A company in the automotive sector manufactures very large vehicles in high volumes. During the early stages of production, these semi-finished vehicles are indistinguishable from one another. Due to the nature of the production process, these items are temporarily stored—often without proper tracking—in areas that can be hundreds of meters away from where they are eventually needed.

Challenge

The semi-finished products are stored both indoors and outdoors, making the use of GPS technologies unfeasible. An initial attempt to track items by assigning the responsibility to forklift drivers failed due to the excessive manual effort required to collect accurate location data. When an item went untracked, it would effectively exit the production process and only reappear once it was eventually identified—sometimes weeks later. This led to cascading delays and made it difficult to monitor production. The search process often involved covering large areas by bicycle or forklift.

Solution

To overcome these challenges, our solution partner Bit Tonic implemented a Quuppa solution—equivalent to AccuRTLS—using AoA (Angle-of-Arrival) technology. This cutting-edge solution enables real-time tracking with location accuracy down to a few tens of centimeters in real-world industrial environments.

Each semi-finished product was fitted with a BlueUp Forte+ tag compatible with Quuppa’s infrastructure, enabling traditional indoor tracking via ceiling-mounted antennas. For the expansive outdoor areas—spanning several square kilometers—a fully autonomous drone system was developed. The drone is capable of autonomous take-off, landing, and navigation along predefined flight paths covering typical storage zones. Equipped with an AoA antenna, it can locate tagged items with one-meter accuracy. In adverse weather conditions or when flying is not possible, a similar tracking device mounted on forklifts—combined with GPS—was used to detect nearby assets during normal operations.

Results

The customer now has real-time visibility into the location of his semi-finished products, without requiring workers to perform manual tracking. This streamlined system has significantly improved production efficiency and reduced delays.

The post Case Study: A Hybrid Tracking Solution for Automotive Manufacturing Efficiency appeared first on Quuppa.

With a bi-directional, persistent connection to all on-site edge devices, Quuppa Site Manager allows you to monitor the status of all your Quuppa Positioning Engines (*), actively manage configurations, and perform updates to your Quuppa systems remotely.

Simple and Efficient Asset Management

Quuppa Site Manager simplifies the management of your tracking infrastructure. It is designed for organisations that have multiple sites in different locations, or a single large site with multiple buildings and potentially different infrastructures. With Quuppa Site Manager, users can remotely monitor, update and make necessary changes to their sites without being physically present at each facility. This eliminates the hassle of implementing changes on-site or setting up secure remote connections to each site separately, and allows you to easily upgrade and downgrade Quuppa system components. Testing new software versions and pushing them into production becomes a streamlined process that improves overall system management efficiency.

Cloud-Based APIs for Enhanced Connectivity

Quuppa for Enterprise provides a modernised and secure way to connect to Quuppa APIs via Site Manager. Each Quuppa Positioning Engine (QPE) connected to Site Manager can be controlled through its own API endpoint, secured with API tokens generated and managed through the Site Manager user interface. This cloud-based approach ensures secure and reliable connectivity while providing seamless access to Quuppa APIs.

Dedicated Single-Tenant Cloud Architecture

Quuppa Site Manager is built on a dedicated single-tenant cloud architecture, creating a separate instance and database for each customer. This architecture offers several key advantages:

• Data Security: Each customer’s data is stored in an independent database, ensuring it remains separate and inaccessible to others outside the organisation.
• Reliability: Your system will run on a separate instance that is not affected by traffic from other systems and peak loads, ensuring the system stability and reliability.
• Scalability: Quuppa for Enterprise’s cloud-based architecture allows the client system to scale to multiple sites, adapting to the evolving needs of organisations.

Centralised Management and Version Control

A key advantage of Quuppa Site Manager is its ability to provide centralised asset management and version control for multiple sites. Users can easily perform system testing, troubleshoot, collect logs from different systems and configure tags from a single platform. This centralised approach streamlines operations, reduces complexity and enhances overall system control and security.

Mobile Deployment Tool for Simplified Installation

The Quuppa Site Manager introduces a Mobile Deployment tool, which facilitates the installation process of the Quuppa System. The Mobile Deployment tool allows people with little to no previous experience or understanding of the system to carry out the deployment of Locators using only a smartphone. This means that the person mounting the Locators can carry out the deployment process themselves without the need for extensive training or expertise. The Mobile Deployment tool offers also the possibility for several people to deploy separate Locators simultaneously, further increasing the installation efficiency of the installation. In addition, the project file is updated immediately once a Locator is deployed successfully.

Real-Life Use Cases of Quuppa Site Manager

With the Quuppa Site Manager tool, end customers can efficiently manage multiple sites from a single dashboard, streamlining the process of quickly tracking and locating assets across multiple facilities. In addition, end customers can rest assured that they will benefit from a secure integration with the Quuppa system, ensuring their data privacy and protection.

For system integrators and middleware providers, the Quuppa Site Manager provides centralised asset management between different customers. This enables improved support services, troubleshooting, tag configuration and system testing to meet each customer’s unique use cases.

Quuppa Site Manager is a comprehensive and powerful tool for managing and orchestrating RTLS systems at scale. With its centralised asset management capabilities, cloud-based connectivity and Mobile Deployment Tool, Quuppa Site Manager provides organisations with an efficient and streamlined solution for seamless multi-site management. Whether you’re an end customer looking for enterprise-level asset management and tracking, or a systems integrator requiring centralised control and support, Quuppa Site Manager is a solution that puts efficiency and scalability at your fingertips.

(*) Quuppa Positioning Engine (QPE) is the core software of the Quuppa Intelligent Locating System. It receives data from the Locators, runs it through advanced positioning algorithms and provides a standard JSON / REST – push / pull API that allows seamless integration with other systems. The system provides accurate and reliable positioning in real time, with updates as frequently as 50 times per second.

