LoT - Location of Things - Making Sense of IoT Data

The world is awash in smart devices.  So much so that at times, these devices seem to dominate every aspect of life.  The city of Augsburg in Germany has gone so far as to embed traffic lights in the pavement, because "Pedestrians were so busy looking at their smartphones that they were ignoring traffic lights," according to an article by Rick Noack dated April 25, 2016 in washingtonpost.com titled "This city embedded traffic lights in the sidewalks so smartphone users don't have to look up."

Smartphones, smart engines, smart aircraft, smart cars, smart UPS delivery trucks, smart gas meters, smart Johnny Walker Blue Label whiskey labels, smart trash collection equipment, and smart cow locating/monitoring equipment...these are just some of the examples of the IoT as reported by Christina Mercer in the April 2016 issue of computerworldUK.com.   It's safe to say that the IoT is just getting started; the list of applications and devices and smart technology of all forms will only continue to grow.  She goes on to say, "Reports suggest there will be 25 billion internet-connected things by 2020..."

Behold the next major wave of development to follow the IoT:  It is called LoT -- Location of Things:  "When a concept is as far-reaching as the Internet of Things (IoT) — involving literally billions of elements — we need principles for organizing and making sense of the data it communicates.  That’s where an emerging IoT subcategory known the “location of things” comes into play. Location is a vital dimension of the IoT concept that encompasses the ability of “things” to sense and communicate their geographic position," from a blog by Christian Lundquist published on April 26, 2016 in internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com.

Of course we are familiar with GPS technology and search engines such as MapQuest, Bing, Google, etc., that help immensely with zeroing in on out-of-doors locations.  However, "Lots of our devices and sensors — along with other assets, people and content — are inside buildings, where GPS has no real reach. That’s where indoor positioning systems (IPS) are creating the next big buzz within the location of things. As IPS technology continues to be enhanced and as more apps that harness its power become available, we’ll see a slew of new data becoming part of the location of things," from the same article quoted above.  

For the business decision maker it quickly becomes apparent that such technology affords tremendous advantages.  If let's say you are warehousing and distributing large stores of Johnny Walker Blue Label whiskey, a smart label on each bottle might be very helpful in certain circumstances.  Same thing for very expensive equipment and tools -- if you happen to be in charge of a big factory or machine shop or warehouse, wouldn't you want to, for example:

-Understand where your high value assets are located at all times.

-Know where your vehicles are, all over the plant.

-Help keep your operating costs down with insight into how to improve logistics management and operating processes.

-Keep track of the 10,000 pallets you just shipped and to your factory's distribution center.

--From the NC_brochure_logistics_091815, downloaded from netclearance.com/industries.

Manage your assets and improve your logistics with superior insight -- using technology from Netclearance, at the cutting edge of the LoT - Location of Things.

Please contact us for more information about real-time tracking of high value assets and inventory, and about business intelligence, mobile customer engagement, and other workplace management solutions .  Thank you. 

LoT - Location of Things - Where is that box?

 The Location of Things or LoT can tell you where things are in real time using active RFID tags or labels.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a sensor technology based on smart tags, which are attached to different items. The microchip in the tag stores a small amount of data and comes with a small radio frequency transceiver that transmit the data at predetermined intervals. 

RFID labels contain more information than a barcode label. An RFID label will tell you not only that the item is a green tee shirt, but which green tee shirt.

For example, if you order a gross of tees in various colors and styles, with RFID labels you can follow those tees from manufacture to arrival in your store. Once the tee shirt has been manufactured and packaged, the package is labeled with an active RFID tag containing the information about its content - smart packaging. 

You have been able to follow the green tee shirt from the moment of manufacture to its arrival in your store via the RFID label. Now the RFID label goes to work for you.

On arrival, without even being taken out of the box, the package is automatically scanned into inventory, saving you employee hours. You know where in the stock room the tee has been stored, when the tee is moved to the sales floor, and you know where the tee is on the sales floor. More importantly, you know how long it takes that tee to sell. Using RFID labels, you know which colors and sizes are the best sellers. You know when and what to reorder. All this can be done remotely at a touch of a button.

With active RFID tags from Netclearance, a manufacturer can simply put an active tag in a box of shirts. Upon arrival the Netclearance active reader can quickly scan and receive the signals from the active tags saving precious time and costs by not having to scan each shirt individually and by installing an expensive array of passive RFID readers and antennas to capture individual tags.

LoT and ultra low power active RFID labels will help streamline your business and help increase sales. Netclearance can assist you with this amazing technology.

