Bosch USA has started promoting their BlueHound service on their website – tool and asset tracking technology that they claim has numerous competitive advantages.
We posted about Bosch’s European TrackTag tool tracking technology back in September 2015.
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BlueHound isn’t exactly new – my email history shows that this was buried within prior year’s World of Concrete announcements, but this is the first time I have ever seen Bosch actively promoting it.
Bosch’s tracker tags are based on Bluetooth technology, similar to existing Milwaukee One-Key and Dewalt Tool Connect systems. There is one exception – Bosch BlueHound is going to be a fee-based subscription service.
Whereas Bosch requires a paid subscription contract, other professional power tool brands’ tool and asset tracking systems only require an initial investment in tracker tags. All Bluetooth-based systems require an app to be installed on users’ mobile devices.
Bosch has a chart that claims multiple benefits over competitors’ asset tracking technologies. The chart suggests that Bosch BlueHound will deliver competitive advantages by way of added features, such as document storage, asset status, and “consumables.”
They sum up the service as:
The Bosch Bluehound asset management system is a tiered monthly contract that corresponds to the amount of tags a company utilizes for tracking assets, inclusive of software and replacement tags.
I would have thought that a paid service would involve GPS tracking or similar, but it seems that Bosch’s BlueHound is only Bluetooth-based, similar to other brands’ trackers.
Here is what they say about the Bluetooth tracking range:
Tests have shown that the Bluetooth radius can be up to 100ft (30 meters), depending on the environment. The range depends on various factors such as the smartphone model or potential sources of interference in your current environment at the site and in the workshop.
And here is what they say about the network of devices that receive the Bluetooth signal:
The Bluetooth signal of the GCC 30-4 Professional can only be received by smartphones with Bluehound Mobile application installed.
What this means is that Bosch BlueHound will depend on its users to create a tracking network through the installation and use of their smartphone app. Similar requirements have limited the effectiveness of other brands’ location-tracking networks, and is likely to shape Bosch’s location tracking network as well.
Existing Bluetooth-based tracking tags work by pinging smartphones, and so the higher the number and broader the spread of app installations, the larger and broader the tracking network.
At this time, tool tracking technologies only work with the respective brands’ apps, and do not detect other brands’ trackers. That is, Bosch BlueHound app can only detect Bosch’s own tracking tags.
Bosch USA does not provide much information about the new Bluehound tracking tags, but they appear identical in size and shape to the TrackTags that Bosch released in Europe.
Would you or your company use Bosch BlueHound paid-subscription Bluetooth trackers? What if this was a free service like Milwaukee One-Key or Dewalt Tool Connect?
Tom D
I have a few one-key tools (bought because I needed the tool features not because of one-key) and one thing I’ve never been able to suss out is does only MY phone update the location of the tools, or does ANYONE with One-Key installed update the location?
In other words, if Stuart has his own One-Key app and setup, and he borrows one of my tools without adding it to his app, will I see the location update?
Stuart
Anyone with the One-Key app.
The app will report “hey, we’re seeing tool/tracker ID in our vicinity” and the active location is sent to Milwaukee. The app on YOUR device will send a query “hey, where’s my stuff,” and you’ll see the most recently updated location.
Tom D
Ok that makes sense and makes it much more useful.
Raimundo
It would only make sense if only one
( The tool owner ) is connected to that specific tool , do you know where it’s location
But again , if you get that tool stollen , the thieve could just remove the tracker and the system is useless to the rightful owner
So I’m not a believer on that system
Jared
I’m a personal user of power tools, not a pro, so my opinion should bear little weight.
This makes little sense to me unless it’s for a big corporation where they could mandate widespread usage and use the tech to monitor tool usage, battery levels, locations etc. in a manner than improves tool utilization.
I can imagine this being the case if a company wants to own less tools that are shared between more people (so any user can quickly locate a tool, someone can monitor that batteries are being recharged, note when service may be required, or maybe authorize only certain employees to use a tool). Sure seems like a limited use-case to me.
Any less exhaustive use of the Bluetooth tracking would seem better served by the non-subscription options. Or just glue a Tile to your tool if you want to find it when it’s misplaced (and potentially benefit from a greater pool of users that can update the location for you).
This also doesn’t look like a theft-recovery tool since someone can just chip it off. Maybe if it integrated inside the tool after splitting the shell so it wasn’t obvious if you had it equipped.
Tom D
Yeah, if you download the One-Key app it’s 100% clear it’s oriented toward companies with multiple job sites and users, and the tools with it integrated are more convenient than just tagging things.