The post Quuppa Site Manager – Streamlining Operations with Centralised Multi-Site Asset Management appeared first on Quuppa.

Though well-established ecosystems, not all are fully integrated smart cities. In fact, in the global Smart City Index, only New York featured in the top 20. Ranking at number six, however, is Helsinki. Perhaps down to the Finns’ unique humble nature, the city is arguably one of Europe’s most overlooked startup hubs. But really, entrepreneurs should be flocking here. 

A thriving smart and sustainable hub

Helsinki is bursting with tech talent: for a population of just one million, it is home to an estimated 2,267 startups and scaleups. And in 2021, Finnish startups raised a total of €1.2 billion in investment. Nokia’s rise and fall released top talent into Helsinki, which, most famously, has gone on to fuel the multi-billion dollar gaming industry like unicorns Supercell and Rovio – the company behind Angry Birds. Notably, Finland ranks 7th in the world for its innovation capabilities, thanks to its unique approach to entrepreneurship.

As smart cities give citizens back an estimated 125 hours every year, it’s no wonder Helsinki is keen to adopt new technologies. Connectivity is at its core, and underpinning Helsinki’s network of smart buildings is real-time location systems (RTLS). Location-enabled buildings benefit a range of business use cases; from tracking equipment in hospitals to preventing overcrowding in public spaces. Thus, the solution seamlessly powers a safe and efficient city. 

Smart cities come hand in hand with sustainability. From making food from C02 to turning rubbish into cotton-like material, name a climate issue, and a startup in Helsinki will be on a mission to solve it.

For environmentally-driven entrepreneurs in tech, relocating to Helsinki is very attractive, especially when sustainability is so high on the city’s agenda. By 2030, Helsinki aims to reach carbon neutrality, meaning that once achieved, operations in the city will no longer contribute to climate warming. With smart living and sustainability at the forefront of innovation, it’s no wonder Helsinki has secured its title as the capital of the happiest country in the world for the fifth year running.  

Opportunities for innovation 

Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, spoke at Slush this year, and the Finnish Government makes it clear that it understands the value of startups and actively encourages entrepreneurs to test, innovate, and fail. Based on the latest industry research, it feels safe to predict that the Finnish Capital, Helsinki, will soon be the go-to for Industry 4.0, with a focus on health tech, clean tech and advance tech. But to achieve such merit, Helsinki recognises that new talent is vital for continuous innovation and has ramped up its efforts to attract diverse global entrepreneurs. For example, the city’s 90 Day Finn programme has taken place for three years running, looking for 15 global entrepreneurs, investors, and business professionals to move and experience life there for 90 Days.

How is tech powering Helsinki’s evolution 

Finland doesn’t shy away from the problems of today’s world. SITRA, Finland’s innovation fund, cites five key trends for 2023 that are shaping the future landscape of tech innovation in Helsinki: the environmental crisis, the evolution of wellbeing due to ageing populations and increasing mental health challenges, the battle for democracy, intensifying competition for digital power, and the cracking of economic foundations.

While the city creates a starting block for innovation and experimentation through its extensive funding, the answers to the challenges Helsinki, and the world, face today almost certainly lie within the tech industry. In order to reach such levels of innovation, entrepreneurs are already knocking on the door of the future. Take Fortum or Helen as an example, Helsinki’s ambitious carbon neutrality goals wouldn’t be possible without such companies investing in ecological reconstruction and phasing out fossil fuels. In addition, investments in Deep Tech have grown considerably in the city, with 117 of the 241 Deep Tech companies in Finland based in Helsinki. In fact, there has been €1,9 bn total invested capital in Finland, and 429 investments to 176 companies described as deep tech companies. 

As an industry, it’s more than innovation and city funding that will drive Helsinki to unlock its future potential and overcome the challenges SITRA references. Building democratic institutions, for example, relies on trust. And there is something to be learned from the trusting culture in Helsinki – where a handshake means a business deal. Incorporating values like these ensures a better future for all. 

For Helsinki to achieve its ambitions, its residents must also be receptive and supportive of new technology. As entrepreneurs, we have a part to play here. Even with RTLS, before people understand the value tracking and monitoring can add to health, safety, and the environment, they can be hesitant. By taking advantage of Helsinki’s open data approach, which makes real-time data available to everyone, we can use data to create a completely transparent landscape in which the public understands and invites change. 

The future is bright

Though mighty in ambition, Helsinki’s population and economy are smaller than many other tech hubs – ranking 47th in the Innovation Cities Index, where San Francisco sits 12th, London 11th, and New York 3rd – which is why the city needs to maintain a strong tech talent attraction scheme. Married with being a relative newcomer to the scene, Helsinki must assert its strength in the technology industry to continue its evolution and attract business professionals to the city. 

Helsinki poses an exciting opportunity for technology entrepreneurs. The city’s desire to grow and transform, while always doing the right thing for the environment and its people, is rare. It’s a place where you can grow your technology business, while making a truly tangible difference to the city too. Helsinki needs the technology industry, but I think many founders would be surprised by how much they need Helsinki too. 

Did you know?

Quuppa is the leading RTLS platform for indoor positioning
This article was originally published in Forbes.com

The post A smart move? How Helsinki advances the world of tech appeared first on Quuppa.

In 2021, the global 5G infrastructure market was valued at $47.3 billion and is projected to reach a value of $1.67 trillion by 2030. Increasing investment, growing demand for reliable connectivity, and the steady rollout of new networks and partnerships are all acting as drivers for this market explosion.

Two particular developments that are leading this trend toward 5G adoption are worthy of mention: IoT in general and location-based services in particular. These technologies were among the first to take advantage of 5G and are already bringing strong investment returns for businesses that have adopted them.

