universe out there with software products that have great capabilities and are FREE! It's also worth saying that in general there is good interoperability between open and closed source systems, so it's not an all or nothing proposition. In general open source web and database products are very strong, and they may well be able to complement your investment in existing applications.

This is the first time that FOSS4G has been in North America for 4 years, and it is not likely to be here again for another 3, so this is a rare opportunity if you are based here to meet a wide range of people developing and using these products. So I hope to see you in Denver in September at FOSS4G!

end

Peter Batty is VP of geospatial technology at Ubisense. He has worked in the geospatial industry for 20 years and has served as CTO for two leading companies in the industry (and two of the world's top 200 software companies), Intergraph and Smallworld (now part of GE Energy), as well as a being a founder and CTO of Ten Sails, who provided early stage funding to and later merged with Ubisense. He serves on the Advisory Board of FortiusOne. See here for a more detailed bio. You can email Peter at peter@ebatty.com, and can see videos of some of his conference presentations here.

For more articles visit http://geothought.blogspot.com/

Progress made visible through real time position location

2011-08-15T13:49:00.001-06:00

Check our our latest article from Machinery, The Home of Production Engineering.

08/08/2011

PROGRESS MADE VISIBLE THROUGH REAL TIME POSITION LOCATION

The manufacturing operations of Aston Martin, Airbus, BMW, GM, Boeing, Honda and Caterpillar are all embracing real-time tracking and location technology developed and supplied by a UK company based in Cambridge. What is it and what are the benefits? Brian Wall reports

Not heard of real-time tracking and location as a production management tool? Well, more and more manufacturers are turning to it, not only for asset management, but also for improved visibility and control over their production processes. Aston Martin, Airbus, BMW, GM, Boeing, Honda and Caterpillar are just some of its users.

And all are using solutions provided by real-time location systems provider Ubisense, an international operation employing almost 130 people, turning over £17.7 million and whose UK headquarters is in Cambridge. The company successfully floated on London's AIM stock market in June, with its stock rising from 180p to 212.50p in one hour, an indication of further expansion of the technology's use.

At root, Ubisense's technology can be considered as transponders (location tags on the item to be tracked), receivers (sensors to receive position information) and software (to manage, display or act on information). So what are its users getting from the technology's application? Aston Martin first. Apart from the production line where the vehicles are built and assembled, Aston Martin operates an offline facility – 'off-tracks' – where final inspection is carried out. As a prestigious brand with an unrelenting focus on quality, this is a particularly important part of its processes. "Off-tracks is rigorous, consumes several days and can be extremely complex, keeping track of numerous vehicles at any one time, while juggling shipment dates etc," states Ubisense's VP of technology Adrian Jennings.

"Aston Martin uses our location solution to monitor their off-track processes in real time, ensuring they have precise information for each step of what are multiple steps in total, at the same time monitoring how long each step takes, with alerts given where things deviate from plan – such as part of the process going out of sequence or a vehicle staying in an area longer than it should,"he adds. For Aston Martin, Ubisense's bespoke solution has become the factory's eyes, automatically streamlining and managing operations, where previously manual checks would have been the order of the day. "A key benefit for Aston Martin is that it generates its own reports from the historical records accumulated by our software, in order to single out any deviations and so fine tune and hone its processes over time. In terms of the business, that brings quality improvements, time savings and increased throughput," explains Mr Jennings.

Meanwhile, at BMW, a Ubisense RFID-based real-time location system (RTLS) is used at the automotive manufacturer's assembly plant in Regensburg, Germany. Again, it is all about enabling pinpoint accuracy across the production line: matching the cars being assembled with the correct tools needed to perform the job, thereby automating a system to provide each vehicle with custom assembly information, based on the car's vehicle identification number (VIN). The RTLS enables the automobile manufacturer to track the location of each car and tool within 50 cm throughout the 1.7 km of the assembly line.

As BMW's customers typically order specific customised cars, each vehicle is assembled according to a client's individual requirements, with specific interiors, seats and engine parts for each order. Providing custom-installation instructions to assembly-line operators has proved challenging in the past. Each station along the assembly line, for instance, is afforded approximately 50 seconds to carry out its instructions before the next car takes that vehicle's place. Operators must know quickly which part is being installed on each car, as well as apply the appropriate torque for that particular installation – when employing a nutrunner, for example, to tighten bolts.

The company had tested or tried multiple solutions, including passive and active RFID, infrared and bar-coding, to help operators swiftly determine which type of assembly each car required as it arrived on the assembly line. Until the introduction of the Ubisense system, BMW had settled on a solution in which bar-coded labels were attached to a car's bonnet. Operators would employ a handheld bar-code scanner to read each label's serial number, which was sent to the manufacturer's back-end system, linked to the car's VIN and assembly requirements.

The operator would then put the scanner down and pick up the station's tool, which would receive instructions from a software application provided by German software firm IBS and be automatically programmed to carry out the necessary task correctly – such as operating at a defined torque for applying a specific fastening. This system, however, wasted valuable production time, since the scanning operation was taking up to 6 secs at each of 150 tools being used on each of 1,000 vehicles produced each day.

ASSEMBLY CONTROL SYSTEM

About four years ago, BMW began discussing a high reliability, ultra-wideband (UWB) RFID solution with Ubisense, which, working with IBS, developed the BMW Assembly Control System (ACS), which combines IBS' tool-controlling software with Ubisense's RTLS technology to help the car manufacturer locate and identify vehicles and torque tools along the entire production line. The system, fully deployed in January 2009 and called LIS/TAS, involves tracking the industrial tools used on the final assembly line and loading the correct program into the tool automatically, based on the specific vehicle being worked upon. It enables BMW to identify each vehicle as it moves through the assembly line and to recognise accurately not only its location, but all of the tools required for use.

Extreme reliability was necessary in determining the locations, since each vehicle on the line is situated no more than a metre behind the one before it, while up to five tools are often used on a single vehicle at the same time.
Andreas Lehner, project director, BMW Regensberg, comments: "The tool assistance system delivered by Ubisense and IBS has enabled us to eliminate the barcode scan operation. All the project objectives have been met on time and within the planned budget. From the standpoint of value creation, the project is a complete success."
Turning to Airbus, some two and a half years ago it selected Ubisense to complement the world's largest RFID-enabled manufacturing initiative with a high precision real-time location system (RTLS), providing greater transparency and improved monitoring of distributed production facilities. The company currently comprises 12 specialised manufacturing plants in Europe, their activities controlled via four centralised 'Centres of Excellence'. This all presents a complex production logistics challenge.

FLAGSHIP EXAMPLE

The Airbus fleet's flagship A380 is proof of how Airbus successfully meets this challenge: last year alone, 18 of these 400-plus seat wide-body airliners were delivered to customers. The superjet's components are manufactured mainly at the sites in Hamburg (Germany), Saint-Nazaire (France) and Broughton (north Wales – responsible for assembling the wings for all Airbus civil aircraft), from where they are shipped by sea or land to the final assembly line in Toulouse, France. For each aircraft, six preassembled sections are delivered on special trucks: cockpit, centre and aft fuselage, empennage and wing units. The A380 is manufactured according to just-in-time principles, making it indispensable for the distributed production stages to be constantly monitored – hence Ubisense. "The use case is to track large aircraft sections and have a more real-time view of our industrial flows," explains Carlo K. Nizam, head of the VCV division (responsible for process tracking and RFID) at Airbus. The web-based Ubisense VIP (Visible Industrial Process) application, based on Ubisense RTLS, now ensures that the current production status of components in Germany, France and Great Britain can be tracked by staff in Toulouse at any time. Furthermore, the system provides valuable analysis tools that help to evaluate and optimise progressively Airbus' assembly processes. Whereas previously data on the progress of A380 components in assembly had to be recorded manually, the Ubisense location system, based on ultra-wideband (UWB) radio technology, now provides the relevant information automatically and in real time. The solution is accurate down to 30 cm and little short of 100% reliable.

At the Hamburg, Saint-Nazaire and Broughton sites, Ubisense sensors were installed to cover the relevant assembly areas and connected to a LAN. In the system, zones are assigned to the specific steps that components pass through during assembly, so their actual manufacturing status can be precisely determined. Components are identified using small transmitters known as tags, which are attached to them before the assembly process begins. The tags transmit unique ID numbers that are automatically linked to the corresponding components in the system. They generate positioning signals that are captured by sensor units, allowing the component's location to be determined and tracked accurately throughout all stages of production.

The Ubisense VIP downstream software logs data, as well as analysing and visualising the tracking information in real time, comparing progress against plan. Via web access, any authorised employee can thus view the current production status of the A380's components – either at the assembly plant or at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse.

There is a choice of analysis tools that can be selected to suit different requirements. A real-time map, for instance, shows a component's current location in the assembly line of a production facility. Thanks to powerful search functions, components can be tracked, based on their ID number or other search criteria. The panorama feature provides a real-time overview of all work-in-progress components and of the production status at all associated aircraft manufacturing sites, even indicating expected delivery timescales.

ALERTS TRIGGERED

Standstills or other failures in the manufacturing process trigger an instant visual signal or email notification to the staff in charge. This allows for greater transparency and better communication, ensuring a maximum efficiency of manufacturing processes and improved planning reliability. Furthermore, detailed reports – both for work-in-progress items and for defined time periods in the past – are available to analyse and compare various aspects of production data against plan. Production processes can thus be systematically monitored and optimised. "Real-time information can help us better support increased production rates quicker and more accurately," adds Airbus' Mr Nizam.

Ubisense RTLS has thus, he points out, become a crucial element of the Airbus Business Radar system. It was for this reason that Airbus signed a 10-year agreement with Ubisense last year, which will see the solution deployed to a variety of projects. "If it works as we anticipate," offers Mr Nizam, "we will certainly consider scaling it across other aircraft programmes."
Additional online information
[] Who can benefit?
[] What's in it for smaller manufacturers?
[] The market opportunity for RTLS

WHO CAN BENEFIT?

Exactly what kinds of business advantage can real-time tracking and location deliver to UK manufacturers? Undoubtedly, they enable manufacturers to build better, using smarter processes, with highly reliable, real-time visibility of the exact location of critical assets delivering a new level of process monitoring and control.
Ubisense's solutions, for example, provide automatic tool control, using software-defined activation zones, automatic alerts when manufacturing progress deviates from plan and process analysis over time to support continuous improvement. The result is improved productivity through optimised processes, faster throughput, thanks to the elimination of manual identification tasks, rapid line reconfiguration through software-defined work cells and improved quality, as a result of automatic error-proofing.

SMALLER MANUFACTURES

Smaller manufacturers have not been overlooked, with Ubisense's 'Asset Manager' being a more affordable, but still function-rich, version of the all bells and whistles bigger brother. "Beyond tracking things, it provides alerts, warning where there are bottlenecks or where something has gone astrayngs, it provides alerts, warning where there are bottlenecks or where something has gone astray, while also delivering reports from which areas of concern can be pinpointed," explains Ubisense's VP of technology, Adrian Jennings.
"It's an entry-point solution that gets to most people's itch when they don't always know where things are. Globally, we have some fairly modest installations where smaller solutions are required, so this is not just about the larger manufacturers. That said, we also have big companies using this to manage specific parts of their operations."

Asset Manager tracks and monitors tagged assets across defined spaces. It is a web-based application that can locate and monitor tagged assets and report the location and history of asset movement within defined spaces.

Ubisense installs a sensor network throughout the area where assets will be monitored. All sensors are standard IP-based devices connected using standard commercially-available network equipment, which are monitored and tuned in real-time.

Location tags are attached to assets and are registered with the system, using a quick barcode scan. Tagged assets are automatically located, and the locations are recorded and processed by Asset Manager.

Asset Manager can then be used to locate the tagged assets via an enterprise-wide, browser-based user interface, and can report and display the history of asset movement and containment within defined areas, reducing the time taken to locate important assets and providing detailed analysis on asset movement over time. It can also generate email alerts when a given asset enters or exits a given space.

In brief, it can :
• Rapidly locate assets within defined spaces across multiple sites

• Graphically display the historical movement of assets over a given time period

• Reliably record and display space containment information of an asset

• Generate reports based on asset location and history

• View and receive e-mail alerts when assets enter or exit defined spaces

• Filter assets using data from your current MES or ERP system

THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY FOR UBISENSE

According to Ubisense's chief executive, Richard Green: "By 2018, the market for RTLS is anticipated to be worth over $2.7 billion and we are well positioned to be a significant player in that market. Our RTLS have been proven in industrial environments and shown to improve efficiency by reducing both operating costs and errors in manufacturing.

"We have a significant opportunity to leverage our existing customer relationships on a global scale. Our relationship with Atlas Copco for example has created a new generation of intelligent, location-aware tools that will help manufacturers around the world to achieve significant improvements on their production lines."
Atlas Copco launched the Tool Location System (TLS), based on a Ubisense solution, at Motek Fair in Stuttgart in September last year. The new product has been designed to assist customers using Atlas Copco tools to ensure that the right fixing is being tightened to the correct tension for a particular product.
Image: The right tool in the right place, at the right setting - Atlas Tools

Author

Andrew Allcock

This material is protected by Findlay Media copyright 2011.

