A real-time location system (RTLS), the Precision Location Ultra Wideband System (PLUS), that can read thousands of small, active RFID tags per second through multiple walls with a precision of 12-36 inches, was launched in December by Time Domain Corp.
The new product line employs the company’s ultra wideband technology designed to enable RTLS solutions to move from an “approximate presence” technology to a solution that precisely locates and monitors the interaction of people and assets for a host of new healthcare applications.
Unlike other RFID RTLS technologies such as UHF, Zigbee and Wi-Fi , ultra wideband active tags emit a burst of extremely short pulses once a second which, when read and processed by a time difference of arrival algorithm, provides inches of accuracy in 2D and multifloor environments. The company says this approach also provides accuracy in “noisy” indoor environments where wiring and metal fixtures are often problematic for other RTLS systems.