Cisco, AeroScout Team Up on RTLS; PanGo Unveils Next-Gen Tag

By Beth Bacheldor

Feb. 1, 2007—Cisco has unveiled a new RFID- and Wi-Fi-based real-time locating system (RTLS) designed specifically for companies in the aerospace, automotive, mining and semiconductor manufacturing industries. Cisco's Wi-Fi Asset Tracking solution combines Cisco Wi-Fi networking hardware and software, including the Cisco 2700 Series Wireless Location Appliance and Cisco access points, with active RFID tags and readers from AeroScout.

AeroScout's RTLS system incorporates AeroScout T2 active RFID tags; AeroScout Exciters, which activate nearby tags to transmit their ID numbers; and AeroScout Engine, a software component that calculates tag locations by processing data collected from Wi-Fi access points and the active tags. The Cisco solution also includes AeroScout's MobileView software, which associates each tag's ID with the corresponding object to which it is attached, while also collecting and storing location data.

Cisco's Wi-Fi Asset Tracking solution for manufacturing is not the networking giant's first foray into RFID and RTLS. When the company launched the Cisco 2700 Series Wireless Location Appliance in May 2005, it also unveiled a partnership with PanGo to offer an RTLS solution designed specifically for the health-care market (see Cisco, PanGo Unveil Tracking System).

Meanwhile, PanGo has announced the next evolution of its Wi-Fi-based active RFID tag. The third-generation tag includes such new features as a smaller form factor and extended battery life. The 802.11-enabled RFID tag's battery, PanGo says, now has a lifespan of more than five years.

The new tag ships this month and is built onto a new chip, the G2C501 from G2 Microsystems Launches Wi-Fi Tag Chip G2 Microsystems Launches Wi-Fi Tag Chip ).