Original article link

Ubisense CFO speaking at BLN Breakfast Forum

2011-08-11T13:03:00.001-06:00

Gordon Campbell

A conversation with Gordon Campbell (CFO, Ubisense Group plc)

Gordon will begin this debate by talking about the decision process he and his team went through leading up to Ubisense’s recent IPO, what lessons he learnt along the way, why Ubisense chose to IPO, and what advice would he give to other CFO’s looking to raise capital.

The BLN Breakfast Brainstorm is a high-level peer-to-peer discussion forum for CFO’s to learn from each other, share best practice and advance the role of the CFO in high growth companies in a relaxed, entertaining and facilitated environment.

The event is run under Chatham House Rule.

September 20th, 2011 — 08.00 AM - 10.30 AM
Cambridge
Register at: The Business Leaders Network

Ubisense opens door to Chinese manufacturing with product certification

2011-08-11T12:52:00.000-06:00

Cambridge, UK – 3 August 2011: Ubisense, the world’s leading provider of location solutions, today announces that its Series 7000 real-time location system (RTLS) industrial tags and sensors have been certified for use in China by the country’s stringent regulatory authorities – a development that opens up enormous commercial opportunities to the business, which listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in June.

Ubisense’s ultrawideband (UWB)-based RTLS is the first to gain official authorisation for deployment and use within China. The endorsement is the latest in a long list of product certifications secured by Ubisense in the USA, Europe, Canada, Korea and Singapore, which give the company unparalleled reach in terms of UWB RTLS technology approval.

Many world famous brands rely on Ubisense systems to gain real-time visibility of assets passing through production. Popular across different business sectors, the company’s solutions have gained immense traction in the automotive industry, where well-known car manufacturers use them to achieve significant efficiency, throughput and quality improvements in assembly line operations.

With its new certification in place, Ubisense now plans to break into the lucrative Chinese automotive market. In July, the Chinese Association of Automotive Manufacturers (CAAM) announced that the country’s automobile industry produced more than nine million passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the first six months of 2011.^[1]By the end of the year, Scotia Economics estimates that Chinese assemblies will have risen to 21 million units – representing 28% of overall global vehicle output, and meaning China will surpass Europe as the world’s largest vehicle producer. ^[2]

Andy Ward, Chief Technology Officer at Ubisense, said: “Coming so quickly after our public offering, this development provides further evidence of our position at the forefront of global RTLS developments. With approval of our technology in place, we are now ideally positioned to tap into China’s extensive manufacturing sector. Production of the magnitude that occurs in China is increasingly dependent on systems that can eliminate time-consuming, manual identification tasks. Our technology does this, but also adds another layer of intelligence to fast-paced manufacturing environments, where it can generate alerts when there is a deviation from plan, and log activity so manufacturers can scrutinize performance and achieve new efficiencies. This is proving to be an incredibly exciting year for Ubisense and we look forward to the adoption of our technology across China.”

Ubisense’s first automotive project in China is due to commence in Q3 2011, with delivery expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Footnotes
[1] http://www.caam.org.cn/AutomotivesStatistics/20110725/1005058865.html
[2] http://www.chinacartimes.com/2011/02/26/china-will-become-worlds-largest-vehicle-producer-in-2011/

Released: 3 August 2011

Ubisense Goes Public

2011-06-22T01:15:00.004-06:00

By Adrian Jennings.

So, today’s the big day: Ubisense goes public. This is a first for me – I’ve never woken up working for a publicly traded company before, and when I went to bed last night I wondered if it would somehow feel different. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot over the previous months of build-up: what will I do differently in a post IPO Ubisense?

Well, the first thing that is different is that I am awake at 2:00am US central time for the opening of the London Stock Exchange – that’s where Ubisense is being floated on the AIM market. Dedicated as I am, I’m rarely working at 2:00am – it’s really not my most productive time. But it just seemed right to be awake at the opening bell for this potentially seismic shift in the company.

What will I do different today then, and every day from now on? This is an important milestone: an endorsement not only about past performance but future potential, a strong statement about current growth. I really ought to act accordingly, reassess my role, make the necessary changes, start afresh in this brave new post-IPO world.

But I really don’t feel any different: yesterday I woke up knowing what my job is, knowing how it fits into the overall business, and working hard to get it done. Today feels pretty much the same – I still know what to do, why I’m doing it and how to get it done. This has been bothering me but I think I have finally come to the conclusion that that’s the whole point: nothing has changed (unless you’re the CFO – his life just got REALLY interesting!)

Nothing is actually supposed to change – the IPO is a rung on the ladder, but it’s all the same ladder. We’re still 100% about developing value added products and services that our customers need, and in so doing creating a return for the people invested in creating those products, both employees and owners alike. Here I’ve been worrying about why I didn’t feel different today when I think I should actually be pleased about that.

So, what will I do different today? Absolutely nothing – business as usual. The IPO opens up some very interesting options and opportunities, and allows more people to benefit from the success, but the core business goals are exactly the same: derive value by creating value.

Maybe one thing will change for me: I now have one more reason to pull out my smart phone obsessively – got to watch that stock price….

Reliability, Reliability, Reliability

2011-05-29T06:09:00.000-06:00

By Adrian Jennings.

As a company developing and selling location-based solutions is all too easy to slip into thinking that “location, location, location” is the critical factor. After all, why not? That’s the whole point, isn’t it?

Well, rarely actually: very few users of location-based solutions are directly interested in the location of things. It’s far more likely that the location of things is used as an indicator of the status of things, and it’s process-status that is critical in terms of efficiency and quality. Ubisense’s VIP application is a great example of this: users’ don’t so much care where items are in the factory so much as where they are in the process (which, oh by the way, we infer from where they are in the factory).

So maybe the adage for location-based solutions is “status, status, status”? That’s closer to the truth, but still not quite. When we stop thinking about location and start thinking about status we have started to see these solutions from a customer perspective: it’s not about the tags and sensors, it’s about the business value of the application that consumes location data. So indeed, “status” is critical thinking for a vendor in this space, and that’s becoming commonplace: Ubisense alone has solutions focused on manufacturing process visibility and control (VIP, ACS), tool accountability (Asset Manager), transport facility management (TYM), military training (LDT) and we’re just getting started.

When it comes down to it however, when a company rolls out these solutions, there is one customer expectation that is absolutely critical to meet: the solution has to work, just like you said it would, for absolute certain, all the time. Here’s the critical issue that we must never lose sight of: if we expect our customers to use and keep using our solutions then they must be absolutely reliable.

And that brings us back to thinking about sensors and tags, because when your highest aspiration is reliability you’d better build it in at the lowest level. Ubisense UWB systems are unique in measuring tag location in two different ways simultaneously: measuring the time of arrival of signals and also the angle of arrival. Two heads really are better that one: by using two different location determination methods the reliability of the data is dramatically increased. In an example application in automotive manufacturing, Ubisense achieves reliability better than six-sigma, and that’s unique in the industry.

Reliability, reliability, reliability: that’s the key to providing value, and to Ubisene's core principles and unique products.

Ubisense Chosen for Fort Bliss Military Operations in Urban Terrain Installation

2011-04-04T13:32:00.003-06:00

DENVER – March 7, 2011 – Ubisense announced today that Fort Bliss located in Texas has chosen the Ubisense military training solution to provide precise real-time tracking of personnel and assets, and management of spatial data to enhance the safety and quality of military training at one of its Combined Arms Collective Training Facilities (CACTF).

Ubisense is installing a sensor network throughout a training complex of 25 multi-story buildings that will provide precision tracking in three-dimensions (3-D) throughout the buildings - in rooms, on roof tops and within stairwells. By combining the General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) Exercise Control (EXCON) and After Action Review (AAR) system with Ubisense’s precision tracking solution, Fort Bliss personnel can track the exact location of all persons inside of the buildings and improve the safety and efficiency of its training exercises.

In addition, the quality of training is enhanced with on-demand generation of AAR reports that provide comprehensive information on an individual’s training performance. And, with Ubisense’s 3-D capabilities, Fort Bliss personnel can simulate a variety of combat scenarios and record and playback all tracking data per individual or group.

Ubisense’s technology has been installed at multiple military training facilities worldwide, such as at the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin in California.

“Our solution has been stringently evaluated against a number of other location technologies in the military training environment over the past four years and our solution continues to deliver consistent performance, improved training quality and reduced training costs,” said Jay Cadman, Americas vice president of sales & marketing, Ubisense. “For these reasons, Ubisense was the best fit to work in the GDIT environment at Fort Bliss and we are proud of the working we are doing there.”

To view a video of the Ubisense military training solution in action, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OSUShslJv0.

Ubisense Appoints Seasoned Non-Executive to Board of Directors

2011-03-30T21:20:00.003-06:00

Cambridge, UK - Ubisense, the world's leading provider of precise Real-time Location Solutions, has appointed a new Non-Executive Board Director. Paul Taylor joins Ubisense after twenty-one years at AVEVA Group plc - a global engineering IT software supplier to the plant, power and marine industries.
Working alongside the Ubisense executive management team, Paul will contribute to the company's overall strategy, scrutinising its performance and providing independent views on a range of commercial matters including growth, finance and resourcing.

At AVEVA, Paul held a number of roles and was Group Finance Director for ten years - a position that gave him a unique insight into the demands placed on global technology providers facing rapid and prolonged periods of growth. This knowledge will be invaluable in his new post at Ubisense.

Ubisense ranks among the fastest growing businesses in the world. It has appeared in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA for the last three years and since 2005 has achieved growth figures of 1730%. In 2010, Ubisense won contracts with customers including Airbus, Boeing, BMW, Daimler, General Motors, Fiat and the U.S. Department of Defence - all of which utilise its technology to accurately track assets.

Andy Hopper, Chairman of Ubisense, said: "We are delighted that Paul has joined our Board of Directors. His appointment comes at a very exciting stage in the development of Ubisense. Our business is going from strength to strength. At the end of last year we won a number of important new contracts. We also secured £5 million growth capital, enabling us to move forward with significant expansion plans. Paul's strategic financial insight and operational experience will prove critical moving forward."

Paul is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Anite plc - a provider of software solutions to the international wireless and leisure travel industries.

Ball Jam performed at the Montreal Music Festival using Ubisense

2011-02-28T10:27:00.001-07:00

Ball Jam is a volumetric audio composition created by Zack Settel, combining motion tracking, realtime audio processing, and physical modelling in a virtual environment.

Commissioned and performed by the Quasar Saxophone Quartet (quasar4.com), the piece allows players to capture samples from their instruments and apply effects based on their location on stage.

This video shows one of the premiere performances, at the Montréal New Music Festival.

Ball Jam from Mike Wozniewski on Vimeo.

Ubisense Transit Yard Manager fast forward demonstration

2011-01-25T15:03:00.001-07:00

This video shows a pull out recorded in Ubisense Transit Yard Manager at the Nicollet garage at Metro Transit. You can see the location of the vehicles accurately captured in the correct lane and spot and then departing the facility on to their routes.

RFID Journal - The Multitech Approach

2011-01-11T09:17:00.001-07:00

Vendors are integrating technologies at the hardware level, making it easier for end users to deploy location systems.

By Adrian Jennings

Link to article in RFID Journal

an. 10, 2011—Today's trend to reduce our carbon footprint has led many governments to encourage commuters to use public transportation. But waiting for a bus, particularly in bad weather, is not an appealing prospect. To boost ridership, transit companies have invested heavily in GPS-based automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems, so we get real-time information about bus arrival times on our smart phones and on digital bus stop displays. Great—now we know exactly how late the bus is going to be, and how many buses will arrive at once.

A key to keeping buses running on time is getting them out of the depot on schedule. Easier said than done. While computer-aided dispatch (CAD) software can dispatch vehicles, it can't ensure that the buses, typically lined up in rows inside a metallic building, can actually move. The right driver has to be sent to the correct bus at the proper time, and that bus must be free to pull out or the whole system veers off schedule.

You can't use a GPS-based AVL system to locate the right bus, because it won't work indoors, and even if it would, it couldn't pinpoint the vehicle location to the required accuracy. In most cases, no single technology can deliver the end-to-end location requirements for an entire distributed solution. GPS is the perfect technology to track buses out on their routes, but inside the depots, ultra-wideband (UWB) is the technology of choice. In other situations, Wi-Fi is the winner, and in others still, ultrasound rules.

The problem is that location systems have had a technology-centric birth, with companies growing up around particular implementations. Solution providers have a tendency to make promises well beyond the capability of the technology at hand, and a reluctance to admit or even see the limitations of their own products. This has led to end users being underserved—they're forced to buy point solutions to address individual problems or hire systems integrators to string together multiple solutions.