The 5G standard

As you may know, 5G is the fifth generation of mobile connectivity. Compared to its 4G predecessor, 5G is up to ten times faster with speeds as high as 20 Gbps. It also has far greater reliability and little to no latency, meaning it rarely loses a connection and can transfer massive amounts of data with few delays. Another benefit is its ability to allow a large number of devices to connect at once, something that previous mobile generations struggled with.

Of course, not every business handles large amounts of data that require high speeds and little latency. So, 4G is likely to remain with us for a while longer, something that the designers of 5G understood by keeping the networks compatible with each other. But for those businesses that do handle large amounts of data, require a high level of accuracy, and can’t afford any lost connections, 5G has practically become a requirement.

5G and IoT

The Internet-of-things (IoT) is also driving the adoption of 5G. IoT connects physical devices through wireless connections. The devices can range from everyday smartphones, tablets, and laptops to more advanced industrial and medical tools.

With greater connectivity comes the ability to record, transfer, and monitor vast amounts of data for easier cloud computing, automation, and machine learning. The number of businesses using IoT is expected to explode in the coming years: the number of IoT devices worldwide is projected to grow from 13.8 billion in 2021 to 30.9 billion by 2025.

However, unlocking the full potential of IoT will mean adopting a 5G-powered network. It’s simply not possible to handle the large amounts of data and connected devices generated by IoT on a 4G network. By contrast, a 5G-powered IoT network can allow for:

• Faster data transfer – The more quickly IoT devices can communicate with each other, the more efficient the IoT systems that they are connected to will be.
• Lower latency – Less delay between sending and receiving information is particularly important for IoT systems that oversee health, safety, and security procedures.
• Increased device capacity – The higher bandwidths of a 5G network allow for a large number of IoT devices to be connected, far more than could be connected on a 4G network.
• Improved network reliability – With 5G, networks have greater stability, meaning there’s less chance of connections being lost. This, again, is crucial with IoT systems used in health care or focused on workplace safety and security.

One downside to the increasing number of IoT devices is that the proliferation creates additional attack routes for hackers. This is something cybersecurity experts are working on by developing new security protocols specifically designed to deal with the almost exponential increase of network endpoints involved in an IoT system.

The relationship between 5G and IoT is a reciprocal one: as IoT becomes the norm for most businesses, it will increase the need for upgrading their network to 5G. As 5G becomes more common, it will increase the attraction of developing an IoT infrastructure.

5G and location-based services

One particularly promising IoT sector is location technology, which refers to systems that track assets and people in real time through a network of sending and receiving IoT devices. Location tech has been around for a few years using various existing technologies, such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. However, most current location technologies have various drawbacks regarding accuracy, security, or scalability.

For instance, GPS uses a lot of power and doesn’t work effectively in indoor environments. Wi-Fi provides higher indoor accuracy, but its short range makes scalability challenging. There are also significant security issues with Wi-Fi, making it vulnerable to attacks.

A 5G-powered location network can overcome most of these challenges through its high bandwidth, reliable connectivity, and greater security. Location technology developers have taken notice of these benefits and have begun incorporating 5G capability into their Wi-Fi- or Bluetooth-driven devices. This opens up a world of possibilities by removing the constraints on existing devices while also dramatically boosting their capabilities.

With location-based technology having now become far more accurate and cost-effective, it is pushing many business managers to adopt 5G to enjoy the technology’s full benefits. Location-based services can also be incorporated with other IoT infrastructures for a fully connected workplace.

Final thoughts

With connectivity being at the heart of most business operations, 5G will have a major part to play, not just in the evolution of businesses, but also in the evolution of society as a whole. We are all moving towards a more interconnected world and 5G presents a faster and more efficient way for us to get there. While further adoption of IoT and location-based technologies are driving the expansion of 5G, they represent only the tip of the iceberg of what’s possible.

This article was originally published here

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Quuppa is the leading RTLS platform for indoor positioning

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The post Why Location Services and IoT are Leading the 5G Trends of 2022 appeared first on Quuppa.

In an effort to preserve revenue, companies are trying to make up for the delays by finding new areas in which to improve efficiency. For many, cutting waste and streamlining production will be a difficult process.

Fortunately, technology can help. Many manufacturing companies are currently running a confusing mix of digital and physical operations, which are often at odds with each other. The key to finding greater efficiencies lies in merging the best of the physical and digital realms into a seamless whole.

Unfortunately, one major impediment to change often comes from line managers, struggling to recognize weaknesses because of their own subjective views on how operations should work. To address this, manufacturing companies should empower management with technology that can demonstrate that there’s a better way to operate, one that will not only make the managers’ lives easier, but also contribute to the greater profitability of the company in general.

Empower Staff

Manufacturers are currently between a rock and a hard place. Consumer demand post-pandemic is high, but the supply chain crisis continues to confound companies’ efforts to meet that demand. One key to addressing this conundrum is by setting realistic production goals, and this means involving and getting input from all the various stakeholders.

Yes, this includes frontline staff in addition to management. Initiating conversations around production expectations and how to meet those goals will have an empowering effect on line workers, who will, in turn, take more responsibility for the production process. Meetings and forums that discuss production demands, performance indicators, and efficiency solutions will prove enlightening for both employees and employers.

Giving everyone a voice, and making them feel heard, will reduce idle time and encourage more cooperative work among employees and managers. An empowered workforce can turn a clunky and siloed manufacturing process into an integrated and efficient system.

Get Your Tech on

Improving communication is a great way to get started, but what’s really going to transform your manufacturing systems is technology. There are a variety of different technologies that manufacturers can turn to for improved efficiency and safety.

One particularly helpful technology is the use of indoor tracking systems to help managers keep track of both human and physical assets. Location based Services powered by Real-time location systems (RTLS) offer manufacturers a big-picture perspective on indoor operations, such as inventory levels, location of materials, and employee health and safety.

