CIO Bulletin

Link Labs provides enterprise asset tracking and monitoring solutions using the Internet of Things (IoT)

Based in Annapolis, Maryland, Link Labs is a leading innovator in low-power, wide-area network technologies that power the Internet of Things (IoT). The company was founded in 2014 by a group of veteran engineers from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, who had worked together on a variety of projects for the U.S. Department of Defense, telecommunications industry, and Intelligence Community.

Link Labs flagship product offering, AirFinder makes locating and monitoring anything, anywhere easy, affordable, and impactful. AirFinder breaks the compromise between solution cost and performance. AirFinder achieves this through the seamless integration of breakthrough intelligent RFID and low-power IoT network technologies.

Link Labs believe that unique solutions built by solving hard technical problems can transform businesses of any scale and through them the world we live in.

The Power of Bluetooth LE for IoT Asset Tracking

Bluetooth LE is a type of wireless communication technology. This technology enables various wireless devices to connect and communicate with each other to deliver a specific message. Industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and warehousing – have found great benefit from Bluetooth LE for tracking and monitoring their most critical assets via an asset management solution.

Due to small data transfers, tags offer lower-power consumption, faster transmission speed, and accuracy, creating a positive impact on a company’s performance. One benefit is that batteries do not need frequent replacement. Companies can save on battery costs and labor costs.

Benefit 1: Bluetooth Low Energy vs. Bluetooth: Bluetooth LE is an even more efficient form of Bluetooth because it conserves even more energy by going into sleep mode when not in use.

Benefit 2: Secure Network: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has traditionally relied on connections to mobile phones. By using Symphony Link-to-BLE bridge devices, you can manage BLE peripherals over a large area without relying on handsets.

Benefit 3: Fraction of the Cost: By using BLE connections as the last links in your sensor network, you can leverage low-cost chipsets from a mature ecosystem of suppliers and vendors.

Benefit 4: Effortlessly Send Data: When BLE and Symphony Link combine, you can connect all sensor data for your wide-area industrial applications without sacrificing real-time bidirectional communication.

Q. Is AirTag the Best Solution for Enterprise Asset Tracking?

Manufacturing companies have started realizing the benefits of an asset tracking system; that’s why many have begun searching for the perfect asset tracking and monitoring solution. With the release of the Apple AirTag, some manufacturing companies are exploring how this could fit into daily operations to improve workplace processes such as Work in Process (WIP) tracking, operational efficiency, equipment tracking, and more.

Q. Why Do Manufacturers Need Asset Tracking?

With the rise of new innovative technology, manufacturing companies need solutions to simplify and automate their existing processes. The most popular way to do this is by implementing an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solution known as asset tracking. Asset tracking systems can benefit manufacturers in several ways; including, improving productivity, increasing visibility, and providing real-time analytics to take measurable action. Asset tracking solutions track and monitor tools and equipment as they move throughout the production process, as well as the materials that assist in production. Asset tracking systems can reduce the cost of replacing lost items and prevent theft.

AirTag’s Role in Asset Tracking

AirTag was created with consumers in mind, not businesses. AirTags uses Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology to locate the tags. Using AirTags requires you to have an iPhone with the “Find My” app to view the location. Once the user connects the AirTag to their app, the app can provide the approximate location up to 12 feet away.

AirFinder’s Role in Asset Tracking

AirFinder OnSite is an end-to-end solution that provides the location of your valuable assets in real-time with up to meter-level accuracy and battery life of up to 5-7 years. Once receiving the system, it’s simple to attach the tags to the assets of your choice and connect the tags to the AirFinder network. From there, you can watch the tags move around. You can even set up geofences to indicate work zones and receive alerts to notify you when tags are moving in and out of those zones.

Q. Which is the Better Choice For Manufacturers?

Manufacturing companies need a complete solution that won’t break the bank and will provide them with accurate location information all the time. AirTag can’t be this solution. They were created with consumers in mind to help them keep track of their wallets and keys. They can only track locations up to 12 feet away if there is a clear path from them to the tag. Without a clear path, the tag will not be as accurate as a solution made for asset tracking at a commercial scale.

AirFinder was created with businesses in mind. It was created knowing manufacturing plants are larger than 12 feet by 12 feet and that there isn’t always a clear path from you to the tag you’re looking for. AirFinder is an affordable solution with tags costing $8-$15 per tag compared to AirTag costing $25-$29 per tag. AirFinder is a complete solution including the tags, location beacons, and software; meanwhile, using AirTag would require you to buy the tags individually and iPhones to use to see the location.

Xtreme Low Energy (XLE)

AirFinder XLE is a groundbreaking technology that extends the battery life of Bluetooth Low Energy IoT tracking devices by up to three years and improves accuracy in asset location to within a meter.

AirFinder Industrial OnSite XLE Explained

XLE is a great option for companies looking to track assets more precisely across a broad and open indoor area. Through patented firmware technology stemming from Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE), Link Labs refer to it as XLE because of its even greater ability to save on battery life and provide even more precise location measurements to a tagged asset.

XLE still uses off-the-shelf Bluetooth LE tags but by adding firmware using phase-ranging technology, XLE communicates a tagged asset location through XYZ coordinates accurate to within one meter or less. Using XLE technology, Bluetooth LE tags can now get accuracy close to UWB! This is ideal for an indoor commercial setting, as many companies need to find assets several times a day down to their near-exact location – without straining the battery life of the IoT components.

Benefit 1: Powerful Battery Life
A single battery can last up to 7 years, resulting in cost savings on both the purchase of replacement batteries and the labor required to change batteries

Benefit 2: Patented Phase-ranging Technology
Asset tags and beacons communicate using phase-ranging technology via the triangulation of x/y/z coordinates.

Benefit 3: Precise Asset Location
Using phase-ranging technology, users can determine asset location within a meter or less.

Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Asset Tracking

AirFinder uses affordable Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to tell you where your assets are at any time, including parts, equipment, supplies, and people. Unlike other location tracking systems that rely on UWB or passive RFID, AirFinder uses patented RTLS technology to lower costs by 50 to 90%.

Never Lose Anything Again with an RTLS System

Real-time locating systems, also known as real-time tracking systems, are used to automatically identify and track the location of objects or people in real time, usually within a building or other contained area.

Through IoT platforms that incorporate all of the hardware and software components necessary to track and monitor equipment, assets, and people, a RTLS is a powerful tool to enhance workplace productivity.

Just-Right Precision
You can use as many—or as few—AirFinder location beacons as you need to get the job done. Need more precision? Just add more beacons.

Wave Goodbye To Wi-Fi
The Symphony Link network—included with AirFinder—means a fully self-contained system that doesn't rely on an existing Wi-Fi network, resulting in a sharply lower cost of ownership.

Bob Proctor, CEO

Dr. Robert Proctor joined Link Labs as CEO in April 2016. He was a founding investor and advisor to the company from the beginning. Prior to Link Labs, Bob was the Co-Founder of Blu Venture Investors and CEO, Board Director and Investor of FlexEl, LLC. He is the Co-founder, Board Chairman, and Investor of Wiser Together, Inc. and Phase 5 Group, Inc. Bob also served as an associate Principal McKinsey & Company, Inc. He holds a PhD in Applied Physics from Cornell University.