WIRELESS DATA
I have been promoting the use of “Non-traditional Paging” for many years. I first started working with these ideas at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta in the early 1980s. A lot of people around the world may not remember my name, but many of them will remember “the wheel of fortune guy.” There are many business opportunities out there for people who have the imagination and foresight to pursue them. In this column, I frequently say that I think Wireless Data will be salvation of the paging industry. Every few days, I hear of new ideas from people who have caught the vision of performing certain tasks “over-the air.” Some are as simple as connecting a pager to an internet server so that it may be re-started from any telephone in the world—bypassing failed sections of the Internet completely. ( Why didn't I think of that one? ) Others—variations of the following concepts—are more complex and have patents pending. Which one do you like?

IDEA STARTERS
Most of these ideas have been around for a while, but two-way technology using the ReFLEX protocol makes them even more attractive in today's world. Following is a list of ideas to put your creative instincts in motion.

Vehicles (cars and trucks)
Location using GPS—Stolen Vehicle recovery—better than LOJACK™.
Monitor speed, coolant temperature, oil pressure, tire pressure, etc.
Driver panic button(s) for breakdowns, accidents, hijackings, roadside assistance, airbag deployment notification, etc.
Tracking of cargo vans, shipping containers, or rail cars.
Routine communications with drivers.
Dealers can monitor new cars or trucks for maintenance issues.
Vehicles can send unsolicited reports of problems to dealers, who can call the owner about bringing it in for service.
Remotely roll electric windows up for rain or down for heat.
Start the motor remotely on cold mornings.
Stop the motor (in the case of stolen vehicles this function has been incorporated into a sensor that only allows stopping the motor when the vehicle has been stationary for a certain amount of time, or it could disallow the restarting of a motor after it has been turned off).
Lock or unlock doors remotely.

Personal Security
Kidnapping of Executives.
Coed campus security.

Personal Security—SOS “I have fallen and can’t get up.”
Location of Alzheimer’s patients
Lost or kidnapped children.
Emergency “911” position locator.

Vending Machines
This is the application currently generating a lot of interest. Hot and cold food, soft drinks, and ice vending machines.

Remote control of electrical devices
Load shedding by electrical utilities of non-essential loads such as hot water heaters and some air conditioners.
Electrical power factor correction by electric utilities.
To conserve water, irrigation and lawn sprinkler systems can be turned off remotely when it is raining.
In many areas, like south Florida for example, flood control is very important. Canal floodgates and pumps can be remotely monitored and controlled by Wireless Telemetry.
Any electrical device can be remotely turned on or off and can report back whether it is in an on or off state.

Remote monitoring
Many types of equipment can be polled or interrogated to report the status of monitored functions.
Industrial electrical equipment.
Smoke, Fire, and Water detectors.
Freezers in supermarkets.
Automatic Alarm Reporting.

Unsolicited reporting of many types of remote alarms
Smoke, Fire, and Water detectors.
Freezers in supermarkets.
Excessive vibration in machinery.
Safes, door open, movement, high-temperature.
Elevators stuck between floors with people inside.
Equipment breakdown.
Manufacturing production lines.
It has been shown that when a production line breaks down, the company looses thousands of dollars per hour until the right technical personnel can be notified and come to repair the problem.

Electronic Signs
Missing Children Alerts (Amber Alerts)
Arrival notification (next train, next bus, next rickshaw, etc.)
Advertising which supports news, weather, and sports reporting.
Scores at large sports events, like the Olympic games, on large public signs.
This application works over one-way systems, but two-way systems offer the advantage of assured delivery of the message, error checking with re-transmission, and the ability to interrogate the sign and confirm that it is powered on and functioning.

Track Shipping
Hazardous Materials
Valuables (Currency, precious metals, jewels, etc.).
Organ Transplants.

Surveillance
Vehicle tracking by police and other federal government agencies.

Security Systems
Many types of both home and business security systems that presently operate over telephone lines (which can easily be cut) would give more reliable service using ReFLEX Telemetry. When comparing Wireless to Wire reporting, the concept of a “ring of protection” is an important concept to understand. All the alarm system electronics, including the ReFLEX Transceiver can be completely surrounded by sensors so that anyone who disables the security system will have to cross into the “ring” and will have already triggered an alarm before getting to the equipment.

Copy Machines
Many copy machines are under maintenance contracts. The maintenance company can receive automatic alarm reports when there is a malfunction of the equipment or when ink or paper is needed.

Electronic Parole
The tracking of people on parole is attracting substantial interest in the law enforcement community.

Courier Drop Boxes
There are two big problems with courier drop boxes:
When the box is full and can accept no more shipments, the company will loose business to their competitors.
When the box is empty, the company wastes time and money by sending a driver to every location to check for packages.
ReFLEX25 Telemetry can easily solve both of these problems by reporting when a box is full or empty using internal sensors.

Billboard Lighting
Some companies doing advertising on billboards have in their contract that they do not have to pay for nights when the lighting is not working on their sign. Wireless Telemetry allows for checking that lights are functioning and keeping an audit record in case of disputes.

Asset Monitoring
Track the location of all valuable, company-owned equipment.

Phil Leavitt has some ReFLEX25 pagers, T900s and 2000Xs. All are in beautiful condition. Please get in contact with him directly.

Leavitt Communications
600 Knightsbridge Pkwy
P.O. Box 579
Lincolnshire, IL 60069-0579 USA
Voice: 847-955-0511
Fax: 847-955-2422
Nationwide pager: 888-561-3292
SkyTel 2-way, use 8885613292@Skytel.com

PAGING
INFORMATION
RESOURCE

Best regards,

Brad Dye
Wireless Data Consultant


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