RTLS systems are an extension of what is known as the Internet of Things (IoT), which involves physical devices, like heat sensors and positioning tags, that transmit data through the Internet to some kind of database and ultimately to management for analysis.

Other technologies include manufacturing execution systems (MES), which track and document the process of turning raw materials into finished products. MES works in real time and provides manufacturers with control over the various parts of the process, including inventory, personnel, machinery, and support systems. Think of MES as an intermediary between an enterprise resource planning system (ERP) and process control.

Lean Manufacturing

Creating a more controlled workflow, with employees and equipment working in harmony, is an important step to improving manufacturing operations. Once a company has invested in technology adoption and organizational efficiency, manufacturers can also take a hard look at products that are underperforming. Whatever the reason—external market forces, inefficient supply, or insufficient demand—some products may simply need to be dropped altogether. It’s possible that in trying to be all things to all comers, you’re spreading your operations too thin.

Another place to find efficiency might lie in determining which parts of your process would be better to outsource to another vendor. A lot of manufacturing inefficiency comes from when companies overestimate their production abilities or are too far from raw materials, or simply don’t have the right expertise.

Just as great managers are the ones who know which responsibilities to delegate to which employees, great manufacturing companies are the ones who know what they should be outsourcing and what they should be doing themselves. The key to greater productivity could simply lie in deciding what it is that you don’t need to do.

By empowering staff, bringing in the right technology, and figuring out what not to do themselves, manufacturers can unlock the improved productivity that they seek. Exactly what you’ll discover in the process depends on a number of factors, including your industry, your talent base, and the access that you have to the best technology. But the most important step is to take a step back and look at your entire operation with an eye toward improvement.

Tom Ruth is the Vice President of Quuppa Americas. He brings over 25 years of marketing disruptive technologies and managing smart growth within high performance organizations.

This article was originally published here

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Quuppa is the leading RTLS platform for indoor positioning

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The post Protocols to Streamline Manufacturing Operations appeared first on Quuppa.

Yet a major drawback of the use of these smart technologies has been a loss of privacy for employees. Smart systems often require greater control over the work lives of staff members. One example is employee tracking. Employers use tracking technology to monitor employees who are working remotely. By tracking their whereabouts, employers can make sure They are properly resourced to complete work. But this process requires what could be seen as a significant invasion of privacy.

Of course, employee privacy concerns need to be a top priority for employers, but discarding smart technology is not the answer. Instead, companies need to find the right balance between implementing smart systems and maintaining respect for employees’ privacy.  

Employers that are able to empower their staff to understand the importance and benefits of smart technology will better realize the productivity gains that smart technology provides without compromising the privacy of the workforce.

Education is Key

The rise of smart technology has splintered workers into two groups: those who can learn from new technologies and those who cannot. Unable to grasp the full benefits of new systems,  some employees develop Luddite tendencies instead of learning to work cooperatively with labor-saving technologies.

Providing employee education regarding smart technologies will alleviate much of the distrust, especially around privacy. Training employees on new technologies can be costly, but in the long run it will build employee trust and lead to faster adoption throughout the company.

Ongoing information sessions and handouts can engage even the most tech-weary employees. These sessions should go beyond the technology and focus as well on improving employees’ understanding of privacy rights, specifically regarding what companies are and aren’t allowed to collect as well as what companies can do with that information. 

Engaging workers on both the technological and policy front gives them a sense of understanding that will go a long way to helping them accept and effectively use smart technologies. With the right knowledge, employees will be empowered to accelerate the process of digital adoption.   Employees also need to understand that the information is being used to help them, and not to monitor their use of restrooms, breaks, or other personal information. 

Worker Led Adoption

As the cogs that move the day-to-day operations of a company, employees often know best what change is needed in their workspace. Working together, employers and employees can find the best methods to apply smart technologies that protect employee privacy. So, not only can employees provide you with information about how to best implement smart technologies, but involving them in the decision process will also engender buy-in on their part. 

Armed with accurate knowledge about the benefits of smart technologies, employees will eventually come to the conclusion that adopting smart technology is really in their best interests. Smart technologies allow employees to work more efficiently, find materials faster, avoid dangerous work situations, and generally improve productivity and lower stress levels. For example, helping employees understand where vital co-workers are may make them more effective in completing their own jobs.  We see this in Healthcare as well as industrial environments.  

Employees should clearly be part of the decision-making process around how the company can use smart technology, including location-based tracking, to improve company processes. Not only will this help your company avoid privacy concerns, but it will also improve the process of smart tech implementation for everyone.

Case by Case

Privacy can mean different things to different people. Remote employees might have different privacy concerns from those of office or factory staff. There’s something about working from home that makes employees even more protective of their private lives. For instance, remote workers who run errands in the middle of the day may not want tracking systems following them on their journey or viewing them as they pick up their kids from school.

In the same way, factory floor staff might prefer tracking that doesn’t include specific personal information: the company can monitor how many people are in what part of the facility, but not specifically who is where. Working in concert with employers, staff can provide useful feedback about how smart technologies can best be used to improve workflow without harming privacy issues.

Trusting employees with technology reveals the real issue at the heart of privacy concerns: trust. Building trust between employees and new forms of technology also means building trust with the managerial staff in control of all that data. Companies built on cooperative empowerment will see a more seamless transition into smart technologies.

This article was originally published here

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Quuppa is the leading RTLS platform for indoor positioning

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The post Implementing Smart Technology While Respecting Employee’s Privacy appeared first on Quuppa.

One of the exciting aspects of working in technology is that you are always chasing improvements. How can we take this to the next level? How can we do more or blaze a trail? It’s not to say this doesn’t happen in other industries, but the difference in tech is if you don’t truly drive forward, someone else will overtake quickly.

