WISER Wins Grant for Air Force Asset Tracking System

The United States Air Force has awarded WISER Systems, Inc. a Phase I Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grant to develop a new system for tool kit tracking in Air Force facilities.

RALEIGH, NC, April 02, 2020 — WISER Systems, a developer of innovative ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless location and tracking systems, has won an SBIR grant to develop a new system for tool kit tracking in Air Force facilities.

Keeping track of tool kits is a significant challenge for organizations like the Air Force. Many maintenance squadrons keep inventories of thousands of kits, with 10-30 individual tools inside each one. These squadrons often take six or more hours every day just conducting tool inventory.

WISER intends to shorten this process drastically by autonomously tracking and locating tool kits in real time. This will immediately lighten workloads for Air Force stakeholders and allow them to complete more mission-critical projects. WISER’s SBIR proposal centers on an enhanced use of its proprietary Redundant Radio Localization and Tracking (RRLT) technology.

“WISER RRLT makes it possible to cut out many manual processes like check-out paperwork, return reports, quality controls—even inventory counts,” WISER CEO Dr. Elaine Rideout said. “Our primary goal—both on this Air Force contract and on our commercial projects—is to save time and money for our customers. We’re very excited to be able to work on this specifically for the United State Air Force.”

In addition to tool-kit location and inventory, WISER’s SBIR developments will allow logistics benefits for numerous other defense organizations. For instance, the end solution could report valuable metadata with items being tracked, including usage reports, downtime, vendor history, or associated purchase orders. This solution will also reduce the risks of items being left somewhere dangerous—such as when a tool is left in an aircraft component during maintenance—and will help streamline many location-based tasks currently reported manually.

As part of this SBIR grant, WISER will also explore commercial applications of the proposed location and tracking system. This will support the SBIR program’s key goal to commercialize new technologies outside of government use.

“Our background in real-time location has shown us countless uses for the technology we’re working on now,” said Rideout. “Our team has visited many different factories, warehouses, and other facilities that need solutions like what we’re developing for the Air Force. Now, thanks to the Air Force’s belief in our team and technology, we’ll be better able to deliver new solutions to companies like these.”

WISER’s past work in defense includes contracts with the U.S. Department of the Navy and the U.S. Army. WISER has also participated in many invitation-only events and exercises with the Coast Guard, Air Force, Army, and other military groups. WISER won Phase I, II, and III awards in the Army’s inaugural xTechSearch competition in 2018.

About WISER Systems, Inc.

WISER Systems is a woman-owned and founded technology company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. WISER’s innovative ultra-wideband (UWB) Locator delivers scalable real-time location in nearly any environment. The system autonomously reports precise (sub-meter or inch-level) coordinates via a computer or mobile device and is accurate even in cluttered, metallic, or complex manufacturing environments where conventional tracking technologies perform poorly. The system is lightweight and portable and can be deployed in minutes, indoors or out. Although WISER’s Locator has only been on the market for a few years, 25% of end customers are Fortune 500 companies, including several large aerospace and defense contractors, multiple U.S. Government agencies, and a large Japanese automotive company, among many other organizations. WISER manufactures its products in North America.

Contact: Stephen Taylor, WISER Systems, Inc.; stephen.taylor@wisersystems.com.