Tag, you're it: RFID lets boss track workers Bob Mook / The Denver Business Journal | May 8 2006
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12684181/ Ubisense is promoting a technology that promises to create new opportunities -- as well as controversy. Based in Cambridge, England, Ubisense specializes in radio frequency identification (RFID), which uses electronic tags for storing data. The company, which employs 10 people in its U.S. headquarters in Greenwood Village, has developed precise, real-time location systems that can locate employees and objects as close as one foot away through RFID tags and 3-D computer monitors. Privacy advocates worry that RFID has the potential to impede on personal rights. A plan from the U.S. State Department to use RFID technology for electronic passports drew criticism from business travel groups worried that unauthorized readers could intercept the signals. Some retailers use RFID on a volunteer basis to monitor consumer shopping habits. They do so by giving consumers bags of complimentary products, with the understanding that they're carrying an RFID tag that will trace their migration through stores. Jay Cadman, vice president for sales and marketing at Ubisense, said the company's use of RFID tags to track people has been innocuous and voluntary. For example, employees can agree to wear RFID tags on a limited basis so that their employers can determine how to use office space more efficiently. Cadman said RFID is extremely helpful in certain facilities, such as in hospitals to locate medical personnel or in nuclear power plants to steer workers away from areas with high levels of radiation. Also in hospitals, RFID can help trace tagged medical devices that are borrowed and sometimes lost. Marcus Torchia, senior analyst for The Yankee Group, a Boston-based research firm, said health care is one of Ubisense's most promising markets. From a patient-safety perspective, Torchia said it's critical for health care workers to locate the right medical devices on a timely basis. But simple cost savings are another reason RFID companies will find opportunities in the sector. "The numbers are staggering in the medical field," Torchia said. "A lot of hospitals overlease equipment simply because they can't find it. There's financial pressures from the industry to improve operations. By incorporating RFID, they can get a pretty quick return on investment." The analyst said it's unlikely that employers will start using RFID just to determine where workers are. "The idea of an employer tracking you in a facility is disturbing for a lot of people," Torchia said. But he said that the technology will prove to be useful in manufacturing facilities where logistics matter as well as for patients in mental health care facilities. He pointed out if RFID tags were used on workers who died in a West Virginia mine accident last year, the outcome might have been different. Gary Washam, the Orlando, Fla.-based director of advanced systems for Cubic Defense Applications, said the defense contractor uses Ubisense for programs to train soldiers. "It's a unique technology that tracks well indoors," Washam said. Using 3-D imaging and computer screens, the program can help officers track miscalculated moves in field exercises, helping soldiers prepare for real-life urban combat. Originally used in World War II to identify friendly aircraft, RFID is becoming an increasingly recognized acronym because of Wal-Mart and the U.S. Department of Defense -- two of the world's largest buyers. Wal-Mart started requiring its top 100 suppliers to begin tagging their products with RFID technology in the last year. The retail giant's next 200 top suppliers must comply by year-end. The technology will help Wal-Mart scan and monitor its inventory more quickly and efficiently. For the Department of Defense, which is requiring contractors to be RFID-compliant by 2007, RFID tags will let the military track weapons and cargo. Revenue for the privately held Ubisense has doubled annually since it was founded in mid-2002, Cadman said. Ubisense's U.S. division has 105 customers and expects to have 200 by year-end. Ubisense's client base is split evenly between Fortune 500 companies and midsized operations, Cadman said. The company, which obtained a $3 million round of venture funding in late March from existing shareholders, a group of Cambridge-based angel investors and the Cambridge Capital Group, projects it will be profitable by the end of the year. Ubisense will use the recent funding round to step up product development and sales and marketing initiatives. Cadman, who grew up in Cambridge, was one of the founders of Smallworld's North American operations. Smallworld, also founded in Cambridge, was a global positioning systems company with its headquarters in Greenwood Village. The company, which employed 200 people, went public in 1997 before General Electric purchased it in 2000 and changed the name to GE Network Solutions. Warren Ferguson, Ubisense's CEO, also served as president and CEO of GE Network Solutions. Under Ferguson's two-year tenure, revenue at GE Network Solutions nearly doubled. Torchia said while there are plenty of competitors in Ubisense's field, Ubisense seems to have the upper hand in terms of achieving a high degree of accuracy with a lighter radio network. Colorado has a thriving RFID sector, said Fritz Hesse, president of the Colorado RFID Alliance (CORFIDA). While the state probably lags behind Dallas, Northern California and the Northeast coast in terms of RFID activity, he said that membership in the organization grew 25 percent from 2005 to 2006. CORFIDA has 34 member companies and is seeking end users to join the organization, Hesse said. Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list medianews@twiar.org To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
