PinPoint Corp has releases a new product for the emerging real-time, wireless, asset and personnel management market. Called 3D-iD, the product is targeted at indoor
applications requiring a high degree of tracking accuracy and uses locating techniques similar to those employed by the global positioning system (GPS) satellite network. PinPoint has defined this new product category as a Local Positioning System (LPS(TM)). PinPoint's new 3D-iD system is the first ever LPS offering.
3D-iD is a complete end to end system solution combining both
hardware and software that leverages existing corporate computer
networks to continuously locate, track and secure high-value assets
and people across an indefinitely large facility. The product advances
asset management to a new level by allowing organizations to reduce
costs through more effective use of assets, reduced loss, and more
effective management of inventory.
The 3D-iD LPS consists of high frequency "tags" that wirelessly
communicate with the 3D-iD antennas and cell controllers. The cell
controllers calculate and present location data for individual assets
to the end-user over the corporate intranet through a familiar
browser-based application.
"As organizational accountability and security become more
crucial, there is a rapidly growing need for Local Positioning
Systems, of which 3D-iD is the first," said Armando Viteri, president
at PinPoint. "The problem has been to create a radio frequency tag
device with long range, long battery life and low cost (L3RF). Today,
PinPoint has solved that problem. Our 3D-iD system enables
organizations to instantly locate, track, secure and inventory all
their assets. We can help them move far beyond traditional asset
tracking to full control and management of valuable assets."
The PinPoint solution uses (L3RF) technology and a network of
cell controllers to provide real-time location data from any tagged
object within range of the 3D-iD antenna network. It can be used for
both stationary assets, including product inventories, and mobile
assets, such as people and portable equipment. The product, targeted
for the healthcare, manufacturing and distribution markets, helps
organizations:
Instantly locate any asset or person with an attached PinPoint tag;
Maintain a complete log of movements for auditing, security and usage analysis;
Generate an immediate inventory of all tagged assets;
Trigger alerts if an asset or person leaves or enters designated areas;
Monitor and control access to and movement of assets; and
Integrate tracking and finding applications in a single, inexpensive network infrastructure.
"Everyday, our hospital faces the need to find valuable
healthcare equipment in a time-sensitive manner," said John
Schlingheyde, VP for Hospital Operations at the Tisch Hospital of the
Mount Sinai / NYU Medical Center Health System, a 600 bed hospital
that is a pilot installation site for 3D-iD. "When an urgent request
develops, that piece of equipment can potentially be anywhere among
the hundreds of rooms on dozens of floors in the hospital. Early
trials of 3D-iD at Tisch indicate that we will be able to
significantly reduce the time it takes us to find critical equipment
thus improving hospital efficiency and our level of patient
satisfaction and care."
Leverages Breakthrough Department of Defense Research
3D-iD was developed around technology based on pseudo-noise
research by the U.S. Department of Defense, which was an essential
component in reducing the cost of indoor tracking. The product is
based on the operating concepts of GPS. GPS takes signals from
orbiting satellites to track large outdoor assets, such as
automobiles, trucks and railway cars. However, its signal is too weak
to penetrate walls and other obstacles and its commercial resolution
is too imprecise to provide meaningful location data for indoor
applications. With its new 3D-iD system, PinPoint introduces "Local
GPS" or LPS–providing organizations proven GPS-like monitoring
capabilities within a defined physical space.
The PinPoint solution is completely scaleable, beginning with
lower resolution options for tracking at entry/exit points and moving
up to a high resolution choice that broadens coverage to detect
objects within 10 feet of their actual location. PinPoint's L3RF
technology can be embedded in or attached to objects or people to
locate and track the closest wheelchair in a hospital, provide
instantaneous inventory updates on the manufacturing shop floor and
keep tabs on equipment in large, unsecured warehouses. The result is
cost-effective, optimized asset utilization, increased security, and
invaluable asset location data.
The PinPoint solution is designed to function as an extension or
node on a corporate computer network. The product's open API enables
application developers to extract data from the system via the
publish/subscribe architecture, popularized by Wall Street's real-time
trading systems. PinPoint Corp. has also developed a suite of 3D-iD
ViewPoint(TM) applications from which vertical market developers can
easily create customized software applications for the needs of
specific industries.
Dan Tarpy, VP of Sales with DataScan, said, "We are in the
business of providing a comprehensive line of automated data
collection hardware, software, and supplies. DataScan has always
marshaled the finest technologies to help organizations increase
efficiency, reduce costs, and improve productivity. The PinPoint
solution dovetails well with our service philosophy and product line,
and uniquely augments existing capabilities with an advanced,
automatic approach to locating, tracking and securing any tagged item
or person within a fast-paced business or industrial environment."
Highest Level of Asset Management
For asset management, companies have traditionally deployed
technologies, such as bar code, radio frequency identification (RFID)
and infrared, that do not offer the real-time locating and tracking
capabilities of PinPoint 3D-iD. Unlike bar coding, RFID and infrared,
PinPoint 3D-iD was designed from the start to provide the most
affordable and functional way to automatically locate and track any
asset or person anywhere within a facility.
With both bar coding and RFID, tagged assets are only visible to
the system when they are in close proximity to a particular reader.
For instance, a bar code or RFID reader only scans items as they move
through fixed steps in a process. This approach doesn't reveal where
an item is currently located–it only shows where the item last was
identified. And, compared to bar code and high-cost infrared tracking
systems which need to "see" their tags, 3D-iD provides long range tag
detection (maximum range up to 250 feet), through obstacles such as
walls, closets, desks and doors–line of sight isn't required.
"PinPoint's solution for electronic asset tracking could alter
the way many industries manage assets," said Rajiv Kumar, research
manager, Industrial Research Group, with Frost & Sullivan. "The
company has taken the operating concepts behind wireless LANs, global
positioning systems, and radio frequency tagging and identification,
and formed them into a new, patent-pending solution. With the PinPoint
system, corporations can leverage their existing IT infrastructure and
empower it to precisely and affordably locate, track and secure
valuable, or hazardous objects and personnel."
Availability and Pricing
PinPoint is actively developing a reseller channel. The company
is currently building a VAR and integrator network to sell the
product.
The PinPoint 3D-iD system will be available for early user
installations during the third and fourth quarter of this year and
will be commercially available in the first quarter of 1999. Suggested
retail price for an eight antenna system, covering up to 80,000 square
feet, will be $9,995.
About PinPoint Corporation
PinPoint Corporation is a technology leader that develops
real-time electronic asset tracking solutions for the healthcare,
distribution and manufacturing markets. PinPoint's 3D-iD system takes
the operating concepts behind wireless LANs, global positioning
systems, and radio frequency tagging and identification, and forms
them into a new, patent-pending solution. With PinPoint technology,
corporations can leverage their existing IT infrastructure and empower
it to precisely and affordably locate, track and secure valuable
objects and personnel.
