Monday, January 28, 2008

Advanced child security system at Baroue, Kuwait launched by MS Retail in association with TagStone

Cambridge UK, Kuwait – 29 January 2008 TagStone and Ubisense collaborated to create an accurate, reliable and secure solution for MS Retail’s flagship Baroue, the regions first one-stop-shop for children and parents, enabling parents to monitor their children while they play. Built upon Ubisense’s proven precision RTLS system, parents are able to monitor their children in a playground area and can check the whereabouts and activities of at info kiosks around the store.

Opened on the 20th of September 2007 at the newly developed Avenues Mall, Kuwait - Baroue features a giant Sea Serpent playground the length of four London busses, and is over 40ft high. The playground features straight and spiral slides, a magical harp, sand pit and jungle gym.

Children in the Sea Serpent are supervised by Baroue’s trained staff who monitor their play activities. The children are provided with a wristband incorporating the Ubisense location tag, and their parents receive a “ticket” with a unique identifier matching the child’s tag.

As parents browse Baroue they are able to visit a number of info-kiosks and using the unique identifier ticket, can view their children at play. The selected child is highlighted on a 3 Dimensional map of the playground and the parents may request camera views of their child at play, which follow the child as they move.

The service is provided by MS Retail who own and operate Baroue. Explaining how parents prefer an environment that is safe for their kids whilst being practical, and convenient Fahad Al-Mutawa, Chairman and CEO of MS Retail stated; “We have already seen real benefits in terms of customer satisfaction and time spent in-store. We have had positive feedback from customers and children who have become regulars”

Ubisense provided the RTLS sensor network, tags and its distributed Spatial Location Platform software which forms the heart of the system. TagStone developed the software for check-in counters and info-kiosks. Installation and project management was carried out by both companies in partnership. Installation started in August last year and the system has been in commercial operation since November 2007.

“We are very pleased with this first installation of a real time location based solution and are excited about the new opportunities which our partnership with Ubisense will allow us to offer our customers in the Middle East” added Faisal Al Gharabally, CEO of TagStone.

About TagStone

TagStone is the leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions in the Middle East with customers across multiple industries. Specialized in Design, Engineering and Implementation of RFID technology based end-to-end solutions the Dubai (UAE) based System Integrator offers a comprehensive portfolio ranging from Item and Asset Management to People Tracking. www.tagstone.com

About Baroue

Sprawling across an extensive 6500 square meters, ‘Baroue’ – MS Retail’s flagship store in Kuwait - houses a wide spectrum of over 20,000 different products ranging from clothes and accessories to toys and stationery, focusing wholly on children - from newborns to 14-year-olds - in a vibrant and engaging environment. The unparalleled retail concept – the first of its kind in the region – offers kids a world of choice through various brands such as Baby Baroue, Baroue Kids, Baroue Toys, Baroue Maternity and Club b.me (for tweens). Every detail of the store’s architecture and design has been tailored to meet a kid’s convenience. Apart from making shopping exciting for kids through memorable in-store experiences, Baroue also offers recreational features such as a CafĂ© and Juice Bar, Baroue Photo – a fun photo studio, Salon Baroue and an exciting year-round calendar of educational and informative activities and workshops.

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