Responder IV/5 Integrated Nurse Call Features Elpas RTLS Functionality

Visonic Technologies and Rauland-Borg announce the interoperability of Elpas RTLS technology with legacy Responder IV Nurse Call installations. Thanks to Responder 5’s new interoperable platform, hospitals implementing the Network Adaptor Module (NAM) to update their Responder IV installations can now utilize the open integrations functionality of Responder 5 Software to add Elpas RTLS technology. Now Responder IV installations can support real-time staff presence functionality throughout the hospital to room and sub-room level accuracy, automatic visual indication that a patient’s needs are being responded to and automatic nurse call cancellation.

Hospitals may easily leverage their Elpas RTLS investment to enhance other areas of patient and personnel safety including Infant/Baby Protection in maternity wards, Staff Attack/Duress Alerting and Wandering Patient Supervision. Elpas Active RFID/RTLS can also be scaled to Manage Medical Assets in order to reduce shrinkage and lower maintenance related labor costs without degradation to nurse call functionality.

VT Upgrades Eiris Tracking and Management Software

EIRIS 4.7.1 is now available for customer deployment. This new release of our field-proven Eiris Tracking and Management Software has undergone a substantial upgrade in functionality including an abundance of new bundled features.

Using customer feedback collected by our professional services group over the past year, Eiris V 4.7.1 now provides a richer collection of tools to easily configure, manage and use VT’s range of unified and hybrid Elpas, SpiderAlert and VisAccess Safety, Security and Visibility Solutions.

Key new features and capabilities in Eiris 4.7.1  included:

• Comprehensive support for hybrid Elpas installations that include both legacy LON and Elpas2 (Ethernet) network infrastructure devices. This is useful for scaling/expanding existing LON installations using Elpas Ethernet/RS-485 hardware.
• Optional Visitor Module & Parking Lot extensions for VisAccess installations plus new LF Supervision, and Floor Recovery utilities for Elpas systems.

VT’s Presence at HIMSS11

Visonic Technologies’ sales and management teams have recently returned from the HIMSS11 (Healthcare Information and Management Systems) conference where VT exhibited Elpas solutions at the conference’s new RFID and RTLS Showcase pavilion. The pavilion was designed by the RFID in Healthcare Consortium in conjunction with HIMSS. Visitors to this pavilion were able to learn more about the benefits of implementing RFID & RTLS solutions in their healthcare facilities.

The Hospital Smart Room was the main attraction of the pavilion, created to simulate a real patient room, exhibiting these technologies. VT’s BabyMatch Infant Protection Solution was among the solutions demonstrated. Visitors were able to see the full functionality of the infant protection solution including baby-mother match tests and exit and matching alarms. Pavilion visitors were also invited to visit VT’s kiosk where they were able to receive further information on other Elpas Active RFID & RTLS Healthcare Solutions.

VT Adds Elpas2 RF Ethernet Reader to RFID/RTLS Porfolio

Visonic Technologies (VT), announces the immediate availability of the new Elpas2 RF Ethernet Reader. This 433MHz, RFID/RTLS reader is designed to detect and relay ‘Location’ and ‘State’ data from Elpas Active RFID Asset, Personnel or Infant Protection Tags to host applications over wired or wireless Ethernet/Wi-Fi networks to enable the real-time monitoring and tracking of assets or personnel.

The Elpas2 RF Ethernet Reader supports large tag populations in indoor office environments. On-board I/O ports enable the monitoring of one analogue alarm input and control of two open-collector digital switched outputs. The reader also supports XML messaging for integration with 3rd party applications plus full-duplex RS-485 data transmission.

“The RF Ethernet Reader highlights our technological commitment to Elpas2; our new, innovative topology for backhauling RFID/RTLS security and safety solutions over existing

IT backbones” said Michael Wasserstein, CEO of Visonic Technologies. “Additionally, this new reader is the only commercially available RFID/RTLS Ethernet reader that is flush mountable into drop/suspended ceilings or that can easily be suspended from overhead wiring grids; making it ideal for healthcare, senior living or office environments.

The Elpas2 RF Ethernet Reader is intended to complement and add to VT’s portfolio of LonWork compatible network infrastructure devices; and will be marketed through VT’s worldwide network of qualified partners.

EIRIS – For Security Monitoring and Control

Here are some words about one of our products – EIRIS:

EIRIS Visibility & Security Management Software from Visonic Technologies is an affordable, end-to-end solution; providing real-time monitoring, command and control in a single unified system for today’s most demanding security and safety applications.

 

EIRIS is ideally suited for today’s organizations that are seeking to effectively and reliably self-monitor and manage their security and safety operations. Out-of-the-box, EIRIS enables seamless integration of access control, intrusion detection, digital video surveillance, patient protection, duress alarm monitoring and asset tracking into one, easy to use, enterprise-class security platform.

Function Summary

Robust Client/Server architecture

Intuitive Tools for alert Configuration

Intuitive alarm handling screens

Interactive, multi-layered graphical map displays

Dynamic graphic monitoring & control

Live CCTV alarm/event integration

Automatic event/alarm recording

Detailed event and tracking reports

Integration with third-party applications

Web and PDA client support

Windows & XML based Web Services APIs

Standard Features:

Network Configuration Tools

EIRIS’ intuitive configuration tools enable commissioning and database enrollment of all wired and wireless system devices without the need for programming experience.

Automated Security Processes

Enables user definable, rule-based events and alarms, (triggerable by location and status), for automating and enhancing monitoring and response processes.