Delivering Innovation That Lasts

Let’s look at what this means, focusing specifically on real-time location systems (RTLS). It is technology used across a range of industries from industrial manufacturing to healthcare and much more. However, can we do more with the RTLS systems to drive what is possible with the technology—and, more importantly, should we? Absolutely, we must anticipate future market trends and meet them. It is crucial to continuously assess whether this is working for current essential and desired business goals and how it can be improved.

RTLS solutions need to be adaptable and evolve to address growing demands as they arise. However, can RTLS solutions be delivered in a way that meets customer needs, safeguards their investment and can adapt as needs change? One of the cornerstones of achieving this may lie in a very familiar technology—Bluetooth.

Isn’t Bluetooth An “Old Hat” Technology?

Yes and no. Bluetooth is a very well-established technology. It’s been around since the ’90s and is mostly known as a way of connecting consumer devices like wireless headphones. However, this is not the limit of its capabilities. Bluetooth is constantly evolving, backed by a strong community pushing both standardization and increased capabilities where direction finding, ranging and multistream audio are just a few examples of some of the latest functionality innovations. Today, Bluetooth is pervasive, and location-based services are driving its growth.

More than 6.4 billion devices with Bluetooth capabilities are expected to be shipped annually by 2026. It is used across the world, and when it comes to economies of scale and adoption, you’re already a considerable part of the way there. Now for the innovation—can a technology that is old enough to legally buy you a beer in the U.S. really bring something to the party? Yes.

Bluetooth technology is already a go-to option for RTLS solutions. However, it is also worth saying that not all Bluetooth is created equal. Older generations do have limited functionality, but newer generations (5.0 and beyond) open the market to a larger range of possibilities by introducing novel functionalities. This is particularly true in the context of location technologies; Bluetooth has evolved, enabling additional features that can deliver high-accuracy and reliable RTLS solutions. This means allowing vendor-specific implementations of RTLS to move from the simple power-based (RSSI: received signal strength indicator) proximity positioning to pinpoint centimeter-level positioning, adding real value for users.

Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

The advantages of using Bluetooth are clear, but to fully reap the benefits, the age-old saying that “proper planning prevents poor performance” certainly rings true. Just because a technology can deliver added value for users doesn’t mean that it automatically will, and the key to ensuring that it does is planning. As with any technology, there can be pitfalls around its implementation, and organizations need to approach RTLS in a strategic way to ensure the vendor solution that they select is future-proofed.

The first question must be: “What is the business driver for employing RTLS, and what am I looking to achieve?” The advantage of Bluetooth is that the answer to that question can be virtually anything, and the widespread availability and compatibility of the Bluetooth ecosystem means the solution can be configured in a way that perfectly serves that need—for example, tracking the location of inexpensive and small electronic tags or locating phones, scanners and general Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices. It sounds obvious, but due to a huge amount of flexibility in what can be achieved with Bluetooth-based RTLS, it is vital to have a crystal-clear definition of what your organization is looking to achieve with the technology.

If the business aim is loosely formed and the selected vendor solution is not scalable and versatile, it may not drive quite the deliverables you are looking for. By defining the key goals at the outset, the solution can be tailored in a way that drives the required business outcome. Not only this, but because Bluetooth-based RTLS can adapt as business goals change, the process of planning and defining business goals needs to be ongoing to make sure that the deployment serves its users for as long as possible.

In The Real World

It’s easy to talk about technology in hypotheticals, but the best way to see how to approach this Bluetooth-based RTLS is by seeing what it looks like in a real-world setting.

Take an industrial manufacturing solution, for example. Let’s say the purpose of the deployment is to track expensive industrial tools or assembled parts. The aim is to reduce the need to replace lost assets and minimize the time spent searching for ready-to-ship equipment. The goals of the deployment are defined clearly, and the tracking solution can be adapted accordingly—location accuracy set to high-accuracy level precision with a secure but accessible system so the data can be utilized to save time. It is an easy (although vital) step, but defining crisp and clear needs and goals is key to ensuring the RTLS solutions vendor delivers everything that is needed for a valuable deployment.

Conclusion

We began by asking how we can help organizations safeguard their investment in RTLS technology. There are several approaches, but the key takeaway is selecting a versatile vendor leveraging on a flexible technology solution that can adapt as business needs change. However, with great flexibility comes the challenge of using the options available in a way that best benefits the business. Therefore, a constant assessment of whether the solution’s scalability can serve the needs of the organization is key to ensuring RTLS technology that drives benefits for years to come.

Did you know?

Quuppa is the leading RTLS platform for indoor positioning

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This article was first published here: Forbes.com

The post Using Bluetooth To Safeguard RTLS Innovation appeared first on Quuppa.

What Does Flexibility Really Mean?

At Quuppa, we use Bluetooth^® technology to develop indoor location platforms and services for a wide range of use cases. Our location engine is designed to provide reliable, real-time location information with sub-meter accuracy (down to 10 cm) and very low latencies (down to 150 ms), and it is proven to perform reliably in harsh conditions like a metallic environment. For example, Quuppa is used both in industrial manufacturing as well as in about 90 ice hockey arenas across four professional leagues, and we track everything moving on the ice: players, puck, and referees. The Bluetooth^® radio allows us to run our systems, targeting at meeting different accuracy levels (presence, proximity, and high accuracy) depending on the project and customer requirements. Furthermore, most Bluetooth radios allow for vendor-specific implementation, making the overall system able to operate optimally across different vertical markets, including reflective and multipath-prone environments. The Quuppa core value offering is in how we package the whole Bluetooth Direction Finding technology, powering it up with what we call the Quuppa Positioning Suite.

