Wifi Revolution

Ascom (News - Alert) Wireless Solutions,  serving the healthcare and manufacturing industries, and Ekahau, a provider of software-based real-time location system (RTLS), today announced a strategic collaboration to develop a Wi-Fi-based emergency positioning solution to locate people in emergency situations.

 

The new wireless positioning solution combines Ekahau's (News - Alert) location-based services with high-end voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) handset i75 from Ascom WS.

 

Ascom’s VoWi-Fi system supports a full range of open standards and accommodates a comprehensive spectrum of private branch exchanges (PBXs), switches and access points. These solutions can be integrated into enterprise systems, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), fire alarms and Openness, Productivity and Collaboration (OPC).

 

The Ascom VoWi-Fi system supports both IEEE (News - Alert) 802.11b and g radio networks, allowing smooth operation on 802.11g networks without the throughput impact caused by slower 802.11b devices. Additionally it supports novel standards such as IEEE 802.11i and IEEE 802.11e, ensuring a high level of security and voice quality.

 

Ascom i75 handsets enable wireless telephony, wireless messaging and wireless personal alarm. They support interactive messaging and communicate with a comprehensive range of external sources, including building management systems, hospital systems and production process systems.

 

Ascom i75 handsets are used in various industries such as manufacturing and healthcare. The new system enables locatable handsets within the coverage area of an existing enterprise Wi-Fi network, both indoors and outdoors, without the requirement of any additional infrastructure components.

 

Using the new wireless positioning solution, organizations can locate people in emergencies, such as an accident on a plant floor. In such situations, the person in emergency can press the alarm button for assistance and an automatic "man-down" alarm is sent. This will reveal the accurate location of the person and rapid assistance can be sent.

 

Ekahau-Ascom WS wireless positioning system features and open application programmer's interface (API) that provides access to the real-time location information by any software application and enables new location-based services, such as "nearest-person-to-task," work-flow improvement and asset tracking applications.

 

“We are very pleased that Ascom WS has selected the Ekahau Wi-Fi tracking solution, which offers the ability to locate people over any brand or generation of a standard Wi-Fi network,” said Jarmo Ikonen, director of sales, EMEA-APAC at Ekahau. “The Ascom i75 handsets are robust and reliable, and are a perfect fit to our tracking system.”

 

Henrik Sandberg, product manager at Ascom, said, “Integrating Ekahau with the Ascom VoWi-Fi handsets was easy and straightforward as their system is based on the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. We are very pleased that we now can offer this secure tracking solution to our customers, enhancing personal safety for their employees.”

 

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