The situation is beginning to improve. Instead of pushing single-technology location systems, vendors are asking: "How can we best serve this customer?" The answer invariably lies in combining technologies, as a first step. The solution also must be easy to deploy, which means all the technologies need to be housed in a single device. Ubisense's active Trimode RFID tag, for example, designed to meet the vehicle location needs of the bus industry end to end, incorporates GPS to track buses outdoors and UWB to precisely locate buses indoors. The tag can also operate indoors, in "presence mode" (2.4 GHz), when it's sufficient just to know that the bus is in the depot.

Multitechnology solutions are breaking down barriers to location system adoption. In the near future, end users will not have to ask, "Why can't I just go to one vendor to solve all my location problems?"

RTLS: Beyond "Where"

2011-01-11T09:12:00.002-07:00

Transcript of an interview with Adrian Jennings VP of RTLS Technology at Ubisense on how RTLS (Real-time Location System) can help with process control.

LINK to the article

VA rolls out 'smart home' project to rehabilitate brain injury patients

2010-12-14T20:57:00.001-07:00

Article by Bob Brewin

Link to full article
Link to nextgov

The Tampa, Fla., Veterans Affairs hospital has kicked off a $3 million project that uses advanced technology to help patients with traumatic brain injury independently plan, organize and complete everyday activities such as doing laundry or emptying the trash.

Jan Jasiewicz, the researcher at the hospital's Health Services Research and Development Service who manages the Smart Home project, said veterans with TBI have lost the ability to manage these basic, but important, tasks. Smart Home helps them relearn the skills by following their movements around the house and sending them text or video prompts when they get off track.

The Tampa hospital has equipped five apartments housing 10 veterans with a suite of high tech equipment, including a system that can track patients' location, sensors to monitor use of appliances and screens to relay video prompts, according to Jasiewicz.

Patients and VA staff wear wrist tags linked to a real-time location system that Ubisense of Cambridge, England, developed. The system tracks the tag using wall sensors. Because it is based on ultra-wideband technology that transmits signals across a broad swath of the radio frequency spectrum, it can pinpoint patients' locations with far greater accuracy than other approaches such as radio frequency identification, which only could determine which room a patient is in, Jasiewicz said.

In fact, the Ubisense wrist tags broadcast their ID on a 6 to 8 gigahertz channel and the location system uses time-delay-of-arrival and angle-of-arrival methods to determine position in three dimensions to within six inches.

Each master sensor relays the tag's position to a server, which aggregates the position of all tags within the apartments, Jasiewicz said. This information feeds into a mapping application that allows any hospital staff member using an iPad, smart phone or a touch-screen to quickly find veterans as they go about their daily routines.

Clinicians can then use 65 monitors -- about the size of the screen of an Apple iPad -- to provide text or video messages to help the patients relearn the art of daily living. For example, if a patient randomly wanders the apartment, a clinician could send a prompt to one or more screens suggesting he or she engage in a more constructive activity, Jasiewicz said.

Appliances in the apartment, such as the washing machines, are equipped with sensors that can determine whether the patient, for instance, put soap into the machine or emptied it when the load was done. If not, a nearby screen prompts the patient to complete these steps, Jasiewicz said. Sensors located in the bathroom can help determine how long patients spend shaving and prompt them to finish and move on if they're taking too long.

Russ Chandler, chief executive officer of Denver-based Ubisense Americas and chief executive officer of the company's real-time location division, said VA has adapted technology primarily used in industrial applications: BMW and Airbus both use Ubisense technology to track parts on assembly lines.

The VA project piggybacks on work the company did at the University of South Florida in 2009 to track Alzheimer's patients, Chandler added. Ubisense acts as the integrator for the Tampa VA on its Smart Home project, and has developed the entire system, including the screens and sensors in addition to the tracking devices.

Jasiewicz described Smart Home as a "cognitive prosthetic" whose ultimate goal is to rehabilitate veterans with TBI so they can function normally outside the hospital.

Ubisense based, Atlas Copco Tool Location System launched to manufacturers worldwide.

2010-12-06T12:29:00.001-07:00

Cambridge, November 29 2010, Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems and Atlas Copco, the world's leading industrial tool manufacturer, announce take-up of the new Tool Location System by major manufacturers worldwide.

World-leading tool manufacturer, Atlas Copco, launched the Tool Location System (TLS) based on a Ubisense solution at Motek Fair in Stuttgart in September this year, and have already installed the product with leading manufacturing companies, such as General Motors, BMW, Aston Martin, Daimler, Caterpillar and Honda. The new product has been designed to assist customers using Atlas Copco tools to ensure that the right fixing is being tightened to the correct tension for a particular product.

TLS operates like an indoor GPS facility, using Ubisense Sensors rather than satellites to monitor the position of miniature transmitters attached to tools and products. TLS can deliver 3D tool and production location information, to an accuracy of better than 50cm. The system is based on UWB radio which is an extremely resistant technology able to deliver high-accuracy, even within a cluttered and metallic environment.

On static vehicle assembly lines, virtual work areas are created and tools are linked to them. This ensures that only the correct tool operates in a particular work area. On moving assembly lines, virtual product areas are created that can move with the product being assembled. Tools can be linked to them, and, again, only the right tools will work in the correct product area.

TLS quickly and effectively reduces the need for manual identification thus reducing errors that result in rework being required. TLS also speeds up production by increasing individual operator throughput. Ubisense systems are currently in operation in many of the world’s leading manufacturing plants assisting those organisations to improve accuracy, reduce errors and make significant savings.

“We are delighted to be working with Atlas Copco on introducing this new and exciting product, to their customers” said Terry Phebey, Ubisense VP Sales and Marketing, “TLS will allow them to error-proof the production process, providing significant productivity gains.”

Ubisense raises £5m for expansion of pioneering location technology

2010-11-22T06:42:00.001-07:00

Ubisense Trading Ltd (Ubisense), a leader in precise real-time location systems (RTLS), has raised £5m by way of a share placing to fund its expansion. The fund-raising was led by Canaccord Genuity who arranged for a number of new investors to participate alongside existing shareholders in the placement.

Based in Cambridge, Ubisense provides RTLS technologies to track assets such as tools and vehicles in factories and other environments. Notable clients include BMW, Aston Martin and Airbus. Demand for RTLS technologies is increasing as industrial manufacturers and others recognise the benefits of real-time asset tracking. The funding announced today will enable Ubisense to capitalise on a growing and significant list of opportunities available in numerous industrial sectors.

Richard Green, Chief Executive of Ubisense, said:
“This investment will enable Ubisense to satisfy the growing demand for its pioneering RTLS technologies. Manufacturers and other commercial organisations are increasingly demanding the benefits of real-time tracking, not only for asset management but also for the improved visibility they have over their production processes.”

Ubisense’s system includes wireless tags that transmit their position to nearby receivers, with location tracking information analysed and visualised using Ubisense’s software. The Ubisense system provides dynamic and precise indoor tracking and ensures that its users have greater visibility of industrial processes.

Ubisense will use part of the funding raised to enhance its relationship with Atlas Copco, the leading industrial tool company, with whom it has launched a new generation of intelligent, location-sensitive tools for use on production lines and other industrial environments. Branded “TLS” (Tool Location System), Atlas Copco’s power tools are equipped with Ubisense location tags that accurately transmit their position to a control centre.

By introducing location-aware tools and Ubisense’s system, customers have achieved significant efficiency gains and enjoyed reduced error rates caused by the incorrect use of tools. For example, working with BMW, using Ubisense tags to identify each vehicle on the line, power tools can be programmed automatically to the correct parameters when a specific vehicle enters a work zone. The TLS technology is also being used by BMW to provide analytical data that helps improve the efficiency of the overall production process itself.

The rollout of RTLS across Airbus factories to track assets ranging from tools to aircraft wings and the tracking of Aston Martin cars as they pass through the off-line finishing processes are further examples of the company’s capabilities. The technology has a wide range of applications and can also be used, for example, to track buses as they arrive at the depot, so they can be correctly scheduled for the next day; track opera singers to optimise sound balance in the O2 Arena’s production of Bizet’s Carmen; and monitor the behaviour of cows in a cow shed on a Danish dairy farm.

Ubisense is ranked as one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies in the Deloitte Fast 50 2010. Chief Executive Richard Green was honoured by Ernst & Young UK as its Science and Technology Entrepreneur of the Year for 2010.

Ubisense is Deloitte Technology Fast 50 winner for the third consecutive year

2010-10-28T09:22:00.001-06:00

Cambridge, 25 October, 2010, Ubisense Limited. Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems has secured 14th place in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 2010.

Ubisense remains focused on expansion, and has achieved growth figures of 1,730 percent over a five year period, securing a top twenty place for the third year running.

Following a strong year in 2009, when the company grew by 50%, 2010 is shaping up to be another fantastic year. Ubisense has secured additional contracts with existing customers BMW and Airbus, won a number of high profile military contracts, and is currently completing its first installation for a large American passenger rail company.

During 2010, Ubisense has announced a number of new products including the unique Trimode Tag, which combines ultra-wideband (UWB) and GPS tracking, providing precise location indoors and outside. The company has also secured a number of awards, most recently CEO Richard Green was named as Ernst and Young Science and Technology Entrepreneur of the Year.

“We are delighted to have been included in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for the third year running,” said CFO Gordon Campbell, “This is further testimony to the dedication of our international team and our determination for continued expansion, despite harsh economic conditions.”

Ubisense CEO, Richard Green, awarded Ernst and Young UK Science and Technology Entrepreneur of the Year

2010-10-26T09:39:00.001-06:00

Cambridge, 19 October 2010, Ubisense Limited - Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems is delighted to confirm that Richard Green was honoured to receive the world-renowned accolade at an award ceremony held in London last night.

The Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award encourages entrepreneurial spirit and recognises the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

Previously a founder of Smallworld, which was listed on NASDAQ in 1996 and sold to General Electric for $ 214 million in 2000, Richard was part of a small team who founded Ubisense in 2002.

Richard’s amazing energy and enthusiasm have been a driving force behind the growth of Ubisense, which now has BMW, Aston Martin, Airbus, Fiat and Caterpillar as its customers, and the world’s leading industrial tool manufacturer, Atlas Copco as its partner. Recognising the opportunity within worldwide manufacturers, who were seeking pioneering new methods of production and new levels of automation, Ubisense has targeted global high value manufacturing markets with significant success.

During 2009 and 2010, Ubisense also opened a number of new offices, gained a number of new customers in the US and Europe tracking buses and trains within depots and transit yards, and won a major contract with the US Military National Training Centre. Turnover increased by around 50% during 2009, despite the world’s deepest ever recession, and has continued to grow rapidly during 2010.

“I feel very honoured to have been given this award,” said Richard Green, Ubisense CEO, “It is a testimony to the success of Ubisense. It is great to be recognised by our customers, who continue to work with us, but also to receive wider industry recognition.”

Ubisense Tag combines UWB and GPS for 'best-of-both worlds' tracking named as CSR Location Summit Fast-Pitch finalist

2010-10-14T15:46:00.001-06:00

Cambridge, 6th October, 2010. Ubisense, the world leader in precise real-time location systems announces the Trimode Tag, the latest addition to its line of location tracking equipment for industrial users. The unique Trimode tag combines ultra-accurate ultra-wideband (UWB) location, low-cost presence sensing, and outdoor GPS tracking in a single device.

Inside buildings, the tag operates in the standard Ubisense UWB tracking mode, transmitting UWB signals to a network of base stations for unrivalled centimetre-level 3D location sensing. Within indoor areas, where low infrastructure cost is more important than tracking accuracy, the tag can operate in a 'presence' mode, using its on-board radio to simply indicate that the tag is at hand. When the tag is outdoors, it automatically switches to GPS mode, calculating its position from the satellite signals, and reporting them to the Ubisense system using its on-board radio.

"We're very excited by the possibilities afforded by the Trimode tag," said Andy Ward, Ubisense's Chief Technology Officer. "Our customers can now deploy a single tag to locate assets in real-time across their sites, both indoors and outdoors. We're providing the best of both worlds – precision tracking where it's needed indoors, and cost-effective, low-infrastructure tracking across large outdoor areas."

Powered by a high-capacity lithium battery, and housed in a rugged IP67 enclosure, the device is suitable for a wide range of mixed indoor/outdoor applications in the manufacturing, transit and military sectors.

Learning that the Trimode tag had been named as a finalist at the CSR Location Summit Fast-Pitch awards, in the “Most Innovative Connected Location Device” category, Ubisense CEO Richard Green, said: "Our major manufacturing customers like BMW, Aston Martin and Airbus rely on our precise UWB tracking to keep their production processes running smoothly, and we can now integrate large-area outdoor tracking into the same solution. I'm delighted that this innovative product is already receiving plaudits from industry experts."

