Importance of Real-Time Location Systems Extends Beyond the Supply Chain

Though the supply chain is still the dominant market for RTLS, the door has been opening for a vast array of applications that can be categorized as follows.

Capacity Management such as:

• Helping cities manage transit capacity, traffic flow and traveler alerts
• Helping cell phone coverage with concentrations of calling and texting
• Commercial services and supplies to concentration sites (crowds after events)
• Recalls and return flow
• Inventory 'build-up' for shipping or promotions

Tracking and Routing such as:

• Location-, condition- and identification-related information are the fundamental underpinnings for a broad array of higher-level applications. Of course, asset tracking has gotten much better in recent years, but just as soon as new offerings boost performance, expectations quickly morph into an even more aggressive set of demands. Many users today want slot level visibility (bed, parking, etc.), and not simply to know that it is in the building, yard or room.
• Social networking applications seem to intrigue the new generation with clustering and 'tribe' identity that can be applications on top of location-based services that leverage cell/smart phones, challenging our traditional concepts of RTLS for asset tracking.

People Management such as:

Enhanced visibility of staff, patients, buyers, suppliers, carriers and others for a multitude of purposes such as access control, egress, coverage, security, enforcement (time, perimeter, etc.), and much more.

Read Full Article