Ubisense Smart Factory installed at Daimler

Since the beginning of July 2013, Ubisense Smart Factory is in production on the Mercedes S-class assembly line in Sindelfingen, Germany. In a pilot phase, the system was tested and integrated with the DC tools in two line segments. The remaining stations were then equipped and all the DC tools were integrated in the subsequent step, which went live in July.

Smart Factory is used in the Sindelfingen plant to identify vehicles and assets on the final assembly line and to control tools based on their position. Linked to the vehicle ID, the real-time tracking data is also transferred to other systems in the production facility, so machine operators always know which particular vehicle is arriving at a station—even on those line segments where conventional vehicle sensing systems cannot be used. Cumbersome, manual scanning processes are thus eliminated, vehicles and tools are matched automatically and the correct tool programs are loaded at the respective work stations. As a result, unproductive assembly time is reduced significantly and errors that can occur with manual processes are avoided.

Smart Factory is integrated seamlessly with the car manufacturer’s PLUS manufacturing execution system and allows for a direct control of the DC tools via the Atlas Copco Open Protocol. In the full roll-out, devices and tools provided by other vendors are also controlled via the real-time location data. The system was implemented by Ubisense together with Atlas Copco, who have a strategic partnership since 2009.

Large Automotive Manufacturer Deploys Atlas Copco Industrial Tools and Ubisense Smart Factory System across Manufacturing Facility in France

Cambridge, UK - Ubisense Group plc (“Ubisense” or the “Company”) (LSE:UBI), a market leader in location based smart technology, is pleased to announce that a large automotive manufacturer has deployed its Smart Factory System across their manufacturing facility in France.

As part of a joint solution from Atlas Copco and Ubisense, the Smart Factory System has been installed on workstations to control tools across their assembly line. The installation ensures that tightening operations are performed accurately and that the appropriate tool setting adjustments are made, ensuring overall that the tightening operations have been performed correctly.

Prior to the installation of the Ubisense Smart Factory System, the process was manually performed by an operator via a barcode scan which added around six seconds per tool operation per vehicle.

Eric Cassard, Business Line Manager at Atlas Copco, MVI France, said: “We are very pleased to have partnered with Ubisense on this project to offer our customers access to leading edge location manufacturing solutions, with the reassurance of global maintenance and support from the world’s leading industrial tool manufacturer.”

Richard Green, CEO of Ubisense, added: “The outstanding partnership that we have developed with Atlas Copco continues to go from strength to strength and is allowing us to rapidly introduce critically important location manufacturing solutions to a broad range of manufacturing companies.”

Daimler to use Ubisense Assembly Control System on Mercedes S-Class assembly line

The Ubisense Smart Factory System Solution for automotive assembly lines based on its six-sigma Real-Time Location System has achieved the pilot acceptance milestone in Daimler’s project to equip the assembly line for the Mercedes S-Class premium cars in Germany.

Following an extensive proof of concept at the customer’s plant in Rastatt, Ubisense was awarded the contract to equip the S-Class assembly line in the Sindelfingen plant. The project was divided into two phases: the pilot phase covered 2 line segments and the associated DC tools provided the means to integrate and test the solution; the system will now be installed at the remaining stations and all the DC tools will be integrated.

The Ubisense Smart Factory System automates the recognition of tool / vehicle interactions on the production line, eliminating the need to scan vehicle ID numbers and ensuring that the correct tool program is being used for the particular vehicle at the station. In addition, the exact location of each vehicle is tracked continuously and matched to the vehicle ID which is then supplied to external worker assistance systems as the vehicle arrives at each station. This is particularly useful on line segments where traditional vehicle sensing technologies are not available.

The result of using the Ubisense Smart Factory System will be a significant reduction in unproductive assembly time, as well as eliminating many errors that can occur in manual operations such as scanning.

The Smart Factory System is integrated with the car manufacturer’s PLUS manufacturing execution system and with the DC tools via the Atlas Copco Open Protocol. The final solution will also control other devices and the tools of several other vendors. Ubisense is implementing the solution together with Atlas Copco following the strategic partnership which the two companies launched in 2009.


Richard Green, Ubisense CEO, added: “We are delighted to be working with Daimler and Atlas Copco, both renowned for the high quality of their products and their manufacturing excellence. We look forward to supporting our customers in achieving their ambitious manufacturing goals over the years to come.”

Ubisense based, Atlas Copco Tool Location System launched to manufacturers worldwide.

Cambridge, November 29 2010, Ubisense, the world Leader in Precise Real-Time Location Systems and Atlas Copco, the world's leading industrial tool manufacturer, announce take-up of the new Tool Location System by major manufacturers worldwide.

World-leading tool manufacturer, Atlas Copco,  launched the Tool Location System (TLS)  based on a Ubisense solution at Motek Fair in Stuttgart in September this year, and have already installed the product with leading manufacturing companies, such as General Motors, BMW, Aston Martin, Daimler, Caterpillar and Honda. The new product has been designed to assist customers using Atlas Copco tools to ensure that the right fixing is being tightened to the correct tension for a particular product.

TLS operates like an indoor GPS facility, using Ubisense Sensors rather than satellites to monitor the position of miniature transmitters attached to tools and products. TLS can deliver 3D tool and production location information, to an accuracy of better than 50cm.  The system is based on UWB radio which is an extremely resistant technology able to deliver high-accuracy, even within a cluttered and metallic environment.