Digging For France by Adrian Jennings

2010-10-11T03:11:00.002-06:00

I just got back from Cambridge Silicon Radio’s Locations & Beyond Summit in San Francisco. This was an invitation-only event gathering over 200 global location industry experts and executives to discuss “connecting everything, everyone, everyplace in a location aware world.” I was honored to be asked to make a presentation about Ubisense’s Tri-Mode Tag as a finalist in the “most innovative device” contest.

As it happens the Tri-Mode Tag (OK: I succumb – TMT) was designed very much with the goal of connecting everything, everyone, everyplace, so being invited to the conference was either a testament to the vision of Ubisense’s engineers and perceptiveness of the conference organizers, or a stroke of good fortune sufficient to make me nervous about crossing the road for fear of the universe attempting to redress the balance. I prefer to put it down to vision and perception.

The evolution of the TMT was very much an “inside-out” process, first locating objects indoors and then venturing outdoors as user demands expanded. The first mode of the tag uses UWB for very precise location. This mode was and still is predominantly used indoors where the installation of fixed infrastructure is possible, but it’s also increasingly used to cover areas around the outside of buildings too. The second mode added was a 2.4 GHz “proximity” mode, giving approximate location with sparse infrastructure. We see this deployed in large indoor structures, but it also has reach much further from buildings when deployed outdoors. The third mode in the TMT adds a GPS module to set the tag free of any terrestrial infrastructure altogether for location anywhere.

The story I heard at the summit sounded like the same thing played backward: an “outside-in” discussion of the need to expand on GPS ubiquity by taking location services indoors. I think just about every speaker made the following observations in one shape or form: GPS has been so successful that location services have become an expectation rather than a desire; people increasingly want to extend these capabilities indoors (most smart phone use is indoors these days for example); and different applications require different levels of location accuracy. Stated another way, there is a strong need for multi-technology devices that provide various levels of accuracy both outside and in.

It’s all a bit like digging the Channel Tunnel really. Here in the RTLS industry we started out on the UK side, locating devices indoors with ever increasing precision. When users asked us to track those same assets outdoors we started digging for France. In the GNSS industry, GPS started out on the French side, locating devices globally, and when users started to want the same services indoors, the industry started digging for England. The real tunnel met in the middle through a sophisticated laser alignment system; the location services tunnel is being connected by devices like the TMT.

To coin a resuscitated phrase: I love it when a plan comes together!

Ubisense Announces Scheduling Interface with HASTUS™

2010-10-06T08:12:00.001-06:00

San Antonio, Texas, 3 October, 2010. Ubisense, the world leader in transit yard location solutions and provider of the Transit Yard Manager™ solution for transit agencies, now integrates with GIRO's HASTUS™ software and supports real-time information exchange with HASTUS, an integrated and modular solution for optimized transit planning, scheduling, and operations installed at more than 250 transit companies in 23 countries.

Transit Yard Manager from Ubisense provides real-time visibility for indoor garages and outdoor transit yards to an accuracy of less than one meter, delivering exact bay, lane, and position information instantaneously. The system utilizes ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to provide up-to-the-minute, precise location tracking performance in tightly enclosed cluttered areas where other RFID and wireless technologies fail. Ubisense Transit Yard Manager eliminates the costs associated with manually logging the constantly moving vehicles in a yard, and ensures that the vehicle is parked exactly where is shown in the system. Ubisense Transit Yard Manager is installed in both bus and rail operations at locations around the world including Metro Transit (Minneapolis) and JNGV in Jena, Germany.

By providing schedule system integration through a real-time connection to the HASTUS solution, a dispatcher can select a piece of work in the scheduling system, highlight a bus on the interactive map in Transit Yard Manager, and “click to assign”. The application can then send the vehicle number and location to HASTUS. With exact vehicle location in a yard, it is also possible to further automate the scheduling process using optimization tools available within HASTUS.

“One of the principal driving forces for transit agencies to deploy an automated vehicle location system within garages and yards is to increase the efficiencies with scheduling. By connecting to HASTUS in real time, agencies will now be able to automatically indicate to driver operators the location of the vehicle without having to enter this information manually,” said Ubisense CEO Americas, Russ Chandler. “We are excited to be able to work with our partners at GIRO to provide this additional capability to our customers.”

According to GIRO’s Benoît Lacroix, Director of Product Management - HASTUS, “GIRO recognizes our customers' avid interest in technology such as Transit Yard Manager. We are pleased this partnership will allow HASTUS users to benefit from automated yard tracking capabilities as well as further optimize daily operations with dynamic integration through our HASTUS-Connect tools.”

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Ubisense Transit Yard Manager, keeping trains on track

2010-10-04T09:49:00.001-06:00

Denver, USA, October 1st 2010. Expanding on their industry leading yard management solution Ubisense has extended its Transit Yard Manager to meet the requirements of rail yards and added the capability to monitor and control maintenance processes.

As its solutions have been deployed in the transit industry, it has become clear to Ubisense that rail yards and maintenance facilities experience similar problems to bus transit facilities. This has led Ubisense to develop an extension to their award-winning Transit Yard Manager (“TYM”) solution, supporting precision location of engines and cars. Rail operators can now have complete indoor and outdoor visibility of their yards reducing search times, and providing data on rail yard processes so they can be streamlined, reducing maintenance costs and inventory levels.

The Ubisense solution reliably tracks both the orientation of the engine or car and its location to a precision of 12 inches. The TYM web based interface provides a simple means to search for specific rolling stock or groups of assets that share similar characteristics. This reduces the amount of manual time spent documenting their location and provides reliable data to more effectively manage yard operations.

Additionally, TYM now reports on the dwell times of an engine as it moves through maintenance processes allowing managers to be alerted by email or SMS, if a process is taking too long or the correct steps are not followed. Historical data can also be gathered and used to determine process improvements. This data is commonly utilized in six sigma or lean manufacturing methodologies to eliminate cost.

Ubisense is installed in several bus transit organizations around the world and is completing its first installation in a large American passenger rail company.

“We are pleased to be able to expand our transit industry solutions to the rail industry,” commented Jay Cadman, VP Sales and Marketing. “Accurate location is driving process improvements for our customers and we anticipate expanding further into other areas such as MRO and terminal solutions by working closely in conjunction with our customers.”

Ubisense integrated into Boeings new MOUT training solution

2010-10-01T16:48:00.001-06:00

Ubisense real-time location tracking solution has been integrated into the new Boeing MOUT solution which was launched at Ft Leonard Wood this week. See this clip for more information from a local TV channel. More detailed information will be available from Boeing in the coming weeks.

http://www.kspr.com/news/local/kspr-boeing-ground-forces-training-09-30-10,0,1324652.story

Crossing Over by Adrian Jennings

2010-09-23T08:09:00.002-06:00

It’s an odd thing to find yourself working for your main competitor. After ten years at Time Domain, the last several of which as CTO, here I am at a conference with Ubisense embroidered on my shirt. Leaving Time Domain was a tough decision of course – after dedicating a decade of your life to a company it’s not easy to leave behind; harder still to say goodbye to close friends and respected colleagues. I wish them all every success.

But as I look again at my name and the Ubisense logo side-by-side on the same business card, it’s clear that I have made the right decision. Imagine my surprise, for example, to discover that Ubisense products actually work! Who knew? I’m also very relieved to find out that the company is staffed by capable, dedicated, fun people, and not the evildoers that I had pictured at all. I haven’t found a single altar dedicated to arcane ritual, but I’m still looking. I know it’s here somewhere.

During the process of moving over, more than a few people asked me if I hadn’t had enough of UWB – after so long working to make it successful wasn’t I ready to move on to something else? Not at all! I’m a physicist at heart, and after asking yourself which RF technology is best for locating objects with high precision, it’s a simple thing to start from the physics of RF and end up with UWB as the answer. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that.

For a while there it seemed like the only people who knew this were those developing UWB RTLS products. But a lot has changed in the last decade: location based services have not only become the norm, but the expectation; location technologies have multiplied, spread, and settled in their niches; users have integrated location into their core operations; and UWB has moved to the forefront as the only choice for precise, real-time process control and optimization.

What better example than the Ubisense Users Conference that just wrapped up here in Cambridge? Several people have asked me what I thought of the conference, and my answer is about what you’d expect: fascinating and successful: two days of packed agenda with users talking about how UWB has transformed businesses ranging from aerospace to cattle, from Madame Butterfly to rehabilitating injured soldiers. But the real question is not “how do you think the conference went?” but “what do you think of the fact that there is such a conference?”

Two years ago this wouldn’t have been possible: UWB RTLS hadn’t transformed anything. A lot has happened since then: hardware has matured into proven, mission-ready systems, generic software platforms have matured into robust value-added solutions, and UWB has taken hold. For me this conference meant two important things: Ubisense is a company that is really making UWB RTLS happen, and the industry has matured significantly from sporadic pilot programs to real operational deployment.

Am I done with UWB? Far from it – it’s just starting to get interesting.

New Ubisense Visible Industrial Process (VIP) video

2010-09-01T08:17:00.001-06:00

Ubisense VIP is a complete solution for providing visibility and control into previously hidden processes across an enterprise and its suppliers. Using a combination of enterprise distributed software and precision tracking technologies, VIP can help manufacturing companies reduce production time and costs both short term through alerting production staff to process anomalies and long term through identifying production bottlenecks which can be improved.

For more information on Ubisense VIP visit our web site at Ubisense VIP or contact your local Ubisense office

Ubisense "cruises" to automotive success

2010-08-30T15:59:00.003-06:00

Cambridge, 23 August, 2010 - Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) supports a weekend of spectacular motoring events, including the Ramshackle Rally, Valencia and the Woodward Dream Cruise, Detroit.

Driving a highly decorative, Ubisense-sponsored car, purchased for only £ 150, Pascal Green joined the Ramshackle Rally Valencia to raise funds for Cancer Research. The rally involves driving 1450 miles and taking part in daily challenges to score points. At the end of the rally the team with the most points win, and all of the participants join the finale at the La Tomatina festival in Bunol, just outside Valencia.

Ubisense Americas’ team and CEO, Richard Green were also representing the company, in support of their Strategic Partner, the world-leading industrial tool manufacturer, Atlas Copco at the world’s largest automotive cruise, the Woodward Dream Cruise, held annually in Detroit.

The Woodward Dream Cruise attracts almost two million visitors every year and is a haven for car fanatics cruisin’ along the 16 miles of Woodward Avenue, enjoying the attractions, and viewing a number of corporate sponsors demonstrating their products along the sidewalk areas. This year’s event clearly demonstrated an uplifted mood of anticipation throughout the industry.

Ubisense counts many automotive manufacturers, including BMW, Aston Martin, Fiat, Daimler and most recently General Motors amongst its customers and partners, and were very pleased to be able to support Atlas Copco at the event

Ultrawideband Industry Expert joins Ubisense as it continues to expand its North American team

2010-08-10T07:54:00.001-06:00

Denver, US, 10 August 2010 - Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems announces the appointment of Adrian Jennings as VP RTLS Technology to its Americas team.

Following the award of significant deals with Brampton Transit, Boeing, and BMW along with further deployments at General Motors, REC Silicon, Cummins, and the US Army, Ubisense continues to extend its team with top industry talent.

Jennings most recently held the position of CTO at Time Domain Corporation, an ultrawideband pioneer in location and radar applications. He is also widely acknowledged as one of the world’s experts in UWB technology and industry-building, and has taken a lead role in defining the standards for real-time locating systems as part of the IEEE standards committee.

A member of the IEEE RFID standards committee Adrian has a deep technical insight, and a thorough understanding of ultrawideband markets and applications, and he hopes to work across the industry to build consensus and accelerate market adoption.

Jennings’s primary responsibilities will include supporting the Americas sales team in promoting Ubisense solutions, and helping to consolidate customer and market requirements to support the UK engineering team in defining product roadmaps and strategy. Jennings will also continue to support the global standardization of ultrawideband RTLS technology.

“We are delighted that Adrian has decided to join our talented management team for Ubisense Americas,” said Russ Chandler, CEO Ubisense Americas. “This will help to solidify Ubisense’s position of leadership within the RTLS business.”

Eximia win RFID Security Award for Ubisense based Meerkat

2010-08-10T07:53:00.001-06:00

Cambridge, UK, 6 August 2010 - Italian specialist RFID company Eximia, has been awarded the RFID Award 2010 for Innovation, for their Meerkat personnel safety monitoring system. Meerkat is based on the award-winning Ubisense solution.

"The Meerkat product has been developed to closely monitor and ensure access for authorised personnel in hazardous environments such as refineries, power plants, mines, shipyards, inland terminals and airports,” says Dariush Behboudi, CTO of Eximia, “The system ensures personnel can only gain access to areas for which they have the proper work permit. The system also records all activity, both in terms of position and video. Meerkat includes an alarm system, which is triggered if there is any deviation from standard operational procedure."

Meerkat is currently being used to monitor activities within a very large maintenance hangar of a major Italian airline. The introduction of the system has allowed the hanger access policies to be constantly reviewed: each employee wears an ultra-wideband (UWB) Ubisense Tag, which is encased in a leather wallet bearing the company badge, and must always be exposed to view. The Ubisense system identifies the location of the individual at around 50cm accuracy in 3D within a 100m x 100m hangar.

