PanGo Integrates Active and Passive RFID for Improved Asset Tracking

Offers potential for greater number of assets to be tracked without need for chokepoint or portal solutions

Offers potential for greater number of assets to be tracked without need for chokepoint or portal solutions

Framingham, MA — May 3, 2006 — PanGo Networks has updated its flagship radio frequency identification system to offer manufacturers, hospitals and third-party solution providers the ability to tap active and passive RFID technologies from a single platform, promising the potential to increase the number of assets that can be tracked and eliminating the need for proprietary chokepoint or portal solutions that can add complexity and cost to corporate networks.

The PanOS Platform is a software product that acquires location information from active and passive RFID sources and provides a services-based interface for higher level systems to consume asset location information in an efficient and extensible way, according to PanGo. The aggregation and refinement of location from multiple standards-based sources offered in the new version of PanOS gives users the flexibility to apply the appropriate mix of RFID-tracking technologies to best match their unique and varying needs, the solution provider said.

"Through presence detection, real-time location and high-resolution chokepoint visibility, the PanOS Platform allows customers and application vendors to benefit from the most timely and accurate tracking of assets and inventory possible, while capitalizing on the pervasive adoption of WLAN and RFID technology," PanGo said.

The PanOS Platform delivers location information to end user applications through its services-oriented architecture. Location services such as space and zone management, tag/device management, ease of access to location information and rule-based notifications can add value to the platform's range of standards-based WLAN and passive RFID location providers.

Hospital Application

PanGo is currently engaged in several asset-tracking deployments that leverage multiple automatic identification and locating technologies, including at MetroHealth Medical Center, a 731-bed teaching hospital and major regional referral site in Cleveland, Ohio. MetroHealth was already deploying PanGo's Wi-Fi-based active RFID system and wanted a hybrid active-passive solution to provide a single view of their assets and a single point of integration to their existing HIS applications.

By installing standard passive RFID readers at key points of egress, MetroHealth will augment its Wi-Fi-based asset-tracking solution with "high-resolution" chokepoint location data, providing nursing staff and biomedical engineers with real-time information about when equipment is being removed from designated locations. This solution will allow MetroHealth staff to act immediately, stemming asset losses from theft and other unauthorized equipment movement.

"We waited until we found the right solution. Other approaches would have forced us to deploy single purpose exciters and redundant network equipment," said Barbara West, administrator of emergency medicine and ambulatory support services at MetroHealth. "Resources are too valuable in healthcare to deploy systems and hardware that can't be used across a multitude of applications."

"Empowering employees and systems with information about what's happening in the real world is critical," said Mike McGuinness, CEO of PanGo. "The missing piece has always been a unified view of the real-time location of critical resources. By leveraging multiple locationing capabilities through a single platform architecture, our customers can develop, deploy and manage cost-effective solutions that enable real-time visibility throughout their entire operations."


Additional Articles of Interest

— Contemplating RFID? Here are three critical questions to answer before embarking on a radio frequency identification initiative. Read "Recognizing Real RFID Adoption Potential," in the February/March 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.

— A recent independent study revealed that Wal-Mart customers are finding the items they wanted in stock more often due to the retailer's use of RFID technologies when compared to control stores. Read more in "Wal-Mart Achieving Improved On-shelf Availability with RFID, Study Finds" on SDCExec.com.


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