Ekahau Launches the World's Most Accurate Wi-Fi RTLS Tag for Asset Management

RESTON, Virginia, October 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

New A4 Tag Pinpoints Location of Assets to Within One Meter

Ekahau Inc., the worldwide leader in high performance Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), today announced the launch of its newest Wi-Fi asset tracking tag - the A4 - which provides the most accurate tracking on the market today. The A4 tag supports precision location of less than one meter (3.5 feet), affordably, using existing enterprise Wi-Fi networks and infrared micro-zone technology.

     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20111018/487064 )

     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090513/347052 )

The A4 is the latest in a line of innovative active Wi-Fi tags designed for tracking assets and individuals, developed by Ekahau, which introduced the first Wi-Fi-based tracking solution 10 years ago.  The Ekahau's RTLS system lets users turn location and status information of tagged items into actionable intelligence for improving asset utilization and operational efficiencies.  Ekahau's Wi-Fi-based RTLS solutions are the dominant choice for healthcare deployments as well as other environments ranging from manufacturing plants to retail environments.

As a part of the Ekahau RTLS system, the A4 tag is covered under Ekahau's broad patent portfolio which includes several algorithms and methods for computing the location of tracked objects using electromagnetic environmental variables such as RF and IR signals.

The Ekahau A4 tag is the first Wi-Fi RTLS asset tag in the industry to provide sub-one meter location accuracy. The increased accuracy is achieved by detecting both standard Wi-Fi network signals and signals emitted by Ekahau's low-cost, battery-powered infra-red Location Beacons. The beacons can be placed in areas where micro-zone accuracy is required or areas where Wi-Fi coverage is not adequate, while still maintaining enterprise-wide visibility over the existing Wi-Fi network.

This increase in accuracy means the Ekahau RTLS system can now, for example, automatically detect which assets are near a particular hospital bed or patient in a semi-private room. Such granular information allows staff to find assets more quickly as well as track equipment for more accurate billing.

"The A4 is the industry's first tag to combine ultra-high accuracy with low total cost of ownership.  By using an existing Wi-Fi network, companies can track their assets to within 1 meter (3.5 feet) where needed," said Arttu Huhtiniemi, Ekahau's vice president of Product Management. "The infrared technology in the A4 tag enables affordable accuracy in selected locations, such as patient rooms or crowded storage areas."

The A4 offers battery life of up to five years and includes an optical tamper sensor that sends alerts to notify that the tag has been removed from the object to which it is attached.  The tag also contains two configurable buttons, which can be used for sending alarms or notifying users of events, such as asset availability. With a small form factor, that is dust- and splash-proof, the A4 tag can be attached to small and odd-shaped objects using a variety of mounting options. And unlike traditional RTLS tags, the A4 leverages the bi-directional communication capabilities of Wi-Fi to allow administrators to manage and reprogram thousands of tags anywhere on the enterprise network.

The A4 is now available from Ekahau and its distribution partners. For more information on Ekahau RTLS and the A4 tag, visit http://www.ekahau.com/rtls.

About Ekahau Inc.

Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing Wi-Fi-based RTLS solutions. Ekahau's customers, including several Fortune 500 companies worldwide, are realizing the benefits of Wi-Fi based location services and innovative Wi-Fi network planning and optimization tools. Ekahau's solutions are being used in more than 300 hospitals around the world, as well as by manufacturing, retail and industrial companies, government agencies and the military. Ekahau partners include wireless software developers, leading system integrators and international OEM partners, who develop and market wireless enterprise applications. Ekahau is a U.S.-based corporation, with headquarters in Reston, Va., and other offices in Saratoga, Calif.; Helsinki, Finland; Tokyo; and Hong Kong. For more information about Ekahau, please visit http://www.ekahau.com.