Dynamic graphic monitoring & control

Supports real-time interactive, multi-layered graphical map displays for monitoring and controlling device status, system events and all security/safety alarms.

Bundled Localization Editor

EIRIS’ bundled language localization editor customizes user interfaces and menus for different locales Supports Asian languages and right-to-left scripts (Hebrew and Arabic).

Scalable System Expansion

Modular, multi-site, client/server architecture supports easy system expansion without interruption of service as needs grow.

Open APIs Extend Functionality

Open Application Program Interfaces (APIs) offer real-time,
bi-directional alarm/event processing and control with legacy security, life safety and back office systems.

Integrated Incident Reporting

EIRIS’ integrated report generator creates historical reports of alarms, tag movements, device status and event times for enterprise-wide information delivery.

for more information about our products please visit our home website.

 

Active RFID summit, 2006

Almost 3 years ago,  in the Active RFID summit (Atlanta, USA), we had a decent representation for Visonic Technologies – Tuviya Katz.
This is his presentation summary:

“Active RFID is in wide usage in health care. Till now, the trend has been to deploy single-focus, stand-alone safety solutions.

And, recently, asset tracking products are being both considered and deployed.

As a consequence of this a-little-at-a-time approach, senior healthcare management has failed to realize the full potential of Active RFID.

Healthcare is now starting to view Active RFID as a scaleable enabling technology rather than single purpose products or solutions.

This rethinking is shaping the worldwide drive to leverage the already in-place applications, the push to build-out existing infrastructure and the motivation to put into place new backend ERPs, patient care and other third-party options. As result of these international advances; unified risk mitigation and asset tracking solutions, built upon Active RFID has become both technically and financially feasible for the majority of healthcare facilities“.

Visonic Technologies’ Annual Partners forum

Hi All,

Visonic Technologies will hold its annual Partner forum in January in Budapest.
We will be unveiling a number of significant developments that have been under development for the past year or two.

VT’s new IP and RS-485 based infrastructure to be released this spring, a multi-site architecture for Eiris, temperature sensing tags and more.

Whether you specialize in access control, staff security, asset tracking, nurse call, wandering patient or infant protection, I strongly recommend that you join us to see these developments for yourself  and enjoy the sites of Budapest.

For additional information see our web site at www.visonictech.com

Visonic Technologies Wants YOU !

Visonic Technologies is looking for an embedded software developer:

• Electronics engineer / software engineer
• At least 1 year experience with writing C and Assembler
• Experience with communication protocols
• Experience with real time location systems ( RTLS ) – advantage!

Don’t be shy… Apply!

– for more information:  info@visonic.com

VT’s products mission

Visonic Technologies offers integrated active RFID/RTLS solutions to enhance security and safety throughout the enterprise.
Offering a wide range of products from niche-market applications to high-end unified visibility and safety solutions, Visonic Technologies caters to the needs of industries and institutions where the identification, location, security and safety of people and assets is mission critical to business performance.

Visonic Technologies development tips

Avner Arbel - Director of software development

Nowadays, at Visonic Technologies we’re working to develop the next generation of our Elpas network technologies.

When designing new network solutions, especially when it comes to real time location systems (RTLS), there are a number of key design guidelines and principles that should be considered.
I particularly like the list of principles enumerated and discussed in RFC 1958, which is well worth reading! The necessity of those principles is even greater in the active RFID/RTLS environment since we are dealing with multiple layers.

For example, in every Elpas RFID solution, we have active and passive mobile and stationary tags that transmit identification and tracking data; strategically located wall and ceiling mounted readers and receivers that receive the transmitted tag data; the LonTalk, Ethernet/IP and/or Wi-Fi networks that relay the received tag data to the local positioning EIRIS server and the calculation that determines location down to room level precision.

Summarized below are what I consider to be the top 10 architectural principles, which I have listed in order of their importance:

1. Make sure it works – Do not finalize the design or standard until multiple prototypes have successfully communicated with each other.
2. Keep it simple – When in doubt, use the simplest solution.
3. Make clear choices – If there are several ways of doing the same thing, choose one. Having two or more ways of doing the same thing is looking for trouble. Standards often have multiple options, modes or parameters because powerful parties insist that their way is best.
Designers should strongly resist this tendency. Just say no!
4. Exploit modularity – This principle leads directly to the idea of having protocol stacks, each of whose layers is independent of all other ones.
5. Expect heterogeneity – Diverse hardware, transmission facilities and applications will occur on any large network. To handle them, network design must be simple, general, and flexible.
6. Avoid static options and parameters – If parameters are unavoidable (e.g., max. packet size), it is best to have the sender and receiver negotiate a value rather than arbitrary define a fixed choice.
7. Look for a good design; it need not be perfect – Often good design cannot handle weird special cases. Rather than messing up the architecture, designers should put the burden of creating the work around, on the people with the strange requirements.
8. Be strict when sending and tolerant when receiving – Send packets that rigorously comply with the standards, but anticipate incoming packets that may not be fully conformant and be flexible enough to deal with them.
9. Think about scalability – If the system is to effectively handle millions of hosts and billions of users, no centralized databases of any kind can be tolerated since the load must be spread as evenly as possible over available resources.
10. Consider performance and cost – If a network has poor performance or outrageous costs, nobody will use it.

I also highly recommend that you take a look at Andrew S Tanenbaum’s classic book on computer networking entitled: Computer Networks (4th Edition). The book is arguably the best single resource for gaining a good technical understanding of modern networking – from the underlying physical layer hardware up through today’s most popular network applications.