ZeroKey: Harnessing the Power of Ultrasonics

ZeroKey is a rapidly growing technology company located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that manufactures the world’s most accurate indoor positioning systems. Leveraging proprietary ultrasound-based technology with over 24 patents, their breakthrough sensor technology uses a network of anchor devices to establish the precise 3D position of any given object equipped with a tracker. The technology can track robotic equipment, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), autonomous forklifts, human operators, and many other assets across large industrial environments down to the millimetre – a 100-fold jump over other technologies.

The Origins of ZeroKey

ZeroKey’s co-founder & CEO, Matt Lowe, started the company with a vision to revolutionise human-machine interfaces – something that has not changed much since the advent of the QWERTY keyboard in 1870. Through that pursuit, ZeroKey created a millimetre accurate 3D localisation technology that could digitise the high-fidelity motions of human movement as a means of human-machine interaction. Shortly after, a chance encounter with one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers triggered a lightbulb moment and turned ZeroKey onto the broader implications of using the technology to digitise all forms of physical location, not just that of human interaction.

The eureka moment was the realisation that within the industrial space, a huge technological gap existed. In particular, this gap related to the digitisation of physical processes and human processes, which were largely left out of the digital transformation movement. Indoor positioning systems have remained a challenge for these highly dynamic industrial environments where satellite positioning, such as GPS, is not possible or accurate enough to be useful. Matt saw an opportunity to bring these analogue environments into the 21st century with ZeroKey’s hyper-accurate localisation technology and its ability to provide essential accuracy in environments where precision is measured in fractions of an inch instead of yards.

Optimise Processes with ZeroKey

ZeroKey’s Real-Time Location System (RTLS) uses ultrasonic signals and proprietary technology to achieve 1.5mm accuracy in localising objects in 3D space. Easily scalable, it can be deployed in a variety of environments from facility-scale to workbench-scale, without compromising on performance and accuracy. The system tracks assets in real-time, and the position data it generates is used for a variety of solutions, including workflow automation, inventory tracking, and process optimisation. The key to enabling these solutions is hyper-accurate spatial data, which delivers an unparalleled digital view of the physical environment and true business insights through spatial intelligence. 

“If you want to locate something in an industrial environment, if you want real-time quality control on manufacturing processes, or if you want to improve health and safety in a hazardous area, our technology can do that better than anything else right now.” - Matt Lowe, Co-founder & CEO, ZeroKey

In short, ZeroKey has flipped industrial workflow theory on its head. No other technology in the market offers this combination of wide-area and millimetre-level 3D tracking, which has positioned ZeroKey as the main player on the global stage of innovation in this space.

Contact ZeroKey if you want to know more.