Beam me up, WiFi

I can’t be the only person envisioning the chest-worn combadges from Star Trek: The Next Generation. A new product from Ekahau Inc., which bills itself as “the leading provider of Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems,” has just announced a wearable two-way communications device based on 802.11 wireless networks.

The T301-B badge, according to the company, is designed for hospitals and enterprise campuses, where it’s important to be able to both locate and communicate with individuals, leveraging the WiFi network instead of using an outside paging service or a private paging system.

It’s not quite Star Trek yet. There’s no voice capability or point-to-point communciations, but there is text messaging, colored lights and buttons. To quote from the company’s news,

The T301-B tag is the industry’s first tag that combines location capabilities with a display, which supports wireless text messaging and enables users to acknowledge messages by using the tag’s two integrated call buttons. By incorporating this functionality into the tags, enterprises are able to use their own Wi-Fi networks for tracking applications and two-way communications, rather than managing and paying for separate paging services.

The T301-B tag will incorporate audible alarm signals, multicolored LEDs and a screen to provide messaging capabilities. As a result, the Ekahau system can provide audible, visual and text-based alerts or work-flow messages to individuals carrying or using the T301-B tags, much like traditional paging or text messaging services.

The T301-B badges are expected to begin shipping in the second half of 2007. The future gets closer every day. Energize!

>> Update 7:42am PT: Swapped out the Star Trek combadge graphic with a picture of the T301-B, kindly provided by Ekahau.