27 February Bluetooth 5.1 Direction Finding Using Angle of Arrival 2 MIN READ February 27, 2020 By Gina Wurms technical posts |Bluetooth|, |beacons|, |Angle of Arrival|, |hardware|, |positioning technology| 0 Bluetooth 5.1 direction finding feature is a major development for indoor positioning. Direction finding enables determining the direction of an incoming signal using Angle of Arrival. In the following, we will give you an insight into how positioning with Bluetooth 5.1 using Angle of Arrival works, what positioning accuracy can be achieved and which application scenarios it’s most suitable for. Technology Direction finding enables positioning solutions to not only rely on received signal strength indicator (RSSI), but also the actual direction of a signal. This improves accuracy and opens new possibilities for applications in this segment. infsoft uses a Nordic nRF52833 chip in combination with an in-house developed phased array antenna based on 8 antennas for Bluetooth 5.1 direction finding. The phased array antenna switches continuously between the 8 antennas when receiving a signal from a BLE 5.1 tag/beacon. The Nordic nRF52833 measures the phase shift of each of the 8 antennas. The measured data is sent to an infsoft Locator Node and then uploaded to the infsoft cloud which immediately calculates the received angle of the tag based on its phase shifts. Using the calculated angle of at least two phased array antennas allows to create an intersection coordinate represented by X and Y values. These X and Y coordinates are later transferred to latitude and longitude due to the georeferenced locations of the phased array antennas. Application Scenarios This solution works well if used in an open space environment where there are no obstacles between the tag and the phased array antenna. In crowded areas, e.g. office environments or hospitals in which reflection of a signal has to be expected, the calculated angle of arrival and thus the position determination is getting more and more inaccurate. Hence the technology is most suitable, for example, in industrial environments when a direct line-of-sight between transmitter and receiver is ensured. Assets can then be tracked in two- and three-dimensional space with sub-meter accuracy. infsoft Phased Array Antenna In order to guarantee precise and reliable indoor positioning using Bluetooth 5.1 and Angle of Arrival, we are developing a phased array antenna in-house. It is currently in the beta test phase and the estimated release is Q3/2020. You can find more information on Bluetooth Low Energy and beacons on our website. If you have any further questions, please reach out to us. Get the white paper for free Great introduction to the topic of indoor positioning Download Related Articles Getting the Most out of Bluetooth Beacons: Angle of Arrival Technology This blog post by infsoft introduces the Angle of Arrival (AoA) technology that allows for advanced beacon-based asset tracking solutions. Read More Indoor Navigation & Indoor Positioning Using Bluetooth Indoor navigation & indoor positioning using Bluetooth - learn more about the pros & cons. Read More 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. Read More Techniques for Client-Based Indoor Positioning – GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and VLC Compared Techniques for client-based indoor positioning – GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and VLC compared - check out our infographic. Read More "Indoor GPS" - Techniques for Indoor Positioning Without Using GPS Techniques for indoor positioning without using GPS - learn more about Indoor GPS in our blog. Read More Object Identification Using RFID RFID is one of the most versatile technologies in the field of indoor localization and can be used in nearly every industry. Read More Comments are closed.