Ubisense and Alien Technology complete integration at leading car manufacturer

Combined precision RTLS and RFID tags and readers enable automatic component and vehicle identification and location, using advanced UWB and Gen 2 UHF technologies

July 10th, 2008, Morgan Hill, Calif. and Cambridge, UK – Alien Technology, an industry leader in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) UHF products and services, and Ubisense, the industry leader in precise real-time location solutions, today announced the completion of customer field tests using combined RTLS/RFID for automotive production line component verification.

At the test site, it is critical to register the exact part numbers of critical components (for example air bags) as they are installed in each car. To achieve this automatically while minimizing human interaction and the chance of error or omission, Ubisense integrated standard Alien RFID readers into its Location Platform. This allows each assembly station to recognize the car through its industry standard VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) as it reaches the station and independently verifies which component has been added through the RFID integration. The Ubisense system automatically determines which car has entered a station, as the system is able to track and visualize each car along the assembly line to within 15cm. Ubisense, utilizing combined RTLS and RFID in automotive applications, will significantly reduce the cost and error rate of mounting critical components in a car as it is assembled, resulting in less costly manual rework and shorter cycle times.

“Combining RFID technology and precision RTLS has the potential to revolutionize automotive production,” said Richard Green, CEO of Ubisense. “Our engineers have been working with leading automotive manufacturers to develop this comprehensive solution and the feedback from our customers about the combination has been fantastic.”

“Working with an industry leader with an open real-time software platform made the integration effort very straight forward,” said Stephen Crocker, Director, Sales/Channel Management EMEA and India, Alien Technology Corp. “We see many more opportunities for this combination of technologies across a variety of industries.”

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Integrated Manufacturing Execution System from MDH integrates Ubisense RTLS

Luton and Cambridge UK - 27th June 2008 MacDonald Humfrey, a long established company in process automation has joined forces with market leading precise Real-time Location System company Ubisense in the development of MachSense, targeted at Manufacturing and Logistics organisations. The new integrated system combines Ubisense's RTLS with the key systems for a lean manufacturing environment, including Kanban, Pick-to-Light, and error-proofing, as well as FLT tracking for supply chain and line-side replenishment.

"During the last twenty years of using different forms of identification and location technology in the Automotive field we have been looking for a technology that will work reliably and precisely in the challenging environments of our customers. Finally we have found that technology in Ubisense precise RTLS", says Mick MacDonald, CEO of MacDonald Humfrey. "Those customers using the Ubisense Solution are achieving rapid ROI and unprecedented quality improvements, making the product unique in the manufacturing process applications that these customers demand."

Simon Holloway, independent manufacturing analyst, says "Integration of Real-time Location Systems with Manufacturing Execution Systems has been talked about by many vendors but delivery of reliable location and identification has not been possible in the past. The number of installations of the Ubisense RTLS is testament to the system's performance in mission critical applications."

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