| PERG News: March 2022 |
Many camera and lighting rental companies have wondered about the viability of integrating trackers into high dollar equipment to track equipment in case of theft, to help locate misplaced equipment, or even just to locate items in a large rental facility. On March 1st, in most recent installment of PERG’s virtual Coffee Break series, we invited members to ride along as we went on a fact-finding mission investigating the capabilities and limitations of state-of-the-art Bluetooth tracking technology. Tile's National Sales Manager, Mark Bony, and Senior Director of Hardware Engineering, Muhammad Umair describe powerful developments in tracking devices and possibilities for integration. We invited Tile because they are a well-recognized brand with product in 195 countries and a top seller. We don’t really know yet if Bluetooth or GPS tracking devices might have value for the rental industry, but we do want to stay informed about the pros and cons of this evolving technology. We invited equipment manufacturers and case manufacturers to join the meeting and help inform members on their experiences. Josh Kaye, Innerspace Cases, describes how they have done integrations for customers. PERG Council Member and Rental Manager at Koerner Camera, Sally Spaderna, hosts the PERG Coffee Break.
In a fast-moving presentation, Mark Bony shows the various product form factors, the app, the features, and the short setup process. Among the notable takeaways from the discussion are the following. Although Bluetooth trackers have a limited range, they have distinct advantages over GPS devices. They have a long battery life, three-years for some devices, whereas GPS devices batteries may need to be recharged daily. They can be as small as a sticker. They work as a network so that if they come into proximity with any phone or device that has the Tile app, they will relay their location. With billions of devices sold, Tile has a very high rate of success in locating items via this “crowd-sourced” network. A QR code is printed on the trackers, which gives the finder a direct link to the owner. As many as 250 tracking devices can be associated with an account. Mark points out, you can easily set up multiple accounts and the app can easily jump between them, so it is expandable beyond 250. The limitation may be the processing power of the phone or tablet.
In a recent development, Tile was bought by Life 360, which is an app that uses cell-phone triangulation to share user location with specific people such as family members or company staff. Integration with Life 360 will further enable the finder technology.
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