Flexibility is a somewhat general term that gets thrown around a lot when discussing real-time location systems (RTLS). After all, who wouldn’t want to build on a technology that was as flexible as possible and could adapt to meet all of their needs? However, sometimes it’s good to stop and think about what we actually mean with terms such as these.

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Flexibility Links to Versatility

Bluetooth^® technology has already been proven to be the technology of choice for location solution providers. Likewise, we developed a part of our current offering, leveraging the many benefits given by Bluetooth technology. We have spent a lot of time thinking about what flexibility specifically means for us as well as for our customers and business partners. In our in-house vocabulary, flexibility is strongly linked to versatility. When we first started building positioning systems many years ago (still in the Nokia era of the early 2000s), we conducted a SWOT analysis of the various technologies, many of which are still used today for positioning, such as lighting, audio, cellular, Wi-Fi, UWB, and inertial sensors. Our aim was to find the most flexible and versatile platform on which to build a highly scalable system.

Bluetooth technology came out on top because of the cost element as well as its global adoption and interoperability across billions of devices, in some cases also allowing retrofitting new functionality via a simple software update. Thanks to Bluetooth technology’s huge economies of scale, it’s possible to source hardware components at much lower prices than for other technologies, which, of course, translates directly into the cost of the final product and ultimately into value for the end customer. Furthermore, the massive range of readily available Bluetooth components offers tremendous scope for designing solutions for just about any usage scenario and product. These solutions can be truly globally adoptable since they all operate on the worldwide 2.4 GHz ISM band.

Note that Bluetooth technology is in continuous evolution, especially for Bluetooth Location Services. The first version of Bluetooth Location Services came up around 2010 with the introduction of Bluetooth beacons which enabled locating moving objects by using power measurements (RSSI); this could be seen as Bluetooth Location Services Release 1.0. Today, with the introduction of Bluetooth Direction Finding (part of Bluetooth Core Specification version 5.1), Bluetooth technology has opened the door to vendors to implement more accurate and reliable location service offerings, which we could call Bluetooth Location Services Release 2.0. For more information, also see: http://quuppa.com/bluetooth-direction-finding-going-beyond-beacons/.

“With four billion Bluetooth devices shipped in 2020 alone, and an estimated compound annual growth rate of ten percent over the next five years, no other technology comes even close to Bluetooth technology’s market penetration.”

Fabio Belloni, Chief Growth Officer at Quuppa

Location in Everyone’s Pocket

Another factor in the flexibility of Bluetooth^® technology is simply that so many different kinds of devices already have it. With four billion Bluetooth devices shipped in 2020 alone, and an estimated compound annual growth rate of ten percent over the next five years, no other technology comes even close to Bluetooth technology’s market penetration. In these billions of devices, new location functionality can often be added with a simple software or firmware update.

Contrast this with the task of modifying a hardware design to add new radio technology to a device in production. At best, you will need months, if not years, of design, planning, and certification. And for mass-market products, the reality is that adding even a small incremental expense to the manufacturing cost per unit may wreak havoc on the profit margin of the final product.

While on the topic of radio technology, it’s worth keeping in mind the true worldwide nature of the Bluetooth standard. With globally allocated radio channels, you can be certain that your device can be sold and used in any country. With other technologies, this is not a given, as you will likely need to create different product versions depending on the local radio spectrum licensing and/or skip going to market in certain regions altogether. Which scenario would you prefer?

“By comparison, other technologies only allow a limited range of granularity, effectively limiting the flexibility of the overall solution. Bluetooth technology really offers the best of both worlds.”

Fabio Belloni, Chief Growth Officer at Quuppa

Any Level of Precision

Finally, one of the great advantages of Bluetooth^® technology is the way it enables real-time location with any degree of precision without compromising high-accuracy reliability. It can be used for simple present/not present monitoring of an asset or device, extreme positioning accuracy down to the centimeter level, or intermediate presence positioning that indicates the approximate location of whatever is being tracked. Furthermore, leveraging Bluetooth Direction Finding methodology and advanced vendor-specific implementations, Bluetooth based location systems can measure radio multipath propagation and provide high-accuracy positioning.

By comparison, other technologies only allow a limited range of granularity, effectively limiting the flexibility of the overall solution. Bluetooth technology really offers the best of both worlds.

Why Bluetooth Technology?

So, to summarize, when we need to explain whether Bluetooth^® technology’s flexibility is based on its economy, global adoption, or range of positioning options, the answer is all of the above. Flexibility runs across several different dimensions, which is why we chose Bluetooth technology for our own solutions after a careful analysis. With Bluetooth technology, we can build versatile, cost-effective products that have all the attributes needed to conquer the market.

Bluetooth Location Services have evolved over the years, and today they offer a variety of options, from the super cost-effective proximity solution (RSSI based) to the high-accuracy, scalable, and reliable version springing out of the latest Bluetooth Direction Finding. Furthermore, in the near future, we will see the new Bluetooth ranging capability (High Accuracy Distance Measurement) coming to the market. So, if someone is describing the accuracy of Bluetooth Location Services, they should also be clear about which implementation they are talking about, as these are really not the same at all.

This article was first published here: Bluetooth.com

The post Why Bluetooth Technology is the Most Flexible Location Services Technology appeared first on Quuppa.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic upended the world in ways that are normally associated with global conflict. For many, the measures to control the spread of the virus have gone from temporary inconveniences to a new way of life – but at a huge cost. From South Africa to Portugal, the United Kingdom to Japan, doctors and healthcare officials warned of hospitals on the brink of collapse under the weight of new cases arriving each day.

However, a less discussed and more positive aspect of the past year has been the digitisation of healthcare systems around the world, driven by the transformative effects of Industry 4.0. This has manifested in the rise of “smart” frameworks; making extensive use of emergent technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) in order to create more integrated, efficient spaces that better suit the needs of their users and occupants.