The Meerkat system integrates optical and thermal imaging cameras for video surveillance, motion detection and pattern recognition, measuring temperature, pressure and the unique ID of each badge.
"Meerkat manages and integrates information from different technologies,” continues Behboudi, “such as DCS, SCADA, PLC, ERP systems, supervision and control, video surveillance platforms and utliises localisation platforms such as Ubisense UWB and GPS to provide real-time positioning. The dashboard allows Meerkat to display spatial information alongside summary tables."

In addition to improving overall process monitoring and quality assurance, the system decreases the overall risk to passengers and crew, and a number of other advantages have also been noted such as increasing security at work, more efficient risk management and a proven audit system which can be used in any potential reconstruction during risk investigations.

Finally, complete visibility of the hangar and all personnel provides additional security in the event of an accident. The system is now in daily operation and it is expected that Meerkat will be extended to the airline’s other hangars in the near term.

Record set-up time for Out Board’s TiMax Tracker for Opera Carmen at the O2

2010-07-29T12:02:00.001-06:00

Cambridge, 29 July 2010, Out Board achieve record set-up time as they deploy their Ubisense based TiMax Tracker for the Carmen Opera in London’s O2 arena

When Raymond Gubbay staged his opera in-the-round Carmen spectacular in London’s cavernous O2 Arena for the first time, Out Board’s TiMax was called upon to help stitch together the audio, as it had previously done for Gubbay’s Royal Albert Hall productions.

For such a large-scale performance it was vital for the audience to localise to the individual performers, allowing the English-translated libretto to come across clearly. Sound designer Bobby Aitken, consulted Robin Whittaker, of TiMax developers Out Board, on how to scale up their distributed source-oriented reinforcement concept, previously used at the Albert Hall.

Outboard’s TiMax Tracker is based on the market leading Ubisense real-time location system (RTLS). It was deployed for performer tracking in its first large arena-scale production, using six TiMax Sensors mounted on balcony rails above the corporate boxes. The raised s-shaped stage platform and lower forestage aprons were divided into 36 tracking zones which Tracker used to control continuously varying matrixed delay times in a 48-channel TiMax SoundHub processor.

Twelve leads and chorus members wore miniature Tags, which transmit radar-frequency ultra wideband (UWB) pulses, allowing the sensors to track them in three dimensions down to an accuracy of 15cm over a 100metre range, using a hybrid of AOA (Angle of Arrival) and TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) analysis. The whole system was up and running in less than 45 minutes, a record for such a high-fidelity sound system able to track performers to such high accuracy.

Thirty low-profile Meyer UPJ arrays were mounted in adjacent pairs on 1m high stands around the stage edge. These were arranged as crossfiring pairs, covering all lower tier audience seats from opposite aspects, so that the TiMax precedence delays could localise up, down and across the stage.

Upper tiers were covered by twelve independent, radially-arrayed Meyer line-array hangs, which were continuously, dynamically focused by TiMax to the onstage localisation zones. A separate stereo music system hung above the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, located about two-thirds of the way upstage, helping to keep musical timings intact. Carmen was a world first for performer tracking over such a large area. TiMax Tags and Sensors proved up to the task, providing consistent localisation up to distances of 80-100m. The installation was a complete success and The Guardian newspaper was moved to comment “..the sound is sensitively done..” An almost unheard of shower of praise from an opera critic. A number of members of the audience also remarked to the sound crew “Clever how you make the sound move.”

Ubisense Military Training Application Video

2010-07-28T17:06:00.001-06:00

Ubisense Military Training Solution delivers a unique integration between precision location, video cameras and training effects. Its combination of features delivers the next generation of Exercise Control (EXCON) and After Action Review (AAR).

Features include

Seamless precision indoor and outdoor tracking (correct room and sub 12 inches 3D)
Real-time 2D and 3D visualization including fly through capability, zoom, pan, jump to a participant or asset
Exercise recording and playback.
Dynamic event generation for automatic indexing of virtual and video data. Events can be generated as a person enters a 3D space created in the system or from external sources such as MILES.
Video indexing and playback. By knowing both the location of everyone in the excercise and the location of the video cameras it is possible to easily strip out the video relating to a particular event or person.
Video labeling. As we know the location of a person or asset we can place a label next to them on a video playback allowing users to easily identify participants.

Significant increase in production deployments secures additional top talent at Ubisense

2010-07-26T08:10:00.001-06:00

Cambridge, UK, 26 July 2010 - Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems announce the arrival of ten new full-time staff members along with over 30 contractors, as they ramp up the delivery capacity for new production deployments.

Bucking the economic downturn trend during 2009, Ubisense experienced over fifty per cent business growth, and gained many new industrial clients, including customers such as EDF Nuclear, Duke Power Caterpillar, Airbus, Shell, Posco, Cummins and Boeing along with repeat orders with existing production customers. In order to support new and existing customers and to maintain their leading edge product innovation, Ubisense have expanded their operations to include 40 new positions (ten full–time staff members and thirty contract staff) in both delivery and engineering teams.

Amongst the new appointments, Joe Newman, world renowned researcher of real-time location use in mixed reality joins the Ubisense software engineering team. Joe is a leading authority in indoor location and its fusion with other digital enhanced virtual experiences, and was a key figure in the exploitation of location based extensions to augmented reality while at the Technical Universities of Vienna and Graz, and Cambridge University.

Arnaud Martin joins Ubisense in its new organisation in France to support such strategic accounts as Airbus, EDF Nuclear and the French Army. Arnaud brings many years of first hand experience of running multi facetted projects across geographically dispersed organisations such as EDF. Most recently he was a key member of the GE Energy Delivery Management team in France. In addition to outsourced operations in Eastern Europe the appointment of Don D’Mello strengthens the company’s position with India as an additional outsourced development location.

“We are delighted to have been able to add such a large number of talented people to our already great Ubisense team during 2010,” said Richard Green, Ubisense CEO. “Ubisense is entering a really exciting phase. I maintain that any business is only as good as its people and we are lucky to have such an exceptionally talented team at Ubisense, including our world renowned Chairman who heads one of the few computer labs in the world to attract research funding from companies such as Google!”

Ubisense Video - in production at BMW

2010-07-20T14:57:00.001-06:00

Ubisense BMW from Caroline Brown on Vimeo.

Ubisense Tool Location System in action

New Ubisense Tag Module puts precise ultra-wide band (UWB) tracking at the heart of third-party products

2010-06-29T16:06:00.002-06:00

Ubisense, the global leader in precise Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS), reveals the new Ubisense Tag Module. Designed for direct integration into third-party devices, the Ubisense Tag Module is the first ultra-wide band (UWB) location tracking device certified in the US, Canada and the EU.

The new Ubisense Tag Module is an advanced version of the standard Ubisense location-tracking tag, which is used for tracking people and assets and managing critical production processes by organisations such as BMW, Airbus, Aston Martin and the US Army. It transmits UWB radio signals that allow the Ubisense location system to find its position in real-time to within 15cm in 3D, dependent on system configuration and environment.

The Ubisense Tag Module measures only 24.5mm x 24.5mm x 9.1mm, and its design allows it to be integrated into and receive power from a host device, letting third-parties ‘location-enable’ their products with ease. It has received Modular Certification in the US, Canada and EU, so integrators do not need to perform expensive and time-consuming UWB emissions testing on their final products. Furthermore, its data port allows the host device to transfer information bi-directionally to and from other systems via the Tag Module’s wireless link.

“We are delighted to announce immediate availability of the Ubisense Tag Module,” says Andy Ward, Chief Technology Officer at Ubisense. “We’re very excited about the new opportunities that this component will offer our customers, who can now include precision location tracking capability directly into their products. And since integrators can send simple telemetry to and from their products via the Tag Module’s wireless link, they don’t need to include a separate radio module in their system for that purpose.”

Ubisense has also introduced a Module Development Research Kit, to support integrators who are considering location-enabling their products. The package includes Tag Modules, sensors, software and documentation – everything necessary to allow experimentation with the Ubisense Tag Module.

Google and Airbus confirmed as key-note speakers at Ubisense User Conference

2010-06-10T17:49:00.001-06:00

Cambridge, 10th June, 2010 - Ubisense, the world leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) will be hosting its Worldwide User Conference on 21st and 22nd September 2010 close to its Corporate Headquarters in Cambridge, England. The packed agenda features location industry expert Ed Parsons, Google’s Geospatial Technologist, along with strategic customer Carlo K Nizam, Head of Value Chain Visibility and RFID, Airbus.

The event focus will be on end-users and partners sharing best practice and their experiences of deploying the Ubisense precise real-time location system in a wide variety of situations. The predominant theme is one of production installations with speakers representing Airbus, Aston Martin, BMW, Caterpillar, EDF Nuclear, Alitalia, General Electric, Jenaer Transit and the French Army.

Presentations will detail examples of large scale transit-yard deployments, a system installed covering maintenance and security at a leading European Airport, manufacturing production line installations in Aerospace and Automotive along with some more unusual installations in venues such as the Excel Exhibition Centre and London’s O2 arena.

In addition, Ubisense are delighted to welcome the President of the MVI Division of Industrial Tool manufacturer Atlas Copco, who have integrated the Ubisense system into their Tools Talk Tool Location System, which has already been installed in some of the world’s largest car manufacturing plants.

Ubisense solutions are also used by hundreds of research organisations across the world. A number of advanced research projects will be presented including an e.on sponsored experimental eco house by Dr Catalina Spataru, from the Department of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Nottingham, and the recreation of a medieval coronation feast by Florian Heller from RWTH Aachen University.

The event will be held at historic Jesus College, set in the heart of Cambridge, UK. Dating from 1496, the college will form an imposing backdrop for the conference and delegates will be able to enjoy superb dining in the ornate Main Hall.

For further information on the Ubisense User Group Conference 2010 please contact Caroline Brown at caroline.brown@ubisense.net

Ubisense launches Intrinsically Safe location tracking tags for personnel safety in the Oil and Gas industry.

2010-05-13T08:07:00.004-06:00

Ubisense, the global leader in precise Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS), announces that its Intrinsically Safe (IS) Tag has been awarded ATEX and UL913 (HAZLOC) certification for use within potentially explosive environments, and is immediately available as part of Ubisense’s Plant Access Manager personnel safety solution.

Ubisense has developed small, rugged devices designed for tracking personnel and objects in hazardous industrial environments, such as mines or petrochemical refineries, where the atmosphere can be potentially explosive. Devices used within these volatile areas must be certified to show that their components cannot produce or hold enough energy to create dangerous sparks. Extensive testing has demonstrated that the Ubisense IS Tag meets the UL913 (HAZLOC) and ATEX intrinsic safety requirements applicable, respectively, to the US and European Union.

Using the new IS Tag, the Ubisense Plant Access Manager RTLS safety solution can locate personnel and equipment to an accuracy of up to 15cm in 3D. This level of performance enables accurate location of personnel in emergency situations, ensuring employee safety during evacuation and pinpointing individuals who may be trapped or in need of assistance.

S3 ID, the world leader in oil and gas personnel location, provides mustering, tracking and hazard preparedness solutions for their customers such as bp, Shell and Statoil. “S3 ID views the Ubisense RTLS as a key part of personnel mustering systems in challenging environments,” said S3 ID CEO, Derek Gennard. “We have been successfully testing this product for the past two years within our systems, in a variety of applications, and will be using it in a number of solutions for well-known petrochemical organisations.”

“We are delighted that the Ubisense equipment has achieved such a high level of certification,” commented Andy Ward, Ubisense Chief Technology Officer. “We already have a number of large contracts with petrochemical and mining customers for this product, and we look forward to deploying these mission-critical employee safety solutions.”

Robot Tracking @ Visitor Center Ciudad Grupo Santander

2010-05-04T16:18:00.004-06:00

Great project involving guiding visitors throughout a crowded space using Ubisense for the location tracking.

To watch the video follow this link

Ubisense precise real-time location deployed with mobile devices for unique 3D audio experience

2010-04-29T11:27:00.003-06:00

Cambridge, UK and Montreal, Canada. 28th April 2010. Ubisense announces that their unique award winning 3d precise real-time location solution has been deployed within the "Audio Graffiti" Installation at the 12 Biennial Symposium on Arts and Technology, New London, CT, where mobile users can create and experience a constantly evolving wall of graffiti.

Audio Graffiti no. 2 from Mike Wozniewski on Vimeo.

