Company Description
Motion Computing®, headquartered in Austin, Texas, produces slate tablet PCs for mobile
professionals in industries including healthcare, government, and field force automation. Motion™
is a mobile computing and wireless communications leader, combining world-class innovation
and industry experience so individuals can use computing technology in new ways and places.
The company's enhanced line of tablet PCs and accessories are designed to increase
productivity for on-the-go users while providing computing security, power and versatility.
Operations Data
- Established in 2001, Motion is a company driven to innovate and applies that culture to
the markets it serves which include: Healthcare, Enterprise Mobility (includes Field Sales
& Service, Retail, and Hospitality), Education, Manufacturing, and Government.
- Motion has three award-winning tablet PC form factors and offers related peripherals,
software, and other services to provide complete, wireless computing solutions for mobile
professionals.
- Motion was the first tablet PC developer to incorporate an integrated RFID reader.
- Motion's tablet PCs are recognized as tools that are designed for the way people work
and are focused on integrating world-class technology that is application and mobility
driven. Motion's customers experience tangible, measurable advances in productivity,
without compromising their work styles to accommodate a machine.
- With more than 1400 resellers in 24 countries, Motion has built a collaborative ecosystem
of strong reseller partners and industry-leading software and hardware vendors to help its
customers find the right combination of products and services to support specific mobile
computing needs. Its distributor and value-added reseller partners include Seneca Data,
TechData., Synntex., CDW, McKesson and Cerner Corporation.
- Motion is the only company that focuses 100% on slate PCs, and continues to be the
world leader in the category as reported by IDC in their 2007-2011 Tablet Forecast.
The Problem
 When Motion Computing set out to design its Motion C5, a
mobile clinical assistant (MCA) for the healthcare industry,
they did so by going to the source. They conducted a great
deal of field research with doctors and nurses who would be
the primary users of the C5. Motion is a company that is
intentional about everything – from the simplest product
design aesthetics down to the obvious technology must-haves.
So when the Motion C5 was introduced, it was therefore, the
industry’s first tablet PC of its kind because it was an
authentic reflection of the development process. The C5 came together in a collaborative,
informative effort between the healthcare professional, technologists, and Motion’s innovative
team. In fact, in a series of clinician usability studies doctors and nurses were asked about their
preferences for a tablet PC – both for practical usability and professional functionality – they
pointed to increased security and integrated RFID in their list of primary user criteria. It comes as
no surprise that security needed to be top notch to protect sensitive patient information.  They also
needed a way to authenticate the user and verify identification in a way that enhanced the
experience verses creating a barrier that might hinder use. Speed and convenience for
accessibility was at stake. Naturally, there were
other key requirements, not the least of which
were preferences like easy to disinfect casing and
an ergonomic-friendly design, but security and
authentication for access were crucial to success.
With research in hand and its commitment to
understand and answer the customer’s unique
need for mobility, Motion Computing began to
search for technology and development partners
to meet its security and authentication
The Solution
Since the company's inception in 2001, Motion understood the opportunity in the healthcare
industry. They understood the clinician's workflow and the need for increased productivity and its
patient care demands. There were many devices before the Motion C5 which tried to accomplish
this, but many fell short and helped in only minor ways, primarily because the devices were
designed before asking clinicians what they needed most in a mobile clinical assistant (MCA).
Since security and having an integrated RFID reader were paramount design metrics, Motion
approached Texas Instruments. They were seeking a co-developer and technology partner and
found that relationship with TI's RFID group. Motion also wanted the experience, quality and
design support that TI could bring to their design. They also understood that TI is aligned with the
pursuit of innovation and has a history of championing companies like Motion. Motion and TI
were a fit both in technology and in the general spirit of what technologists strive to do - develop
products that change how technology is used and implement it into new environments and use
habitats.
TI provided its multi-protocol reader IC (product: TRF7960; or visit
http://www.ti.com/rfid/shtml/trf796x.shtml) which is recognized for being easy to design-in and
facilitates faster product development. Specifically TI's reader IC offers a high level of integration,
performance, low power, small size, configurability and flexibility. These features not only help
simplify the hardware design – an advantage TI has over conventional systems -- but the small size
is particularly key because it shrinks the printed circuit board area required for the RFID portion of
the system. To put it in perspective, size for the whole system is compared to the size of a quarter.
This equates to cost savings in printed circuit material and enables even smaller form factor
systems in next generation product designs. Additional cost reductions are realized in the bill of
materials such as low drop out regulators, passive components, manufacturing and reduction of
possible defects. With TI's reader IC delivering low power consumption, the power saved allows for
extended usage in between charges, which makes the user experience better. In fact, one TI
customer saw an increase battery life from one year to almost two years, proving IC design and
selection translate through to end-user experiences.
In conclusion, clinicians can now document clinical activity, administer medication, and take
pictures using a single device. Doctors are able to eliminate double documentation decreasing
the potential for transcription errors. As a development partner, TI's reader IC has played a
pivotal role enabling Motion Computing to transform patient care and bring physicians the ability
to manage the "five rights" of medication administration: right drug, right patient, right dosage,
right route, and right time.
# # #
About Motion Computing
Motion Computing is a mobile computing and wireless communications leader, combining worldclass innovation and industry experience so professionals in vertical industries such as healthcare, field sales and service and government can use computing technology in new ways and places. The company’s enhanced line of tablet PCs, mobile clinical assistants and accessories are designed to increase productivity for on-the-go users while providing portability, security, power and versatility. Motion combines those products with services and unique vertical market knowledge to deliver complete solutions – platforms, peripherals, services and wireless – customized for the needs of a particular industry. For more information, visit
www.motioncomputing.com
About Texas Instruments RFID Systems
Texas Instruments is the world's largest integrated manufacturer of radio frequency identification
(RFID) transponders and reader systems. Capitalizing on its competencies in high-volume
semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics packaging, TI is a visionary leader and at the
forefront of establishing new markets and international standards for RFID applications. For more
information, contact RFID Systems at 1-800-962-7343 (North America) or +1 214-567-7343
(International), or visit the Web site at www.ti-rfid.com.
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