Photo: Ubisense In Action

Aston Martin has been benefiting from Ubisense's technology at its production line in Gaydon.
Photo: Bloomberg By Richard Tyler, Enterprise Editor

Ubisense Tag combines UWB and GPS for 'best-of-both worlds' tracking named as CSR Location Summit Fast-Pitch finalist

Cambridge, 6th October, 2010.  Ubisense, the world leader in precise real-time location systems announces the Trimode Tag, the latest addition to its line of location tracking equipment for industrial users. The unique Trimode tag combines ultra-accurate ultra-wideband (UWB) location, low-cost presence sensing, and outdoor GPS tracking in a single device.

Inside buildings, the tag operates in the standard Ubisense UWB tracking mode, transmitting UWB signals to a network of base stations for unrivalled centimetre-level 3D location sensing. Within indoor areas, where low infrastructure cost is more important than tracking accuracy, the tag can operate in a 'presence' mode, using its on-board radio to simply indicate that the tag is at hand. When the tag is outdoors, it automatically switches to GPS mode, calculating its position from the satellite signals, and reporting them to the Ubisense system using its on-board radio.

"We're very excited by the possibilities afforded by the Trimode tag," said Andy Ward, Ubisense's Chief Technology Officer. "Our customers can now deploy a single tag to locate assets in real-time across their sites, both indoors and outdoors. We're providing the best of both worlds – precision tracking where it's needed indoors, and cost-effective, low-infrastructure tracking across large outdoor areas."

Powered by a high-capacity lithium battery, and housed in a rugged IP67 enclosure, the device is suitable for a wide range of mixed indoor/outdoor applications in the manufacturing, transit and military sectors.

Learning that the Trimode tag had been named as a finalist at the CSR Location Summit Fast-Pitch awards, in the “Most Innovative Connected Location Device” category, Ubisense CEO Richard Green, said: "Our major manufacturing customers like BMW, Aston Martin and Airbus rely on our precise UWB tracking to keep their production processes running smoothly, and we can now integrate large-area outdoor tracking into the same solution. I'm delighted that this innovative product is already receiving plaudits from industry experts."

Ubisense "cruises" to automotive success

Cambridge, 23 August, 2010 - Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) supports a weekend of spectacular motoring events, including the Ramshackle Rally, Valencia and the Woodward Dream Cruise, Detroit.

Driving a highly decorative, Ubisense-sponsored car, purchased for only £ 150, Pascal Green joined the Ramshackle Rally Valencia to raise funds for Cancer Research.  The rally involves driving 1450 miles and taking part in daily challenges to score points.  At the end of the rally the team with the most points win, and all of the participants join the finale at the La Tomatina festival in Bunol, just outside Valencia.

Ubisense Americas’ team and CEO, Richard Green were also representing the company, in support  of their Strategic Partner, the world-leading industrial tool manufacturer, Atlas Copco at the world’s largest automotive cruise, the Woodward Dream Cruise, held annually in Detroit.

The Woodward Dream Cruise attracts almost two million visitors every year and is a haven for car fanatics cruisin’ along the 16 miles of Woodward Avenue, enjoying the attractions, and viewing a number of corporate sponsors demonstrating their products along the sidewalk areas. This year’s event clearly demonstrated an uplifted mood of anticipation throughout the industry.

Ubisense counts many automotive manufacturers, including BMW, Aston Martin, Fiat, Daimler and most recently General Motors amongst its customers and partners, and were very pleased to be able to support Atlas Copco at the event

Aston Martin knows precisely where their cars are in production in real-time with Ubisense

Aston Martin, famous the world over for precision engineering and performance has turned to the number one supplier of precision real-time location systems to gain complete visibility of its production processes.

Cambridge UK — 3rd September 2009 — Aston Martin, the prestigious sports car manufacturer, is using the Ubisense precise real-time location system in its daily production operations at the company's headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

The Ubisense system enhances already rigorous off-line finishing processes, through analysis and optimisation of each process, ensuring its efficiency at all times.
Ubisense tags are attached inside the windscreen of the prestigious cars as they begin their off-line finishing process. From that moment on, Ubisense Process Tracker provides production engineers complete visibility of each Aston Martin as it progresses through the facility. The tags are only removed when the car is dispatched to sales.

Using a web browser, a production engineer can locate any car on a map, and watch its progress in real-time. They can also view a log of which process steps a car has been through and the time spent in each step. An alert is raised immediately if a car deviates from the process. The system operates over a standard network and is managed day to day by internal Aston Martin production employees.
Richard Green, CEO of Ubisense, says “We are very proud to have installed this bespoke system within Aston Martin, one of the worlds leading sports car manufacturers. We work with many automotive and manufacturing companies demonstrating the accuracy and strength of our system.”
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