This unique arts/ science project is a collaboration between the iACT research group at the University of Montreal and the Centre for Intelligent Machines, at McGill University and Ubisense. The installation is set within an indoor “audio augmented” environment, where users can create and explore a continually evolving wall of audio graffiti, by overlaying the wall with audio clips in their precise 3D location.
Users are equipped with wireless headsets including a precise real-time position from Ubisense. The solution enables the users to be precisely tracked as they move around the space. As the user approaches the wall a precise spatial location is registered when one of the programmable buttons on the tag is pressed and a sound clip is recorded and attached to the wall at that position. The sound clips form a 3D audio image of sonic content in space.
Headsets allow the users to listen to the sound clips on the wall. By moving forwards and backwards, towards and away from the wall the user will hear sound clips from a narrower or wider area of the wall, similar to listening to foreground / background noise within a party or restaurant, by moving closer to the wall, the user will be able to “audio zoom” in and listen to an individual, defined sound clip. If the user walks along the wall from side to side, they are able to listen to a series of sound clips. The sound clips appear in the order they have been laid down, and will fade gradually over a period of time.
Created by a team of audio/visual engineers, and artistic director Zack Settel, the project is one of a number of audio-based arts/ science projects concentrating on spatialised audio rendering.
“The Ubisense precise real-time location solution provided us with the perfect vehicle for tracking movement around the wall and the indoor capture of high resolution data.” Commented Artistic Director, Zack Settel.
“We are delighted that we were able to deploy our unique solution at the University of Montreal and McGill University” said Jay Cadman, VP Sales and Marketing, Ubisense, “The Audio Graffiti project is a very sophisticated use of our technology and demonstrates the flexibility of Ubisense solutions.”

Ubisense takes location-driven plant visibility to new heights with Visual Industrial Process

2010-04-19T13:31:00.002-06:00

Cambridge, UK, and Denver, CO, USA. April 14, 2010. Ubisense, the world leader in Precise Real-Time Location (RTLS) Systems, launches another application in its Manufacturing Solution Suite, Ubisense Visible Industrial Process (VIP). The new application enables complete visibility of production components, process, assemblies and sub-assemblies, across multiple sites.

Ubisense has developed Ubisense VIP in response to requirements from a number of strategic customers, including Airbus. It is designed to give production integration control managers accurate, real-time location information and production status on sub-assemblies at various stages of production at multiple remote manufacturing sites, sometimes based in different countries.

Earlier this year Airbus selected Ubisense to extend the world’s largest radio-frequency identification (RFID) enabled manufacturing initiative, with the addition of the Ubisense RTLS across a number of locations.

The Ubisense Manufacturing Solution Suite includes Ubisense Process Tracker, which allows items to be tracked throughout a production process and Ubisense Asset Manager, which allows easy identification, retrieval, calibration and configuration of tools and components, and is already widely used in manufacturing plants from Korea to the US, by steel manufacturers and foundries as well as aircraft and automotive plants.

The Ubisense Manufacturing Solution Suite is also being deployed by the world’s largest industrial tool manufacturer, Atlas Copco, who has integrated it with their ToolsNet system.
Ubisense VIP combines the benefits of its existing manufacturing solutions with additional features, which include web-based user configuration, support for multiple-site operation, and the management of multiple-components and multiple tags per component. The Ubisense Manufacturing Solution Suite provides customers with a real-time view of critical business operations, such as the tracking of components and assembly processes, thus improving communication, increasing production throughput, and making planning more effective.

“We are excited to announce the launch of Ubisense VIP” said Richard Green, Ubisense CEO. “The Ubisense Manufacturing Solution Suite provides greater visibility and control across our customers’ plants, and aids the decision making and planning process by giving them real-time, actionable information instantaneously. Further development and adoption of VIP helps them to improve their processes and will assist them in maintaining their competitive advantage through increased productivity.”

Real-time location of Jena’s buses and trams with Ubisense RTLS

2010-04-13T18:03:00.002-06:00

Cambridge, UK and Dortmund, Germany 11 March 2010. Ubisense announces the successful completion of the installation of their real-time location system (RTLS); in conjunction with their partner Verkehrsautomatisierung Berlin (VAB); at two depots for JNVG mbH (Jena Transit Authority).

The Ubisense solution enables efficient management of Jena’s fleet of buses and trams. The Ubisense solution is currently monitoring eighty vehicles belonging to JNVG mbH. Location tracking for an additional 30 vehicles, which are owned by another organisation, and housed at the JNVG mbH depot will be added in the near future.

At the Burgau depot, the system is installed over an area of more than 40 000 m2, comprising the outdoor yard area, where the buses are parked, and the indoor halls, housing trams, buses and workshop areas. The Ubisense RTLS has also been expanded to provide coverage for the outside parking area, in a large, open space area at the North depot.

The Ubisense solution consists of a number of sensors, which are continuously providing real-time location positions, accurate to 1 metre or less. This positioning allows vehicles to be assigned to a particular track or parking place. The RTLS also supplies information for the VAB depot management system, providing alerts when vehicles arrive or leave the depot. The information supplied by the Ubisense RTLS, allows informed decision making, and efficient process optimisation.

Each vehicle is equipped with a radio module (known as an Ubisense Tag) which transmits ultra-wideband signals. Ubisense sensors are located at various positions around the depot and monitor the signals emitted from the Ubisense Tags. From this they determine the exact location of the vehicles. The location information is provided and used in real-time, enabling the exact position of vehicles to be displayed, and ensuring the efficient management of routine processes such as maintenance and cleaning. The combined VAB and Ubisense RTLS solution has enabled efficiency to be significantly increased.

Mr Hamann, project manager at Jena comments “The solution installed by VAB and Ubisense provides a completely new type of transparency 24 hours per day, providing us with new opportunities for process optimisation.”

Ubisense does the double

2010-03-20T09:32:00.001-06:00

Ubisense has enjoyed double success – winning the Business Weekly Award for International Trade and joining a number of prestigious well-known former winners by securing the Cambridge Computer Lab Ring 2010 Hall of Fame Company of the Year Award.
Ubisense attended the Business Weekly Award ceremony at Queens College, Cambridge, which was hosted by Simon Fraser, the Permanent Secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills, Hermann Hauser and Andy Hopper. The evening marked the 50th Anniversary of the Cambridge Technology Cluster and the importance of boosting international trade. The event saw business leaders from leading local companies compete for five prestigious awards.

Cambridge based Ubisense enjoyed a very successful year in 2009, increasing their turnover by more than 50%, and moving into new territories and market sectors. Ubisense is a truly international organisation, with global offices and partners, a worldwide management team, and 95% of their turnover coming from overseas customers.
On winning the award, Founder and Director of Hardware, Dr Paul Webster said “What a complete surprise and honour, particularly given the calibre of the other companies in this category. We are proud to accept this on behalf of everybody at Ubisense who have worked so hard to grow the business to get to where we are today. We couldn't have made it without the support of our members of staff, investors and board of directors, so I would like to thank the judges on behalf of the whole team at Ubisense for recognising our achievements with this award.”

Ubisense was also delighted to secure the Cambridge Computer Lab Ring 2010 Hall of Fame, Company of the Year Award. The Hall of Fame Awards were established by the Ring, which is the Cambridge University Computer Laboratory Graduate Association, to celebrate the success of companies founded by Computer Laboratory graduates. In winning Company of the Year, Ubisense joins several hundred companies that have now been catalogued in the Ring Hall of Fame.

Accepting the Award for Ubisense, Board Director Dr Robert Sansom said, “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of Ubisense. It is a testimony to the company’s achievement over recent years and lists them amongst a number of very successful Cambridge spin-out organisations”

Ubisense is the world leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems, providing enterprise business automation by tracking people and assets with unmatched accuracy, and enabling visibility and control of previously intractable business challenges.
Ubisense works with a network of partners to deliver and manage some of the largest and most complex geospatial and RTLS systems in the world.

Ubisense has over 400 customers in 25 countries, and has recently ranked 8 in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100, featured in the Deloitte Fast 50 award for the second successive year and won the Best British Inside iaward.

Ubisense real-time location system tracks buses in Luzern, Switzerland

2010-03-20T09:31:00.001-06:00

Cambridge/ Dortmund, 18 February 2010. Ubisense announces the completion of the system installation at the Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (vbl) Bus Depot in Switzerland. The Ubisense RTLS has been installed in conjunction with the web based swissaxis AG BeDips® Depot Management system.

The real-time bus location system uses the Ubisense RTLS to achieve operational efficiency for dispatching vbl’s fleet of more than 150 buses. The system is deployed internally across a 12 000 sqm garage, and externally across outdoor areas.

The Ubisense sensor network, with its sub-meter accuracy, provides location information, allowing buses to be located in their correct lanes and parking spaces, both indoors and outside. The sensor network also alerts the BeDips® Depot Management system to buses arriving and leaving the bus-depot. The solution forms the central part of a scheduling application for workflow optimisation. Management of the workflow of buses within the depot is critical to ensuring efficient scheduling, timely cleaning, maintenance and reliable dispatch.

A real-time location, ultra-wideband radio system transmitter, known as an Ubisense Tag is attached to each bus. The tag emits small signals which are picked up by the network of Ubisense sensors located around the depot. The real-time location information is displayed within the yard management solution online-interface, enabling the dispatchers to schedule and process manage the depot efficiently.

The system has led to a faster, more efficient maintenance, cleaning and dispatch process. The swissaxis AG BeDips® Depot management system, in conjunction with the Ubisense RTLS system has provided the perfect solution for the mid-size bus depot at vbl.

“We are delighted to have worked with Ubisense on the project at Luzern.” said Mr. Altorfer, Managing Director of swissaxis. “The combination of AG BeDips® Depot and Ubisense RTLS has created an efficient, cost effective, robust system for the vbl bus depot, which has completely answered the client’s original brief.”

BeDips® utilises Ubisense-RTLS in order to provide the first completely web based Depot Management system which can fulfill the daily requirements of bus depots such as vbl.

Mr. Zumsteg of vbl commented “The solution implemented by swissaxis AG and Ubisense has provided us with an easy-to-use management system, which enables us to have complete 24/7 visibility of the buses independently from the location within the internal and external areas of the depot, and make significant efficiency improvements “

RFId Journal Article - Airbus Installs RTLS for Large-Component Assembly

2010-02-20T10:46:00.003-07:00

Ubisense RFID tags, readers and software will make it easier for the French aircraft manufacturer to track production of key components for its A380 double-decker planes.
By Claire Swedberg

Feb. 19, 2010—Furthering its initiative to employ radio frequency identification technology to improve its efficiency in the manufacture and maintenance of its aircraft, Airbus is installing a real-time locating system (RTLS) provided by Ubisense at some of its assembly plants in Europe. The system, expected to go live by the end of this year's second quarter, will enable the company to track the production of large components for its A380 commercial passenger airliners, as the double-deck, wide-body, four-engine planes move from one zone to another within those facilities.

A Ubisense battery-powered RFID tag transmits a unique ID number via an ultra-wideband (UWB) RF band between 6 and 8.5 GHz. Readers (which Ubisense calls sensor units) capture that ID number and send it to a server via a cabled connection, along with location data. Software running on that server compares the tag signals as received from several readers, and then calculates the tag's location based on time difference of arrival (TDOA). Tags typically can be read at a distance of up to 160 meters (525 feet). The system can pinpoint each tag's location within 30 centimeters (12 inches), says Richard Green, Ubisense's CEO.

Currently, manual data entry is required to track the progress of a specific component in assembly. However, with the RFID system in place, the component's location would become automatically visible and in real time.

Once the system goes live, a tag will be affixed to the core of each large component before the assembly process begins. Within the facility, Ubisense sensor units will read the unique ID number of every tag as it moves through the plant. The Ubisense software creates zones based on locations within the assembly area in which each sensor unit is located, Green says, and can thereby determine when a given component has moved into a new zone, thus indicating it has begun a new procedure.

Internet-based Ubisense software can then send an alert if, for example, a component has remained too long in a specific location or zone, or issue a notification when a part passes from one process to the next. Once a component is fully constructed, its tag is removed for reuse on another item undergoing assembly.

Link to complete Article

Ubisense real-time location system tracks buses in Luzern, Switzerland

2010-02-20T07:43:00.002-07:00

Airbus selects Ubisense as a strategic real-time location partner and awards first major contract

2010-02-15T11:01:00.001-07:00

Toulouse and Cambridge 12 February 2010. Airbus selects Ubisense to extend the world’s largest radio-frequency identification (RFID) enabled manufacturing initiative, with the addition of the Ubisense precise real-time location (RTLS) system at multiple Airbus facilities.

The 10 year agreement will see Ubisense manufacturing solutions deployed for a variety of projects in order to help streamline business processes, reduce lead times and provide Airbus with increased visibility and control across multiple plants.
Ubisense location solutions will provide Airbus with a real-time view of business operations such as the tracking of components and assembly processes thus aiding communication, process improvement and planning activities.

The Ubisense suite of manufacturing solutions includes Visible Industrial Process, Process Tracker, Tool Tracker and Enterprise Browser. In addition, the Ubisense manufacturing solution has recently been announced as the RTLS system being deployed by Atlas Copco, a major tool supplier.

