Frost & Sullivan Lauds Telepathx Ltd Wireless Sensor Networks With Presigious 2008 Entreprenurial Award

The 2008 Frost & Sullivan Entrepreneurial Company Award in the Asia Pacific active tags market is presented to Telepathx Ltd (Telepathx).

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Telepathx is an unlisted publicly held wireless company that provides innovative event and fault locating technology to communities and essential services providers. Established in 2002, the company started its active RFID tags business in 2003.It is expected to move its corporate headquarters and research facility to San Jose, California, in 2008, for strategic reasons

Telepathx is a pioneer in the innovative reactive RFID wireless sensing and communications technology. Through the deployment of a wireless sensor network (WSN) leveraging on low-cost RFID fault sensors whereby creating a RFID mesh network, Telepathx's solution is capable of monitoring and locating electrical faults and other environmental elements (temperature, humidity, vibration, and others) faster and more efficient than current systems.

Discussions with the Australian Government and the remaining energy providers to deploy WSN across Australia to monitor various parameters are under way. The United States Government and some 18 other Governments are also considering the deployment of Telepathx's WSN solution in their respective countries.

Niche Market Focus

While the majority of active tag vendors manufacture and develop solutions mainly for the mainstream markets such as the healthcare, transportation and logistics, and manufacturing, Telepathx focuses on the other and emerging markets such as energy, transport - crash monitoring, environment, and asset monitoring that are still largely untapped. The other and emerging markets offer tremendous opportunities for Telepathx.

Intelligent Energy Networks

Presently, Telepathx's WSN is capable of monitoring, detecting, and reporting pending faults on the bulk of the overhead distribution networks using reactive RFID tags with a high degree of precision. Faults in fuses, transformers, cables, and switching apparatus can be monitored by the WSN. Telepathx is already involved in discussions with energy providers regarding this solution. It is expected that switchgear original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will begin wide-scale deployment by embedding Telepathx's reactive RFID tags into their products; thereby creating the next-generation intelligent electrical switchgear products. These sensors, through the reactive RFID technology, will generate their own power and have an indefinite lifespan, whereby creating an intelligent self-managed sensory grid that will reduce power outages and increase the quality of power significantly.

Intelligent Transport Systems

The transportation solution developed by Telepathx is unlike the traditional RFID transportation solutions available in the market presently. Its transportation solution aims to enable a form of intelligence to the automobiles and transportation infrastructure with the adoption of reactive RFID and sensor technology. Its initial solution, the automated crash notification (ACN) sensor, automatically detects motorists who have crashed into fixed roadside assets such as barriers, bridges, guardrails, power poles, and signage.

Currently in the second phase of development, this solution will be capable of detecting other environmental parameters such as fog, ice, flooding, or just standing water. These data will be relayed to variable message signs alerting motorists of hazardous conditions ahead, thus improving the overall safety of road users. All these events and conditions will be monitored from a small access point that will be built into existing roadside emergency call boxes or affixed to power poles.

Telepathx is also looking at increasing the potential of this technology by incorporating features that will detect the rear end of cars, the activation of airbags, and potentially off-road accidents by embedding inexpensive sensors onto the vehicles. Such additional features will potentially save more lives with reduced emergency service response times, as all the events are monitored real time with the WSN.

Intelligent Environmental Monitoring System

The WSN solution is also capable of keeping track of wild fires at pinpoint accuracy. Many countries that face constant threat of wild fires such as Australia lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually through damage of public and private properties. Telepathx's solution enables the possibility of long-term remote sensors - that are self managing and maintenance free - with the deployment of reactive RFID sensors. This solution will detect and alert fire officials when a fire is detected.

Moreover, other environmental disasters such as flash floods can be detected instantaneously through the placement of sensors across a specific location. Through this system, emergency workers can be immediately informed of any flash flood as soon as it occurs, and this will give them the time to inform anyone living in the surrounding areas to evacuate.

The solution is in the next phase of development, for which Telepathx has teamed up with another institution to develop a reactive RFID technology to offer real-time location system (RTLS) and graphical information system (GIS) solution. Through this enhanced solution, end users will be able to view virtual 3D satellite imagery in real time for event mapping and modeling through any computer or personal digital assistant.

Intelligent Consumer and Industrial Asset Monitoring

Telepathx will leverage its use of reactive RFID wireless sensor network technology for monitoring home and industrial assets. It has already developed a system that is capable of operating as a 'silent' alarm, which can be fitted to existing alarm components. Once the system detects a particular event or intrusion, it will trigger an alarm unknown to the perpetrator but will notify the end-user or law enforcement remotely. It potentially can keep track of the movement of various high valued assets such as vehicles through the WSN infrastructure. Telepathx is currently further enhancing this system for commercial use.

Other Applications in the Pipeline

Telepathx is working with various parties which includes from the government and energy sectors to enhance and develop new solutions leveraging on its WSN architecture to meet the needs of more end users. It is constantly adding new sensing capabilities to its solution by working with sensor developers. Among the many new solutions that Telepathx is working on are sensors capable of detecting a myriad of gaseous chemical types or water quality parameters such as microorganisms, nitrates, pesticides, dissolved oxygen, and hydrocarbons. This is part of Telepathx' vision of enabling the WSN to be an intelligent shared monitoring platform developed for communities, governments, and essential service providers.

Chart 1.1 shows the key competitive factors of Telepathx for the Asia Pacific active tags market for 2008.

Chart 1.1 Active Tags Market: Key Competitive Factors of Telepathx (Asia Pacific), 2007