WiFi is increasingly being used in location tracking applications and WiFi asset tags are expected to reach almost two million shipments in 2010 according to a report by analyst In-Stat.

The WiFi location tracking market is only just beginning and In-Stat said “many highly changeable factors will decide how fast it grows over the next few years”.

The tags are used in WiFi RTLS (real-time location systems) which use WiFi access points to locate devices with external WiFi tags or devices with embedded WiFi.

So far healthcare has been keenest to adopt the technology to track such items as patient monitoring devices and wheelchairs, but it can also be used to track devices such as laptops, scanners and phones.

www.instat.com

See also: Electronics Weekly's roundup of content related to WiFi