I think the anti-theft is a bit overrated personally – but the real value is the “Where is the SDS-MAX?” kind of questions you get for expensive but relatively little-used tools. Instead of “I think Bob said Joe had it last week at 3rd st” you can look in the app and see that it was last seen at the 9th ave job site.
PETE
But that only works if the employees on the jobsite have smart phones AND have the app installed AND have it enabled to run in the background. Which running it in the background would consume battery life- most people won’t want this feature turned on in their phone. What incentive do the employees have to download the app? None.
I have two ideas for Milwaukee, i swear i’ve given them a couple ideas, if i get credit for it or not.[i have more great ideas milwaukee! Bring me on as a consultant!]
1- make an incentive to download the onekey app IF it helps recover someone elses stolen tool(police report is required) then the person who has one key open gets some free swag. This would incentives people to download the app and leave the background app on which would increase the network.
2- make a truck HUB. theres a TON of stuff you can do here with this. but one of the m18 truck hub is that it can communicate with the tools. that wouldn’t require the employees to download the onekey app, it would help locate the tools locations. It could be WIFI only and upload via wifi all the truck hub info to your onekey profile when the truck gets parked at the end of the day. The truck hub could be made to also be a GPS tracker which could expand onekeys service solutions, be a m18 & m12 charger via cigarette outlet. If could be packout sized like the new m18 charger/light thing OR it could be the size of a passenger seat work station/clipboard.
Tom D
I assume the incentive is something like “install this or get fired” lol.
Maybe the power usage is why Milwaukee is adding USB chargers to everything.
MFC
I bought the one key 1/2″ impact wrench a couple of years ago and one key turned my phone into a hot brick. It would take it down to 50% in two hours. If an app is constantly pinging and looking and updating, it consumes a lot of power. I’m sure it’s better now than it was, but that app was a mess and I haven’t touched it since.
Doc John
This may help with tracking hig-value medical equipment on a expansive campus- if it shows actual location ( think large multi-story building) rather than an address( that is the problem that I have found with many of these trackers like tile and Milwaukee? if i recall correctly).
John
Marketed as anti-theft, but I wonder how the tool makers (Bosch in this case) also monetize all the telemetry data they are collecting on how, where, when and duration of use of tools. That data could be used for a lot of things by the tool manufacturers including marketing campaigns fir high use tools/low use tools, battery designs, manufacturing forecasts, etc. etc.
Tom D
The next obvious step is to sell you a base-level tool, and with a subscription of $x/month you can unlock additional features like more torque, etc.
Eventually you’ll be able to get an impact wrench FOR FREE and only $0.25 a trigger click ($0.50 if it torques out).
John
Ah…. in-tool purchases to unlock additional features or continued use akin to in-app purchases for all those ‘free’ mobile device apps.
John
For a limited time, upgrade your tool subscription to deluxe monthly plan and we’ll give you 2 extra support calls and 5 hour extra use per month. 😉
Stuart
Bosch has so few connectable tools that I don’t think there’s much for them to learn, if they even thought of doing so.
Milwaukee, on the other hand, does look at the data. They learned, for example, that users have been heavily using the app’s remote and
scheduling features with their One-Key work lights, and this will undoubtedly be worked into their future designs.
Toolfreak
Seems like Bosch is banking on their customers wanting to spend money on something you can get for free from their competition.
A company would be paying more for the subscription of a bluetooth-based tracking system along with having to pay for enough bluetooth devices around any location to make it useful.
You can already buy GPS tracking devices that attach to anything, tools, pets, kids, etc. Stick those in your tools and you can find them anywhere, no bluetooth needed.
A GPS-based locator subscription service might be worth it to commercial clients if the locators were integrated into the tools so the locator battery was able to be recharged when the battery was in the tool, and if the service provided all the data, so in the case of theft a company would be able to rely on law enforcement and the locator service to do the recovery work.
Tom D
It’s weird. Milwaukee is in a market position where i could see them charging for one key tracking – Bosch definitely is not.
Perhaps they are in the EU and have to charge in the US or get EU customers pissed at them.
A-A-Ron
As previously mentioned, do Bosch’s cordless tools really have enough market share and is the demand seriously there to warrant this move? Everyone knows Bosch makes top-tier corded products but their cordless line is mostly dated by what other companies release in the US.
The fact that there’s a monthly fee for this thing is utterly baffling. Just get a Milwaukee or DeWalt for free service (and better/more cutting edge cordless tools without the classic NAINA nonsense).
Doc John
Bottom line: does it show mailing address or actual location( think large construction site or university campus. Unless ultralocal WiFi, these services are all extremely similar and just show address. It is virtually meaningless. Let’s step up the “ tool location “ service, otherwise… yAwn…