For many, the term “smart” conjures images of apps, but smart healthcare is much more than that. It’s about creating a healing environment where the increasing digitisation of the building, processes and infrastructure mean that the technology works in unison to deliver benefits to the people connecting to it. As noted by Siemens, “In a smart hospital, the focus is on the digital systems and the potential they offer to the building itself to effectively become a member of the team.”

What the pandemic has done is boost existing interest and adoption of smart technology across the board. Even before Covid hit, healthcare executives were struggling with issues around the safety of their facilities, the quality of care provided to their patients and costly workflow inefficiencies that were impacting their bottom line. An additional issue these executives are dealing with is a global population that is not only getting larger, but also ageing.  By 2030, the world will have more than 8.5 billion people and by 2050, the number of people over the age of 60 will have doubled in comparison to 2015.

We have seen this smart digital adoption across several different healthcare areas.  Telemedicine already accounts for roughly ⅔ of outpatient appointments across the United States during 2020 and research from Purdue University also suggests that telehealth can reduce the amount of time people spend in the hospital itself, with no corresponding fall in the quality of care provided.  However, one of the newest and most effective technology solutions to address these mounting challenges has been the integration of Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) into hospital processes.

This development has been powered primarily by the growing appreciation and value of data, the foundation of all digital transformation and “smart” initiatives. In a world in which data is referred to as the “new oil,” it is perhaps understandable that effective use of data will be vital in tackling the resource problems facing healthcare today.  However, to make the right decisions that will fundamentally change the healthcare ecosystem, that data needs to be captured throughout a facility—as well as the insight to make changes that positively impact staff and patients.

The success of a smart hospital is based on connecting diverse data into actionable insights that lead to optimal care and increased operational efficiency. By using RTLS to identify, track, locate and monitor the condition of every patient, staff and assets in an organization, executives now have the healthcare facility business intelligence that helps deliver better outcomes for patients—as well as the hospital’s bottom line.

Practical examples of this are dotted across the healthcare landscape, over a large variety of applications. Take something as simple as hygiene management, especially crucial during the pandemic. GWA Hygiene, a leading hospital hygiene provider, found that only half of the workers in one of its partner hospitals were washing their hands properly – increasing patient risk of infection.

With the twin goals of improving infection control amongst workers, visitors, and patients; as well as streamlining existing IT processes, GWA installed cloud-based IT infrastructure in the hospital.

As Tobias Gebhardt, managing Director of GWA Hygiene noted “We should not leave infection control teams alone with outdated tools. We needed a totally new tool set for the hospital management to better understand and break infection chains.”

The response also included the incorporation of RTLS locators and tags on hand sanitiser dispensers throughout the hospital which provided valuable real-time insights into usage frequency, usage time and more. The result was significant savings in both time, money and resources – allowing the company to upgrade its dispensers, rather than having to enact a wholescale replacement program.

Elderly care is another area that has benefited from location tracking technology. With a growing number of Alzheimer’s patients in their 50 retirement centres across Austria and German, 7iD was presented with the challenge of monitoring the whereabouts of their residents and preventing them from wandering off the premises and running away.

In response, the company implemented a comprehensive Bluetooth-based RTLS program. Smartwatch-style trackers were distributed to patients which monitored their actions and proximity to certain areas and staff, setting off alarms if rules were broken. Pinpoint accuracy was delivered with limited hardware requirements. The power efficiency of the technology also meant that time was saved on recharging the devices.

It allowed them to not only expand their operations to other sites, but also diversify their offering; adding support to prevent the separations of newborn babies from their mothers; a huge problem in Eastern countries.

Workflow is another area that has benefited from the transition to smart healthcare and location services. This is especially egregious in healthcare as the potential benefits are so great. Research from Columbia University highlights how valuable predictive analytics can be in reducing patient waiting times.  In this scenario, data is used to better predict the number of patients that are likely to be in the emergency room at any one time so that resources can be planned accordingly.

This was the experience of Artisight, a US-based solutions provider. As noted by Chris Heddon, VP of Product, hospitals and clinics often have very complicated workflows. He noted “Cancer centre workflows can include up to four appointments, which is a big opportunity for process optimization. At peak hours, a high-volume clinic may have up to 200 people in each workflow at a given time and you need to know where each one of them is.”

“One of the most valuable resources in a cancer center is the infusion chair, which many clinics do not have great utilization metrics around. Tracking patient location with RTLS allows Artisight to build data-driven resource utilisation models that ensure the highest possible utilisation of infusion chairs and other valuable resources.”

He added “Orthopedic clinics have similar challenges – ideally appointments can be optimized to hour between when the patient arrives in the parking lot to when and when they leave. The only way to do that is to know where clinicians and patients are at all times. So how do we make them more efficient?”

By incorporating tracking systems into their existing computer vision and artificial intelligence infrastructure, they were able to create substantial revenue gains and efficiency savings for their hospital clients. Operating rooms normally cost over $100 a minute to operate, but implementing the technology meant not only an increase in on-time case starts, but also a reduction in operating room turnover time; allowing more operations to take place and maximising the space; a 16% productivity gain for one their client hospitals. Staff overtime was reduced significantly and the gains in overall case volume (from 1400 to 1800 in a single month) meant the centre did not have to build extra operating rooms to increase business.

The next decade will present new opportunities and technologies that create value and dramatically improve patient care. By integrating smart infrastructure technologies such as RTLS into hospitals, healthcare providers are going to be able to increase efficiencies, maximise patient comfort, and cope with the difficulties of tending to patients in a modern world. Ambitious goals and global change require new ways of working where staff, patients and visitors are supported throughout their journey. This requires the recognition of the vital role that technology, especially digital transformation, can play in the process. This approach heralds a new age of the smart hospital.

Did you know?

