March 17, 2008 – Arttu Huhtiniemi, Director of Product Management at the Ekahau main office in Helsinki, Finland, discusses today’s product announcement.

Tell us about the consumer mapping functionality for active RFID Ekahau is announcing today.

HUHTINIEMI: The idea was to bring the much loved user interface of Google and Yahoo Earth to RFID.

How does that manifest itself for a user of Ekahau technology?

HUHTINIEMI: Those user interfaces are really simple to use, so you need less, or no, training to start searching for your assets and people. One problem with RTLS has been that the systems are not used much, as they are a bit complex. Simplicity is important.

So when we think of wi-fi RTLS and asset tracking, telling users where items are, has the functionality changed?

HUHTINIEMI: It is all about the user interface that displays for you immediately where things are. You can configure it to push the information to you, such as "show me a list of what wheelchairs are in the proximity of where we need them now."

The map is the floormap, as with other RTLS software. What we have taken from Google Earth is the user interface part, like scaling, panning, searching, etc.

Since you are comparing this to Google Maps, is there, or can there be, a global mapping element also, as in the case where you may have a number of facilities you must track items within?

HUHTINIEMI: Yes, the concept of multiple facilities and floors is included. This is what we do for example when tracking a large hospital system with multiple sites, such as Carolina's Health System.

When you speak of training, what are the job titles of the most frequent users? Is there a screen at the nurses' station on each floor?

HUHTINIEMI: RTLS is commonplace; but the end-user’s are still mostly engineers, biomedical managers, etc. The process so far has been that a nurse cannot find a wheelchair, so she phones the biomed engineer, who uses a browser to search for a wheelchair for the nurse, in less than a minute. What we suggest now is that a nurse can do this on her own by this easy-to-use interface.

Do you think the interface is what limited usage within a hospital, or the costs?

HUHTINIEMI: Cost is not an issue at least with Ekahau as we don't charge for the users. The Ekahau Vision license is based on number of tracked items. The user interface is one part of it; the other one is simply that adapting to new tools takes time. If you make a user interface look attractive, it attracts more users.

Is there a limit as to what the tracked assets can be seen on? For example, could the hospital administrator allow all their computers "tap into" the tracking in progress?

HUHTINIEMI: No limits. We allow any number of users view the data. The logic is that the value is in the number of assets tracked, not how many users see it.

For years we have written about the "prototypical use," as when there is a Code Blue and everyone is looking for the defibrillator. So I really had no idea it was mostly the engineering department that knew where everything was.

HUHTINIEMI: The engineering is at least one department where questions are posted. Certainly if there is an urgent need, everyone will search.

We hear so much about hospitals having success with wi-fi tracking. What other types of users do you see coming on strong in RTLS adoption?

HUHTINIEMI: Manufacturing is definitely one area. The manufacturing systems are much larger, so it will take a bit time to develop them into prime time; but we are working with them. Another one is safety and security, which includes, for example, safety of employees in mines or oil plants.

Are their warehouse and storeroom areas the initial usage locations, or is the active RFID technology you offer being used in actual manufacturing functions, such as WIP?

HUHTINIEMI: Both. One example of WIP is Hymer GmbH in Germany. They make RUVs. We track the chassis from entering the factory to the parking lot.

The site where we operate has chassis coming in from another factory. They attach a tag to the steering wheel when receiving. The locations of chassis are monitored so that they know how to customize each RUV. In the process, the chassis move freely to anywhere on the floor, so they really need to have a WIP system to know where they are.

When you introduce new features, as you are today, how do you get this message to your channel partners? Do they need to get new sales or installation training to make this work through the Ekahau sales chain?

HUHTINIEMI: We will do training onsite and also webinars. However, the need of training is not much if a user is already familiar with RTLS concepts and our previous applications.

It would seem like an easier-to-use interface would be a worthwhile feature for VARs to promote. Do you involve them in the process while such things are in development?

HUHTINIEMI: Definitely, we discuss with VARs and customers while developing. In fact, we have shown previews of Ekahau Vision to our partners several times in the past months.

Was the new Ekahau Vision in response to request by users or your partners?

HUHTINIEMI: This was mainly an end user request, although the partners have had similar requests.

How often is your team in touch with the current end users? Is it the partners who are the ones mostly talking with them, or HQ?

HUHTINIEMI: Our sales team is talking to end users almost daily. The model is that we participate actively in sales calls with our partners.

Does the new functionality require a software upgrade by existing users? Any other changes? And, if so, does your team contact them or must they reach out to you?

HUHTINIEMI: We are contacting all existing users of Ekahau Finder with instructions to upgrade.