AeroScout upgrades Wi-Fi asset tracking software

AeroScout has released a new version of its Wi-Fi based location-tracking software, and new tags that incorporate an ultra wideband radio to improve accuracy.

AeroScout has released a new version of its Wi-Fi-based location-tracking software and new tags that incorporate an ultra wideband radio to improve accuracy.

The MobileView 4.0 server software includes a number of improvements. One is an “alerting engine” that can monitor a complex set of attributes and criteria for the radio tags and use various media, including Skype calls and instant messaging, to notify users when these change. Another is the ability to use relevant tracking or identification data from other products, such as REVA Systems’ RFID gateway.

The new version can track hundreds of thousands of tags compared to tens of thousands in the previous release.

The integration of UWB hardware was a joint effort with Time Domain Corporation. The new tag, dubbed Ultra Wi-Fi, fuses Time Domain’s Precision Location UWB System with AeroScout’s Wi-Fi technology.

“UWB provides tremendous accuracy, within inches,” says Josh Slobin, director of marketing for AeroScout. “The idea is to add high accuracy when and where it’s needed, but [continue to] use Wi-Fi for facility-wide tracking.”

The tags incorporate both radios, and a new set of tag readers to pick up the UWB signal. The server software uses data from either or both radios to calculate and plot the tag’s location.

The upgraded MobileView software can now collect and manage data from other systems. It can combine data, such as unique RFID numbers, with temperature or other sensor data, and create alarm thresholds based on these combinations. If tagged items in a certain area, or specific tagged devices, exceed a temperature range, MobileView sends out the appropriate alerts.

Also new is the ability to assign user rights to tagged assets. Users logging into MobileView’s Web interface can be restricted to seeing only those tagged assets that are directly related to their task or location. For example, hospital staff on one floor can see the tagged equipment on that floor but not above or below. (Compare WLAN management products.)

MobileView 4.0 is in beta test, with availability planned for the second quarter. Pricing is based on the number of tagged assets. Aeroscout is not disclosing price details at this time.