On static vehicle assembly lines, virtual work areas are created and tools are linked to them.  This ensures that only the correct tool operates in a particular work area.  On moving assembly lines, virtual product areas are created that can move with the product being assembled.  Tools can be linked to them, and, again, only the right tools will work in the correct product area.

TLS quickly and effectively reduces the need for manual identification thus reducing errors that result in rework being required.  TLS also speeds up production by increasing individual operator throughput. Ubisense systems are currently in operation in many of the world’s leading manufacturing plants assisting those organisations to improve accuracy, reduce errors and make significant savings.

“We are delighted to be working with Atlas Copco on introducing this new and exciting product, to their customers” said Terry Phebey, Ubisense VP Sales and Marketing, “TLS will allow them to error-proof the production process, providing significant productivity gains.”

Ubisense raises £5m for expansion of pioneering location technology

Ubisense Trading Ltd (Ubisense), a leader in precise real-time location systems (RTLS), has raised £5m by way of a share placing to fund its expansion. The fund-raising was led by Canaccord Genuity who arranged for a number of new investors to participate alongside existing shareholders in the placement.

Based in Cambridge, Ubisense provides RTLS technologies to track assets such as tools and vehicles in factories and other environments. Notable clients include BMW, Aston Martin and Airbus. Demand for RTLS technologies is increasing as industrial manufacturers and others recognise the benefits of real-time asset tracking. The funding announced today will enable Ubisense to capitalise on a growing and significant list of opportunities available in numerous industrial sectors.

Richard Green, Chief Executive of Ubisense, said:
“This investment will enable Ubisense to satisfy the growing demand for its pioneering RTLS technologies. Manufacturers and other commercial organisations are increasingly demanding the benefits of real-time tracking, not only for asset management but also for the improved visibility they have over their production processes.”
  

Ubisense’s system includes wireless tags that transmit their position to nearby receivers, with location tracking information analysed and visualised using Ubisense’s software. The Ubisense system provides dynamic and precise indoor tracking and ensures that its users have greater visibility of industrial processes.

Ubisense will use part of the funding raised to enhance its relationship with Atlas Copco, the leading industrial tool company, with whom it has launched a new generation of intelligent, location-sensitive tools for use on production lines and other industrial environments. Branded “TLS” (Tool Location System), Atlas Copco’s power tools are equipped with Ubisense location tags that accurately transmit their position to a control centre.

By introducing location-aware tools and Ubisense’s system, customers have achieved significant efficiency gains and enjoyed reduced error rates caused by the incorrect use of tools. For example, working with BMW, using Ubisense tags to identify each vehicle on the line, power tools can be programmed automatically to the correct parameters when a specific vehicle enters a work zone.  The TLS technology is also being used by BMW to provide analytical data that helps improve the efficiency of the overall production process itself.

The rollout of RTLS across Airbus factories to track assets ranging from tools to aircraft wings and the tracking of Aston Martin cars as they pass through the off-line finishing processes are further examples of the company’s capabilities.  The technology has a wide range of applications and can also be used, for example, to track buses as they arrive at the depot, so they can be correctly scheduled for the next day; track opera singers to optimise sound balance in the O2 Arena’s production of Bizet’s Carmen; and monitor the behaviour of cows in a cow shed on a Danish dairy farm.

Ubisense is ranked as one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies in the Deloitte Fast 50 2010. Chief Executive Richard Green was honoured by Ernst & Young UK as its Science and Technology Entrepreneur of the Year for 2010.

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

Ubisense and Atlas Copco Industrial Technique enter development partnership.

Ubisense, the world Leader in precise Real-time Location Systems, and Atlas Copco Industrial Technique, the world-leading provider of industrial productivity solutions, are collaborating in the research and development of real-time locations systems for industrial tooling.

“Collaborating with the world’s leading precise real-time location system provider will allow us to continue to develop innovative solutions for our customers who wish to significantly increase their productivity and quality in these tough economic times,” explains Anders Lindquist, President MVI Division at Atlas Copco Industrial Technique. “We became aware of the potential of the Ubisense approach to real-time location at our mutual customer, BMW in Regensburg, Germany. Subsequent discussions with potential customers for this type of technology not only in the Motor Vehicles market but also in aerospace, mining and construction equipment as well as discrete manufacturing led us to the idea of pooling our knowledge and resources to create a new family of solutions for our customers.”

The Ubisense system is installed in the production facilities of companies such as BMW, Aston Martin, Caterpillar and Honda. The application at BMW called LIS/TAS involves tracking the industrial tools used on the final assembly line and loading the correct program into the tool automatically based on the specific vehicle being worked upon.

“The introduction of LIS/TAS has resulted in the elimination of the need to scan vehicles in order to identify them”, comments Andreas Lehner, project manager at BMW in Regensburg. “All the project objectives have been met on time and within the planned budget. From the standpoint of value creation, the project is a complete success”.

“This unique relationship allows Atlas Copco Industrial Technique and Ubisense to investigate the key innovations that will drive the next set of standards for use in manufacturing production and enable significant process improvements”, comments Terry Phebey, VP Sales Ubisense.

About Atlas Copco Industrial Technique

Atlas Copco’s Industrial Technique business area develops, manufactures and markets industrial power tools, assembly systems, software and service. It innovates for superior productivity for applications in the automotive and aerospace industry, general industrial manufacturing and maintenance, and vehicle service worldwide. Principal product development and main manufacturing units are in Sweden and France.
More information on the company is available at www.atlascopco.com.