17 August Asset Tracking and Analytics: Hardware for Indoor Tracking August 17, 2016 By Eva Gaudlitz hardware, products |indoor tracking|, |Locator Nodes|, |Locator Tags|, |UWB| 0 Indoor Tracking, that is locating persons and objects inside buildings, is in high demand. There are multiple application scenarios. Locating wares during the whole production process Tracking of working equipment and vehicles Position determination of employees/patients and runway analysis Leading clients to specific products with indoor navigation Theft protection and other security applications, for example evacuation Giving drivers turn-by-turn directions infsoft Locator Nodes: individual application scenarios infsoft Locator Nodes are a piece of hardware which we have especially developed for the needs of our clients. They can capture all mobile devices (i.e. smartphones), WiFi enabled devices (i.e. WiFi tags) and Bluetooth beacons (attached to people/goods) and track them server based, without requiring an app. The small receivers are distributed throughout the building and connected to the electrical grid. One of them has internet connection. The Locator Nodes collect the data they receive from a sender (usually smartphone or beacon) and transmit them to a cloud server, where the data is processed. With the multiple tools from infsoft, it is for example possible to look at the position and to analyze movement patterns – in public space they are anonymous. infsoft Locator Nodes also work as beacons. infsoft Locator Tags: the flexible tracking solution infsoft Locator Tags are perfect for large areas with relatively few objects or people to be tracked, for example when medical equipment should be tracked in a clinic. Locator Tags are small and relatively cheap WiFi and BLE transmitters which can be attached to people or objects. In order to determine their position, Bluetooth beacons are distributed all over the building. Beacons are cheap (3-30 Euros) and can simply be stuck to the walls. The Locator Tags receive the beacon signals and transmit the data to a server where the position is calculated. The beacons can additionally be used for precise indoor navigation for clients and employees. infsoft Ultra-wideband (UWB): for high precision Indoor positioning with Ultra-wideband is relevant for certain tracking solutions in the industry environment where a high precision of 10-30 cm and low latencies are required. The installation can be server based (Visualization of positioning data in the backend, no display on a client (smartphone)) or client based Visualization of positioning data on a client (smartphone) and if necessary transmission to the backend). In order to track vehicles, wares and people precisely, you will need UWB Anchors and one infsoft Locator Tag, respectively one additional infsoft Locator Node for server based installations. Sounds interesting? Contact us With infsoft Locator Nodes, infsoft Locator Tags and Ultra-wideband we offer some interesting hardware solutions which we have developed based on the needs of our clients. If you are interested, don’t hesitate to contact us. Related links Examples of use More about infsoft Locator Nodes More about infsoft Locator Tags More about infsoft Ultra-wideband More about beacon technology Get the white paper for free Great introduction to the topic of indoor positioning Download Related Indoor Tracking of People and Objects – This Is How It Works indoor tracking solutionsIndoor location tracking and indoor positioning of people and objects are getting more relevant for companies from various industries. There are two ways to realize it: client based and server based tracking. Learn more about the differences and which method is suitable for your use case. Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation Using Wi-Fi Positioning using GPS does not work reliably inside buildings as there is no visual contact with the GPS satellites. A good alternative is indoor positioning using Wi-Fi. An additional advantage compared to GPS is the possibility to determine the current floor level. "Indoor GPS" - Techniques for Indoor Positioning Without Using GPS Positioning and navigation using smartphones are very beneficial in everyday life. Where would we be without the friendly voice of google maps which shows us the way wherever we are? But, wait a moment, everywhere is not quite correct. GPS reception quickly reaches its limits, for example in tunnels, parking garages, under a cloud cover, in the forest, in urban canyons, inside buildings – in brief: GPS driven navigation does not work where there is no visual contact to several GPS satellites. And there is another problem: With GPS it is not possible to determine the floor level a device is located on. But there are some possibilities to put such an “indoor GPS” into practice. The Role of Hardware in Indoor Positioning Projects Indoor positioning and indoor navigation are strongly marked by software products: For example in order to create a digital map, to calibrate routes, to evaluate results and to give users access via app. But as soon as it comes to choosing the suitable positioning technology, hardware plays an important role. Indoor Navigation & Indoor Positioning Using Bluetooth During the last couple of years, there was a lot going on on the Bluetooth market. The technology itself is not new; the functionality of Bluetooth has been well-known since the 1990s. But it was only in recent years that whole new application scenarios have occurred, originating from the energy saving Bluetooth version BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Smart). Apple with its iBeacons and just recently Google with its Eddystone Beacons have got the market moving furthermore. Indoor Tracking Using Beacons or RFID – What Are the Differences? Frequently, clients or prospective customers ask us which tracking hardware we would recommend for indoor positioning: beacons or RFID. As always, it depends on the requirements and circumstances on site. However, in most cases the decision is pro beacons, because RFID is not suitable for extensive indoor positioning but rather for selective object identification. Showing 0 Comment Add New CommentReply CommentNameEmailWebsiteCommentsHtmlPreviewb i u quote Notify me when new comments are addedSave Comment