Malcolm Owen
Tile has announced it has made agreements with a number of companies to expand the use of its tag-location technology, with deals bringing the Tile platform's item relocation functionality to Bose, Samsonite, and Propeller Health products in the future.
The partnership will effectively allow the manufacturers to embed Tile's technology into their products, effectively providing the same item-tracking functions as Tile's well-known accessories, but built into the device itself. The Tile Bluetooth trackers, including the Tile Sport and Tile Style released last year, typically allow the user to find the last known location of the tracker through an app, as well as allowing the owner to trigger the tag to make a noise.
Starting from late spring, Bose will be adding the Tile technology to the SoundSport Wireless and QuietControl 30 headphones, making it easier for users to quickly locate the accessories if they have gone missing, and optionally "ringing" them via the app if they are nearby. According to TechCrunch, already shipped hardware will be able to gain the Tile function as part of a firmware update.
Luggage producer Samsonite will be scheduling a global pilot program for Tile sometime in the spring, with the two companies working together to create "next generation" suitcases and other bags. Travelers already have a use for Tile, namely tracking down lost luggage while away from home or finding it in the baggage claim area, making integrating Tile to the luggage a fairly obvious idea.
Propeller Health is working with Tile to add its technology into Propeller's sensors, embedded inside inhalers used by asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease patients. The addition of Tile will potentially help patients relocate their inhalers and other important items in an emergency.
Tile has previously made deals with Comcast, Ruckus Networks, and San Jose International Airport to spread the Tile Platform. In the case of San Jose International Airport, Tile is blanketing the terminals with Tile access points, to find items lost by passengers in near real-time, a project that currently has a "same-day found" rate for lost Tile-equipped items of 95 percent.
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1 Comment
Embedded ? So how is that going to work, change your luggage or headphones every year when you need to re-Tile or will they finally let users change their battery without throwing the whole unit away ?