Ubisense is the leading British company specialising in precise RTLS, which accurately track the precise location of assets, within a specified geospatial area of any magnitude. The company has recently won the Best British Inside iaward, ranked 8th in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech track 100 2009 and featured within the top twenty companies listed in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for the second successive year.

“We are delighted to have been selected by Airbus” said Richard Green, Ubisense CEO “Ubisense’s solution will help increase visibility and control across their facilities and aid the decision making and planning process. Airbus recognised the need to adopt a proven RFID solution, which will assist them in maintaining their competitive advantage and their world-renowned manufacturing process”

Ubisense Transit Yard Management system chosen as Mass Transit Magazine top 20 Tech Innovation

2010-01-20T09:58:00.004-07:00

Denver, Colorado, January 20, 2010. The Ubisense Transit Yard Management system, used by Metro Transit in its garages in metropolitan Minneapolis-St Paul, has been chosen as one of the top 20 Tech innovations by Mass Transit magazine. The system was nominated for the Mass Transit magazine accolade by Metro Transit.

The real-time bus location system uses the Ubisense RTLS application to help achieve operational efficiency for dispatching Metro Transit’s fleet of 900 buses. The system is installed across 5 garages, covering 915 000 sq ft. The Ubisense sensor network, with its sub-meter accuracy, provides location information, sufficiently accurate to locate buses in their correct lanes at all times, reducing operating costs by making dispatch and maintenance operations more efficient.

Each bus has a real-time location, ultra wideband radio system transmitter, known as an Ubisense Tag positioned on its rooftop. The Ubisense tag transmits a signal to a network of sensors located in the garage, which precisely calculate the bus location several times per minute.

In addition to precise location, the system is able to provide a wide range of information to garage dispatchers, including bus type, and maintenance status. This information is displayed in a web browser and enables the dispatchers to effectively schedule buses, ultimately determining bus departure and arrival times and minimizing time spent in maintenance.

“We are grateful to have been nominated by Metro Transit and delighted to have been selected as one of the Mass Transit top 20 Tech Innovations,” commented Russ Chandler, Ubisense Americas CEO “Our system continues to provide timely, precise location information in a tough environment within and surrounding the Metro Transit garages. The fact this project was nominated by our client, is further
testimony to the unparalleled value that customers are able to achieve with Ubisense.”

Ubisense launches Location Driven Military Training Solution with Integrated Weapon Orientation at I/ITSEC

2010-01-04T15:18:00.001-07:00

Denver, Colorado - November 23 2009. To meet the growing demand for integrating location-driven solutions in the modern military training environment, Ubisense has developed a new ground breaking training suite. The Ubisense Location Driven Training Suite combines precision tracking from Ubisense, GPS data, real-time virtual world views, video cameras and weapons orientation from Innalabs into a single platform for a fully interactive Exercise Control (EXCON) and After Action Review (AAR) system.

Through the confluence of technologies After Action Reviews can be generated immediately, helping to improve training effectiveness. Video streams are indexed using spatial location and new weapons effects improve the variety and realism of training.

“By combining the Ubisense ultrawideband precise location with the Innalabs miniature orientation sensor, training systems can now track weaponry, head position, or full-body movements. ” said Jamie Marraccini, COO of Innalabs. “The system works indoors and outdoors, in dense urban environments, and independent of lighting conditions”.

Another key element of the After Action Review is automatic video indexing which enables analysts to rapidly build relevant reports. The system can automatically generate events such as a person entering a zone or a simulated kill from a weapon and it can also be integrated into external event systems such as Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) 2000. By knowing the correct location and time for each event, the best virtual and video footage can be automatically retrieved and placed in an index. This dramatically reduces the time it takes analysts to generate reports minimizing the time between an exercise and the after action learning session.

“Our solution design is based on our extensive experience gathered from working with customers such as the National Training Center at Fort Irwin where 14 buildings are instrumented with our location tracking technology,” said Ubisense CEO Richard Green. “We believe this will have significant value for the training community by providing not just precision location tracking but a solution to easily deploy and integrate that technology into other training centers”.

Ubisense opens Canadian Office

2010-01-04T15:17:00.001-07:00

Cambridge, 20 November 2009. Ubisense, the world leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems announces that it has opened a new office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Ubisense Canada was formed in September and officially opened on October 1, 2009. Ubisense’s Canadian team will be continuing to support existing Canadian customers, including Manitoba Hydro and Terasen Gas. Ubisense will also be expanding their consulting and Precision Real Time Location Systems business within the region.

During the past year, Ubisense has dramatically increased its worldwide presence, expanding operations in Korea, Australia and New Zealand, as adoption rates have increased despite downward global economic pressure.

Ubisense Americas CEO Russ Chandler commented "As business has increased for us across North America, we have chosen to establish ourselves in Canada to better serve the needs of our rapidly growing base of Canadian customers and employees. Operating directly in Canada offers us many advantages and puts us into a better position to respond rapidly to the needs of our Canada-based customers and partners."

Ubisense and Atlas Copco Industrial Technique enter development partnership.

2009-12-29T08:58:00.001-07:00

Ubisense, the world Leader in precise Real-time Location Systems, and Atlas Copco Industrial Technique, the world-leading provider of industrial productivity solutions, are collaborating in the research and development of real-time locations systems for industrial tooling.

“Collaborating with the world’s leading precise real-time location system provider will allow us to continue to develop innovative solutions for our customers who wish to significantly increase their productivity and quality in these tough economic times,” explains Anders Lindquist, President MVI Division at Atlas Copco Industrial Technique. “We became aware of the potential of the Ubisense approach to real-time location at our mutual customer, BMW in Regensburg, Germany. Subsequent discussions with potential customers for this type of technology not only in the Motor Vehicles market but also in aerospace, mining and construction equipment as well as discrete manufacturing led us to the idea of pooling our knowledge and resources to create a new family of solutions for our customers.”

The Ubisense system is installed in the production facilities of companies such as BMW, Aston Martin, Caterpillar and Honda. The application at BMW called LIS/TAS involves tracking the industrial tools used on the final assembly line and loading the correct program into the tool automatically based on the specific vehicle being worked upon.

“The introduction of LIS/TAS has resulted in the elimination of the need to scan vehicles in order to identify them”, comments Andreas Lehner, project manager at BMW in Regensburg. “All the project objectives have been met on time and within the planned budget. From the standpoint of value creation, the project is a complete success”.

“This unique relationship allows Atlas Copco Industrial Technique and Ubisense to investigate the key innovations that will drive the next set of standards for use in manufacturing production and enable significant process improvements”, comments Terry Phebey, VP Sales Ubisense.

About Atlas Copco Industrial Technique

Atlas Copco’s Industrial Technique business area develops, manufactures and markets industrial power tools, assembly systems, software and service. It innovates for superior productivity for applications in the automotive and aerospace industry, general industrial manufacturing and maintenance, and vehicle service worldwide. Principal product development and main manufacturing units are in Sweden and France.
More information on the company is available at www.atlascopco.com.

Ubisense adds WiFi deployment option

2009-11-05T13:58:00.001-07:00

Ubisense adds WiFi deployment option to its world-leading UWB-based precise real-time location system and is shortlisted as a finalist in the IET Innovation Awards for 2009

Cambridge, UK -October 13, 2009 - Ubisense, shortlisted for the Institute of Engineering and Technology 2009 Innovation Awards for development of its precise real-time location system (RTLS), announces a new wireless deployment option for its systems, allowing customers to reduce installation costs whilst still achieving class-leading 3D RTLS accuracy.

Andy Ward, Ubisense's Chief Technology Officer, says: "Ubisense sensors can now operate in a 'wireless' mode, where they only need a local power supply and communicate over standard WiFi networks with the rest of the RTLS. This allows cost-effective coverage in areas which have existing mains power supply but would be expensive to reach with data cabling."

Ubisense has seen strong interest in this capability from the manufacturing, transit, and worker safety sectors, particularly in large open areas where sites have existing coverage for power (for example, for lighting or security systems), but where cabling costs for RTLS deployment might be prohibitive. Both wired and wireless sensors can be mixed within the same Ubisense RTLS, providing a spectrum of deployment options through which the RTLS can be tailored to the requirements of each specific site and application.

"We are delighted to offer this new capability to our customers. It's important to minimise installation costs in any RTLS deployment, and this added flexibility helps us do just that", says Richard Green, Ubisense CEO. "By reducing the number of cable runs that need to be made we can dramatically cut the cost of ownership of these systems and achieve a return-on-investment even more quickly."

The new functionality has already been deployed with customers at transit and shipyard sites, and is available to both existing and new Ubisense customers as part of the latest revisions of the Ubisense location platform software.

Link

Ubisense launches Transit Yard Manager

2009-11-03T12:38:00.003-07:00

Ubisense launches Transit Yard Manager with the world's leading precise real-time location system at the American Public Transportation Association Annual Meeting in Orlando Oct 5-8, 2009.

Orlando, Florida - October 8, 2009 - Ubisense, the world leader in precise Real-Time Location Systems, announced today that it has released the Ubisense Transit Yard Manager which provides complete visibility to yard and garage operations for transit organizations of any size. Traditionally, Transit companies have had visibility of where their vehicles are when they are on routes but once they enter garages and yards the location is collected using manual, paper-based tracking. With Ubisense, transit agencies are provided in real-time with the exact parking space location of vehicles and assets allowing processes to be improved and operating costs to be reduced.
Transit Yard Manager provides a 2D and 3D web based view of any garage and yard and automatically generates electronic versions of mark up sheets that can be accessed from any Internet enabled PC or mobile device. Benefits include eliminating search time for vehicles, improving yard pull out efficiency through more intelligent staging, integration with maintenance management to easily identify or hold vehicles in need of maintenance reducing road side call outs, and automated vehicle entry and lane assignment. Transit Yard Manager, when integrated with scheduling, dispatch, maintenance, and GPS-based automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems provides a real-time, seamless and intuitive view of all transit operations.

"Transit Yard Management is one of a suite of industry-focused applications we are launching which utilize the Ubisense superior location technology and software platform to deliver significant value for particular industries, including transit, manufacturing, military, and agriculture," said Richard Green, CEO of Ubisense. "Transit Yard Manager demonstrates how the combination of a precise real-time location when combined with software tailored to a specific set of industry needs can transform an organization to the next level."

Ubisense has recently been deployed by Metro Transit in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. At Metro Transit, dispatchers are given instant access to the location of each bus along with up to date maintenance information for each vehicle. Access to location also gives maintenance supervisors a fast way to check if buses have left a service bay. It also helps staff more quickly recover items reported lost by customers and benefits transit supervisors who need to quickly retrieve security video on buses with VHS recording systems.

"It's important that transit agencies use technology to gain efficiencies", said Brian Lamb, General Manager at Metro Transit. "This new dispatching system will help us work smarter. We know instantly where every bus is at every garage."

Ubisense is deploying transit solutions across North America and Europe teaming with leading transit solution providers.

Link to transit information

Aston Martin knows precisely where their cars are in production in real-time with Ubisense

2009-10-29T13:56:00.001-06:00

Aston Martin, famous the world over for precision engineering and performance has turned to the number one supplier of precision real-time location systems to gain complete visibility of its production processes.

Cambridge UK — 3rd September 2009 — Aston Martin, the prestigious sports car manufacturer, is using the Ubisense precise real-time location system in its daily production operations at the company's headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

The Ubisense system enhances already rigorous off-line finishing processes, through analysis and optimisation of each process, ensuring its efficiency at all times.
Ubisense tags are attached inside the windscreen of the prestigious cars as they begin their off-line finishing process. From that moment on, Ubisense Process Tracker provides production engineers complete visibility of each Aston Martin as it progresses through the facility. The tags are only removed when the car is dispatched to sales.

Using a web browser, a production engineer can locate any car on a map, and watch its progress in real-time. They can also view a log of which process steps a car has been through and the time spent in each step. An alert is raised immediately if a car deviates from the process. The system operates over a standard network and is managed day to day by internal Aston Martin production employees.
Richard Green, CEO of Ubisense, says “We are very proud to have installed this bespoke system within Aston Martin, one of the worlds leading sports car manufacturers. We work with many automotive and manufacturing companies demonstrating the accuracy and strength of our system.”
Link to full article

Ubisense announces immediate availability of Korean compliant product

2009-10-26T16:47:00.004-06:00

Ubisense announces immediate availability of Korean compliant product and announces production installations in World’s most hostile environments

Cambridge, August 28th, 2009- Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real Time Location Systems, announces availability of its award winning solution in Korea and acceptance of the worlds most reliable RTLS System at POSCO’s Finex Plant in Pohang, S. Korea

“The Korean version of Ubisense will allow us to satisfy the enormous demand we have witnessed since first introducing the product to research institutes in 2006”, says HB Choi, General Manager, Ubisense Korea. “We already have deployments in 25 organisations and with immediate availability of a fully compliant product we will be able to satisfy the enormous pent-up demand we have seen from the Industrial and Manufacturing Market”

Korean Manufacturers include some of the highest volume automotive plants in the world, so the timing of the availability of Ubisense, already with a worldwide reputation at reducing costs and improving productivity for leading companies such as BMW, Honda and Caterpillar is pertinent, says, Simon Holloway of Manufacturing Consultancy, Bloor Associates.

