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February 20 2007 at 10:36 AM
Long-Range, Low-Power Wi-Fi Tag Accurately Tracks people and assets
Barcelona, 20 February 2007 - Fractus, the fractal antenna technology pioneer, is providing specialised discrete Wi-Fi antennas for Ekahau’s T301-A Wi-Fi tag enabling improved range, a smaller device and improved power efficiency.
Ekahau’s T301-A Wi-Fi tag is part of Ekahau’s real-time location system (RTLS). Ekahau RTLS is an ideal solution for locating people and assets using inexpensive off-the-shelf Wi-Fi access points as opposed to proprietary sensors used by legacy Active RFID systems. Ekahau’s system is in use in healthcare, manufacturing and supply chain industries for managing mobile assets and work force.
Fractus has developed and integrated two Slim Reach XtendTM chip antennas for each tag. The two signals are combined to resolve interference caused by environmental obstacles thereby allowing the tag to be easily tracked through walls and floors and in a maximised distance. By applying fractal geometry the antennas achieve a maximum ratio performance vs size (7x3x1mm) enabling a device which is small and easy to append to people or goods (45x55x19mm).
“The ability to accurately track assets and people in real-time is an extremely attractive proposition to various industries but the exorbitant costs to implement them in a real
environment have presented a major obstacle,” said Ekahau’s Director, Product Management, Arttu Huhtiniemi. “Fractus has provided vital support in overcoming Wi-Fi’s traditional shortcomings, helping us to create a high performance yet cost-effective solution that makes mass-market asset tracking a commercial reality.”
“Wi-Fi is rapidly becoming the short-range wireless technology of choice with its fundamental virtues of low cost and high bandwidth. In the past bulky antennas and limited range have limited Wi-Fi’s usage, but these limitations are easily surmountable with Fractus’ RF expertise and patented fractal antenna technologies,” said Albert Algans, Manager, Technical Sales & Client Support at Fractus. “Fractus is increasingly working with innovative companies like Ekahau to bring RF technology to suit specific strategic markets.”