LoT - Location of Things the Real Value Behind IoT

The world of technology is, at its most basic level, a human-driven phenomena. As such, it’s subject to all the psychological foibles of our species. One of these is known colloquially as the “wow factor.” It refers to how those who first hear of a new advancement become excited at its sheer ingenuity and novelty. Their initial reaction is, “wow; that’s cool!” It’s only after the excitement fades that someone says, “Hey, what good is this thing anyway?”

The “wow factor” has played a major role in the public’s perception of the soon-coming Internet of Things or IoT. There’s something about the idea of a world made up of objects all linked together that resonates with people on a primal level. Perhaps the concept appeals to our innate sense of oneness with all creation. Perhaps not. Either way, the prospect of an interconnected society has some people saying, “Great! Now what do we do with it?” That’s where LoT - Location of Things comes into the picture.

LoT refers to the ability to locate and monitor all types of things in real time. The advantages of this capability are immense. Take for example networks. Whether they're used to transfer information, energy, goods, or human beings, networks are essential to modern life. When they break down, the consequences can range from minor inconvenience to life-threatening emergencies.

This is where LoT proves so useful. It enables personnel to monitor all types of networks of things for signs of trouble. In the event something goes wrong, it guides them to the exact point of failure. It can even give them vital information about the nature of the breakdown, speeding repairs and minimizing problems.

Needless to say, this technology has enormous potential for making the world a safer, more secure place in which to live. At Netclearance, we have developed pioneering LoT capabilities that can benefit your organization in multiple ways. Contact us today to find out more.

Visit us at RFID Live on May 3 - 5, 2016 Booth 728B  Orange County Convention Center in
Orlando, Florida (www.rfidbeacons.com)

Beacon Hub – Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon to Wi-Fi Gateway Solution

Track assets wirelessly and easily

The m2GW software solution, in concert with the m2Beacon, becomes the industry’s first wireless proximity solution capable of simultaneously receiving Bluetooth LE packets from BLE-enabled tags – the m1Beacon – and transmitting them in a Wi-Fi payload to a cloud-based server. This revolutionary solution features a single small form factor at an affordable price.  The patent-pending design is capable of leveraging an existing Wi-Fi infrastructure or an inexpensive off-the-shelf Wi-Fi router to transmit the Wi-Fi payload to its server destination.

Unlike existing BLE-based RFID solutions, the solution doesn’t require an app-enabled handheld device such as a smartphone or tablet, to scan and discover BLE tags or beacons. The solution includes a cloud based server that can collect proximity, movements and dwelling patterns over time. In addition, the transformational solution provides powerful analytics under a single web based platform.

Netclearance Systems, Inc. – The leader in integrated proximity marketing and insight solutions

The m2GW solution joins the suite of insight solutions that deliver real time data in enabling workplace management solutions for both employee and asset tracking – Netclearance Systems, Inc. Workplace Management & Insight Solutions.

NCS also provides customer mobile proximity marketing, engagement and insight solutions that help clients drive greater revenue and garner increased engagement with their customers – Netclearance Systems, Inc. Customer Insight& Engagement Solutions.

Workplace analytics plus customer insight and engagement – all in one easy, affordable solution

“Based on this new and innovative design, the first application we are offering to our hospitality and retail customers is the ability to deploy a single multi-function beacon that can be used for workforce tracking and asset tracking in addition to customer insight and engagement. Our solutions allow our customers to leverage a single beacon for multiple uses to maximize ROI,” said David Fernandez, Founder & CEO. “We’re very excited to give our customers a better return on their investment by being able to offer proximity based marketing and content for all mobile operating systems and phones. In addition, we can now offer the ability to track employees’ movements, assets’ location and dwelling patterns at the same time under a single web-based management platform.”

By combining and leveraging the infrastructure for both NCS Workplace Management & Insight Solutions and NCS Customer Insight & Engagement Solutions, the need for two separate infrastructures – one for engagement and another for tracking – is eliminated. NCS customers will enjoy an increase of greater than 10x ROI when compared with other disparate solutions.

The software works with both the mBeacon2 and the mBeacon1 – Netclearance Systems, Inc. multi-mode proximity beacons. The m1Beacon is an affordable BLE-only and battery-operated device that can be easily attached to employees’ id badges or uniforms and other assets.  All Netclearance Systems, Inc. solutions, utilize beacon technology and feature an open server APIs (REST), mobile SDKs, and advanced analytics capabilities. In addition, Netclearance Systems, Inc. is the only company that offers a comprehensive web-based content and beacon management platform for all smartphones. It supports new and legacy smartphones by offering a unique low-power Wi-Fi and BLE beacon architecture that is compatible with all mobile platforms.

The integrated workforce tracking and customer engagement solution is shipping today and comes in various price models depending on the venue size, number of employees, types of assets and desired features. For more information please contact us at sales@netclearance.com.