About POSCO
The fourth largest steel producer in the world and a bedrock of Korea's industrial development, POSCO is an innovative leader in Korean industry, ranked by Business Week in 2007 as the “most admired company in Asia”.
Link to Complete Release

Picture: Ubisense gaming in Ireland

2009-08-19T09:53:00.003-06:00

Scientists are developing sensor- based computer games to get children moving while they think. CLAIRE O’CONNELL reports
IT’S A scene many young families have faced over the dismal summer – rain stops play outside, and soon the indoor attention turns to computer games that engage kids in little more physical activity than twiddling their fingers while hunched over a console.

Of course, innovations such as the Wii have helped get kids off the couch, using sensors to transform living rooms into virtual tennis courts, boxing rings and even snowy pistes.But an Irish research consortium has been exploring computer games at a new level, developing approaches that get young players moving across larger spaces and engaging with each other.

It’s all down to the most simple of sensors, nothing too grand, explains Prof Alan Smeaton, deputy director of Clarity, a Science Foundation Ireland centre that links Dublin City University, University College Dublin and Tyndall National Institute in Cork.“We do all kinds of complex measurements here on phosphates and water quality and we look at the pH of sweat – it’s all very high end,” says Smeaton. “But sometimes the simplest of sensors can give you applications that you wouldn’t have thought of before. So we started to think about what could we do based on games.”

Out of that grew two approaches – one based on sheep-herding where players run around a virtual “field” steering sheep into a central pen, the other on a dance-mat that encourages children to jump on the correct answer. And how did they iron out teething problems with the new computer games? By recruiting crowds of kids to put them through their paces – once a week, participants in DCU’s summer camp have been visiting the labs to put the game to the ultimate road test.

“It has been known on this corridor all summer that Tuesday morning is not a good time to get any work done because of the screaming and roaring,” says Smeaton, as we walk into a sparse room with a large screen at one end showing an animated field. In a few minutes the de-cluttered lab will be full of seven and eight year olds running around in pairs or egging on players from the sidelines, but for now he demonstrates how the game works, popping a small gadget called Ubisense into his pocket.“It has got accelerometers and sensors in it,” he explains. “When [Ubisense] is moved it emits pulses many times a second and those are picked up by [receivers], which use Inter Cert trigonometry to calculate where you are.”

The system maps Smeaton onto the onscreen field and tracks him as he dashes around the room, chasing virtual sheep into a central pen that corresponds to a marked section on the floor.
“This is great as a little toy but at the back of it we are scientists and we have been working with School of Health and Human Performance to figure out how the game should evolve,” he says of the system, developed by Marc Gowing.“Getting the sheep into the pen builds spatial awareness and co-ordination, but you can then progress that further by insisting the kids only move backwards, or hopping on one foot.”

Nor does it take long for the seven and eight-year-old testers to learn the basics – within minutes of filing into the darkened lab from the summer camp they are working in pairs to herd the sheep around the field with plenty of sideline instruction from their peers. But while the sensors are cheap, the cost of the indoor prototype runs to thousands of euro, making it too pricey at the moment for general use.

Less costly, but no less active, is the other “exerlearning” game, which involves a souped up electronic dance mat. Instead of throwing shapes to music, individual players jump on particular squares on the mat to answer maths problems or to spell out answers to questions.

“Again it’s simple sensors but it’s surrounded by an application that gets the crowd going,” says Smeaton of the system, developed by Brendan O’Huiginn at UCD, who used off-the-shelf or free components and software.

And as with the sheep chasing, the children immediately engage with the dance mat setup, shouting out answers to the player in the hotspot and cheering as the scores go up.

As well as having fun, the testers have been helping to improve the games, explains Smeaton. “We are not keeping data on the kids, we are not storing any information apart from the high score – and there’s plenty of competition for that. But we are learning how the game works and to maximise it.”
And where Smeaton really sees the sensor-based computer games coming into their own is using differential GPS to track players as they move around outdoors.
There’s even a project that uses sensor-kitted wireless headphones to construct a virtual soundscape that changes as the player moves around.

“We all have very good sound source localisation to about five degrees and this can reach the same level,” says Smeaton. “It can pick up which way you are facing and we can generate the correct right-left balance. So your changing location is picked up and adjusted so you hear these sounds.”
And while the large headset is still somewhat clunky and under development, Smeaton envisages it becoming as streamlined as an MP3-player-sized gadget with ear buds that allows the player to navigate by sound through a virtual soundscape such as an orchestra, maze or zoo.
“It’s really about the limits of your creativity,” he says.

LINK to article

BMW revolutionises vehicle assembly using new Ubisense solution

2009-08-03T10:02:00.001-06:00

Final acceptance of Tool Assistance System to automatically relate vehicles and torque tools successfully achieved at BMW plant in Regensburg. Solution extends the automation of vehicle assembly, reducing both defect rate and production costs.

Cambridge, August 3^rd 2009 – Ubisense has successfully completed the implementation of a new Tool Assistance System (TAS) at BMW’s production facility in Regensburg. TAS is based on the Location Identification System, which, as the name implies, is designed to locate and identify production assets. LIS/TAS has been developed jointly by Ubisense and IBS AG and is the result of bringing together the Ubisense real-time location system (RTLS) and the IBS software systems, which provide the link between the location system and the existing BMW IT environment.

The Tool Assistance System rolled out in Regensburg provides automatic recognition of the vehicles being assembled as well as automatically detecting their proximity to production automation equipment such as intelligent tools and test equipment. TAS eliminates both the need to scan barcodes on vehicle work-orders, in itself not a value adding activity, as well as manually generated defects arising from scanning the wrong asset. The system works by evaluating the spatial relationship between production automation systems and the vehicles continuously in real-time. A positive “relationship event” is generated when a mobile tool enters a pre-defined zone around the vehicle or when a vehicle enters a zone around an item of automation equipment.

LIS/TAS is fully integrated into BMW’s production IT environment via the IBS Communications Platform which provides all the necessary interfaces to the relevant systems. In particular this includes the administration of the tools and vehicles as well as passing on the tool control events via IP telegrammes. A relationship event causes a new vehicle-specific program to be loaded into the tool or starts an automation system with the correct program for the particular vehicle detected. Typical tools and equipment in this context are torque tools, riveting hammers, diagnostic equipment, and programmable logic controllers.

The system is in production across the entire Regensburg assembly plant where around 120 tool systems are used to produce approximately 1,000 cars per day. The vehicle location in 3D is performed in real-time via Ubisense tags located on the cars. These tags are small transponders which are located using ultra-wideband radio technology by sensors mounted at fixed locations along the production line. The location and identification information is analysed for relationship events and the information passed on directly to the BMW IT environment. Ultra-wideband technology enables high precision location by transmitting extremely short pulses with very low energy (less than 0.1 milliwatts per m²) which means there are no negative effects on other systems or the health of the staff.

“The introduction of LIS/TAS has resulted in the elimination of the need to scan vehicles in order to identify them”, comments Andreas Lehner, project manager at BMW in Regensburg. “All the project objectives have been met on time and within the planned budget. From the standpoint of value creation, the project is a complete success”.

Richard Green, CEO of Ubisense, is very pleased with the results achieved. “Ubisense, together with our partner IBS, is the only RTLS vendor able to fulfil all BMW’s requirements and LIS/TAS is a unique tool for the automotive industry. We have here a clear differentiator and are delighted with the praise from BMW.”

Ubisense 60 day software evaluation

2009-07-23T10:22:00.003-06:00

This Evaluation Suite is a free-to-download fully-functional copy of the Ubisense Location Platform and Developer Software available under a 60-day evaluation license. It includes everything you need to build, test and deploy real-time location-aware applications.

For more information please see http://eval.ubisense.net/

Smarter dairy farming

2009-07-23T10:11:00.003-06:00

SMARTERFARMING and Ubisense revolutionise Livestock Management

Horsens, Denmark, Cambridge, UK, Jul 23rd 2009 - SMARTERFARMING and Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems, announce the results of their first three “CowDetect” installations in working Dairy Farms in

Denmark

Aage Hindhede, a tenth generation dairy farmer based in Ringkøbing-Skjern, Denmark, is a man with a vision who continues to keep his family business at the forefront of modern farming methods. While managing his dairy herd, Aage thought that if he could detect changes in behavior of his cows in real-time then he would have a much better view of their health and welfare. His vision coupled with the innovative skills of his partner Keld Florczak, CEO of SMARTERFARMING, allowed him to realize his vision and “CowDetect” was born. A system that visualizes and monitors the behavior of cows in real-time to a positional accuracy of 15 cm! The system has been installed not only in the Hindhede family farm but also in an additional two farms tracking over 1000 cows every second.

The Danish science office AgroTech has already made some calculations to understand the value and possible benefits of knowing the real-time position of each animal. AgroTech - Institute for Agri Technology and Food Innovation - is a Danish Government Authorised Technology Service Institute working with knowledge transfer in the field of biology based natural science and technology. For cows in lactation the potential value of this knowledge is said to be EUR 315 – 355 per animal if the information is converted into action by the farm manager. In addition there are many soft benefits derived by using the system such as better animal welfare and health. One example is a well-known eating behaviour known as ketoses. Normally 3.6 days before the disease can be seen, the cow’s eating time decreases significantly. This change in behavior can automatically be detected by the real-time location system and the dairy manager can be alerted.

“Knowing the precise real-time location of animals will revolutionise the industry”, says Professor Don Broom, University of Cambridge and world expert in animal welfare. “For years farm managers and vets have needed to know more precisely the patterns of movement that will allow them to correlate behavior with health and it appears that SMARTERFARMING and Ubisense have made that possible”.

Farmer John Torrence, of UK Farmers Cooperative, said “Having seen the system first hand, it is clear that there are immediate benefits and a payback in less than 12 months”.

About SMARTERFARMING AS

SMARTERFARMINGAS is based on an idea from a farmer in need of better management data for improving the production in his barn. From idea to real technology has been a long process, but thanks to patient investors and energy from the people involved “CowDetect” is now a reality. SMARTERFARMINGAS is a public company having the needed financial strength to bring the knowledge and technology to the market and further improve and add features to the system.

http://www.cowdetect.com/

Measuring emotions at a museum

2009-07-23T10:07:00.004-06:00

Swiss Academy of Art and Design together with Ubisense integrate precise real-time location and biometric sensors to research art museum experience

In a unique setting at the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen in Switzerland, the BaselAcademy of Art and Design has implemented a solution which monitors museum visitors as they move through the exhibition, providing new insights into emotional and cognitive reactions to art objects.

Dortmund, St. Gallen, July 22 2009 - eMotion is a multi-faceted research and media art platform combining the disciplines of art sociology and art psychology, art administration and art pedagogy, curatorial practice and museum research, media art and performance.

“The museum experience is analysed from a psycho-geographical perspective, encompassing the emotional, cognitive and physical effects upon viewer reception, and how those factors influence the implicit decision making processes of visitors”, explains Dr. Martin Troendle, the eMotion project initiator and manager.” Methodologically, the project sets in motion a trans-disciplinary platform integrating both scientific and artistic modes of ‘knowing’ and strategies of dissemination, directly within the museum”.

Upon registration at the art museum entrance, visitors receive a special glove which contains biometric sensors and a Ubisense active location tag. The visitors respond to a series of questions regarding their familiarity with and expectations of the exhibition as well as biometrically relevant data such as whether they smoke cigarettes or have just drunk a cup of coffee. The art exhibition is equipped with 20 Ubisense sensors which record the positions of the visitors as they move among the exhibits to an accuracy of 15cm and at a sampling frequency up to 4 times per second. In parallel, the heart rate and electrical conductivity of the visitor’s skin is measured and transmitted to a central server which records and analyses the results. At the end of the exhibition, the visitor can view the results on a table top plasma screen. Statistical data on the most viewed objects and the aggregate motion patterns of visitors is presented audio-visually in a number of innovative ways.

“We are delighted with the performance of the Ubisense tracking system”, declares Roland Waespe, director of the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen. “Our museum building presents a number of architectural challenges for radio based systems and we have been impressed with the reliability and precision of the system in this environment.”

eMotion is a research project at the Institute for Research in Art and Design, University of Applied Science Northwestern Switzerland, Academy of Art and Design and has been generously supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and Ubisense. “We are very grateful to Ubisense both for the financial support and the dedication of the professional team which helped this project become such a success”, adds Troendle.

More information can be found at http://www.mapping-museum-experience.com/en.

Picture: Ubisense tracking cows

2009-07-21T17:42:00.004-06:00

Just had to post this great picture of a cow modeling one of our Compact Tags.

Ubisense Tracking Tennis Players

2009-05-13T16:06:00.003-06:00

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

2009-05-06T05:08:00.001-06:00

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