Quuppa is the leading RTLS platform for indoor positioning

LEARN MORE

This article was first published here: knowlex.co.uk

The post How Covid-19 has Boosted “Smart Healthcare” appeared first on Quuppa.

Orange Business Services (OBS) has cracked a new problem for manufacturers with the Internet of Things (IoT) – industrial scale management of tools.

The geolocation and digitisation project it built for Safran Aircraft Engines (SAE) has created a system that could be adapted for use by comms service providers in many other industries, according to Emmanuel Routier, VP of Industry 4.0 at Orange Business Services. There were lessons learned on the comms side, too, according to Routier, as the service provider overcame a challenging environment for setting up signals.

Lessons learned on the comms

The new system, that Orange Business Services has built, now manages 15,000 tools in Safran Aircraft Engines’ two giant factory plants in Villaroche and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which are spread over 55,000 and 20,000 square meters, respectively. In the factory, each complex stage of engine production has to be precisely orchestrated and involves multiple teams, supplies of components and the application of conditioning materials such as air and liquid cooling systems.

Missing items can cause painfully expensive delays, and the tools are the most likely to be either lost or faulty. The SAE plants have 15,000 tools and 75,000 square meters of space for them to get lost in.

Losing tools would be fatal

When Orange Business Services was commissioned to track and manage the tools, its plan was to tag each of the 15,000 tools with a sensor (tracker) to pinpoint their location using 250 antennas. However, according to Routier, the factory plants create a harsh environment for signalling on certain wavelengths.

Orange Business Services uses Bluetooth® between the trackers on the tools and the antennas in the Safran factories. The antennas’ backhaul technology mixes fixed Internet, Wi-Fi, and cellular.

Each tool is tagged with a tracker associated with a customer reference ID. As the signals are sent out from each tool, the antennas calculate the precise location, to within 3 meters, based on the angle from which the signal arrives.

Ubisense management system

The reference IDs for each tool are managed through a Ubisense service platform that Orange Business Services customised. This platform tells exactly where each tool is at any moment. The customised service platform also provides a dashboard that enables Safran’s engineers to monitor all the tools for preventive maintenance.

As Safran’s service integrator, the Orange Business Services project managed three main partners: ELA Innovation provided the tracking devices and expertise, Quuppa provided the antennas, and Ubisense created the management system.

Though this Industry 4.0 system was customised for Safran, it could be readily adapted and applied to other manufacturing and industrial companies, says Routier.

Orange’s commitment was crucial

The Orange teams’ commitment throughout the implementation of the entire project was crucial.”

Christophe Blayo, Head of tooling for commercial engines assembling at Safran Aircraft Engines

With our dual expertise as a carrier and an integrator, we draw on our ecosystem of partners to bring market-leading technologies together, allowing us to best meet our customers’ needs across the entire value chain.”

Emmanuel Routier, VP of Industry 4.0 at Orange Business Services

This article was first published at mobileeurope.co.uk

The post Orange Business Services fires up Safran Aircraft Engines with IoT appeared first on Quuppa.

Fabio Belloni was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his expertise around digitalisation and location technology. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of success with business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honours as a thought leader. 

“We are honoured to welcome Fabio Belloni into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Technology Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”

As an accepted member of the Council, Fabio now has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him and Quuppa reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum, is invited to work with a professional editorial team to share his expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and contributes to published Q&A panels alongside other experts.

“I am extremely excited and honoured by this opportunity to join the Forbes Council. I am confident that this forum and community will help Quuppa and our journey to become the leader in the Indoor Location market”  – Fabio Belloni, CCO at Quuppa

To learn more about Forbes Technology Council, visit forbestechcouncil.com. 

The post Fabio Belloni Joins Forbes Technology Council – A Community for World-Class CIOs, CTOs, and Technology Executives. appeared first on Quuppa.

• The existing Sense Bluetooth low energy (BLE) asset-tracking device now has a Quuppa-enabled version.
• The Sense Shield device can be configured to sound an alarm whenever a wearer is located 2m or less from another device. Quuppa compatibility makes Sense Shield one of the most accurate devices on the market.
• A simpler version of the Sense Shield provides the same Quuppa-enabled location accuracy for tracking assets, without the audible alarm.

Omni-ID has also launched its ‘OmniSphere’ middleware IoT platform, which simplifies data collection, storage, visualization and interpretation by delivering Sense device data seamlessly to existing corporate systems, or customer applications. A range of dashboards display sensor data including motion alarms, range measurement, push-button alerts, temperature, GNSS coordinates and devices’ current and previous positions, which can be viewed on a configurable map. Alerts can be generated, such as sending an email when a device enters or leaves a geofence or notifying when a device’s temperature goes above or below a pre-configured threshold. The new middleware platform also enables rapid technology evaluation and proof-of-concept applications involving Omni-ID Sense devices.

The Quuppa-enabled devices are the latest additions to the Sense LoRa product range, which can transmit signals up to 15km in flat, open space, or 3-4km in an urban setting. All Sense devices have a compact battery that lasts up to 5 years in harsh and remote operating environments: reducing the cost and time required to replace devices in the field. When using the GPS and accelerometer features, Sense LoRa devices will give positional accuracy of 3-5m upon movement.

Sense BLE products offer a communication distance of up to 200m and can link to WiFi, LAN or cellular networks, and to a cloud, or locally-hosted client application server.

“The introduction of our BLE and LoRaWAN IoT devices generated huge interest with our customers and partners for cold chain condition monitoring, logistics, distribution and asset management applications,” says Omni-ID CEO, Dr Tony Kington. “The addition of three new Quuppa-compatible devices, supported by the OmniSphere middleware, provides our customers with the ability to rapidly review data from proof-of-concept applications so that they can swiftly test and implement devices wherever precise location tracking is required.”

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