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Finding a particular item within large-scale infrastructure sounds easy, but the task becomes challenging if the item is constantly changing its position. For instance, a hospital’s cart may be moved from one floor to another, a warehouse’s tool may be transferred from one station to another, or even a visitor within a large-scale venue may have problems finding their way. A bluetooth beacon is a great technological solution that helps in such scenarios to make spaces easy to navigate and find.
This technology functions by utilizing wireless communication means with Bluetooth Low Energy transceivers to send and receive small packets of data to and from an application running on an enabled device, such as smartphones or gateways.
The main advantage is that devices are simple. The device does not need to remain in communication with every receiver. They only have to send out packets of information at regular intervals.
A device within range will receive the signal and forward the information to a program or management system. With the information, the application can make decisions and perform actions.
For instance, a warehouse management system can see that a trolley with a tag has entered the loading bay. A museum app could know that a visitor is close to a particular item of interest. An office management system may track equipment being moved between rooms.
All this is possible without having to attach complicated or power hungry computers to every object of interest.
Battery lifetime is one of the most critical parameters for any system that involves tens or hundreds of wireless devices, and the last thing a company would want is to deal with constant battery replacements.
Bluetooth Low Energy was initially designed to simplify the communication process between two devices when the exchange of information is limited to a short message.
This way, a transmitter can enter sleep mode after sending a signal and then be reactivated to send another one after a certain interval.
In any case, it is evident that the battery lifetime depends directly on the power of the transmitter, the frequency of advertising, the size of the battery, temperature, and other factors.
Systems that constantly broadcast their link ID and other data consume significantly more power than those that do it rarely.
As such, a balance must be struck between how frequently a device needs to send information and how much battery power it can spare.
While GPS is an excellent tool for outdoor work, its value is severely limited by buildings. This restricts its potential applications indoors, as walls, ceilings, and other elements block satellite signals. In such environments, a Bluetooth beacon can enhance location tracking and navigation.
The issue is circumvented by the technology that uses the Bluetooth protocol.
It is possible to set up a number of receivers inside the building, which can pick up signals from wireless devices and relay this information to a program.
The software can process the data and determine the location of the object it is tracking.
For many businesses, pinpointing the item down to the centimeter is not required; identifying it as being on the third floor or in the shipping department would suffice.
Such a position would be perfectly adequate for a more basic setup using beacons.
Asset tracking is one of the most common applications.
Think of a large warehouse with hundreds of tools, various containers, and vehicles. It takes a lot of time for a worker to search for a specific asset. Using wireless tags, the system could tell the user approximately where the desired item was last seen.
A similar application can be found in healthcare, where portable medical equipment often needs to be found in a timely manner. A system tracking selected assets could save much-needed time for hospital workers.
A retail application would use Bluetooth technology to recognize when a customer walks into a specific section. The corresponding smartphone application could then provide the user with the relevant information or directions.
Indoor positioning systems can be applied in airports, museums, universities, or during conferences. Like in retail, using a positioning system inside buildings would require users to have a corresponding application. Thus, the technology would not be useful for users without smartphones. Still, it might replace some of the signs with directions or information.
Finally, manufacturing facilities might benefit from using the described technology to follow the production chain. Double-checking the manufacturing process might take much time and effort without it.
Although wireless tracking has its advantages, it does have its disadvantages.
A receiver is able to pick up the signal strength of the transmitter to determine if it is near the transmitting device. In most cases, the higher the signal strength means the closer you are to the source.
But when it comes to real world applications, things get more difficult.
Many objects such as walls and metal shelves can reduce, or reflect signals meaning it would be harder to determine how far an object is. Other obstacles such as people, machines, and other wireless devices can affect the strength too. Because of this, signal strength should not be used as a reliable method for measuring distance. Although it can be used to determine a general location it is not recommended for precise calculations.
For situations requiring more precision other alternatives are being made. More advanced forms of bluetooth positioning can use other methods such as direction finding to determine the location of a device. This allows for determining a general location using different antennas.
Whatever works best for the company is what they should choose.
Specifications listed on a product page usually only tell half a story. The location in which the device is to be installed often has a tremendous impact on performance.
While small offices may have relatively predictable conditions, warehouses with metal racks or outside installations requiring protection from the weather are more challenging environments.
Before selecting hardware, businesses should ask themselves a few questions:
How far is the signal going to have to travel? How far does it need to be able to see? Will it be inside or outside or subject to extreme temperatures? How long will a battery charge last and how often can it be changed?
The manner in which the device is mounted also has an impact,
as a device on a moving vehicle has different needs than one mounted on a permanent structure. Some require adhesive mounting while others need screws, straps, or special enclosures to remain securely mounted despite vibration and movement. A device's job shouldn't dictate using the absolute toughest possible housing, but it should be appropriate to the task.
Wireless hardware serves merely as a transmitter. The true value is generated by what is done with the received signals: analytics, location history, alerts, or connections to other systems.
For instance, there may be an asset management system that generates alerts when valuable inventory moves out of a particular location. There may also be a warehouse management system that displays which aisle a specific container is located in on a dashboard.
Systems need to integrate with one another, and the more devices that are deployed, the more crucial it is to ensure that they will work together.
A company should always verify that the selected hardware will communicate with the preferred gateway, apps, API, cloud platform, analytics software, or any other existing infrastructure before investing heavily into hundreds of endpoints. One minor compatibility issue can complicate the adoption of an otherwise great solution.
Sometimes wireless broadcasts can be picked up by any compatible receiver within range.
Therefore, do not put sensitive information directly into an open packet, such as a broadcast.
A more secure method would be to transmit only an identifier, and keep the data in a protected application or database.
Besides, businesses must also ensure the protection of device configuration.
Unauthorized changes to transmission settings could interfere with coverage, battery consumption, or system integrity, depending on the product type. In turn, the security functions that should be protected are determined by the equipment design, including the use of passwords, special configuration tools, authentication, and protected firmware.
Finally, privacy should receive a similar level of protection when personal devices are involved. In this case, one should set the information a company is entitled to collect and the rationale behind this collection.
A pilot project is crucial to avoid expensive mistakes.
By testing one or several devices in the real environment, one can see how the actual radio coverage looks like. It is vital to test the busiest places, doorways, and other challenging spots for radio coverage such as thick-walled rooms, near heavy machines, and partitions made of metal.
It is also necessary to experiment with the receiver placement.
In some cases, moving a gateway by a couple of feet can significantly improve radio coverage. One should not rely only on the drawing provided by a seller or installer, not considering real radio obstacles.
The pilot project should also include collecting and structuring the data. It is essential to write down and track different factors influencing the signal strength such as advertising intervals, gateway transmit power, the place where the gateway is mounted, battery characteristics in case of battery-powered gateways, and firmware version.
This information will help to quickly locate and solve the issues during the pilot testing.
The best projects start with a goal in mind.
Perhaps a company wishes to locate equipment faster, or maybe they wish to gain indoor positioning capabilities. A factory may want to be able to track materials. Each project has a slightly different need, and different technologies should be chosen based on the need.
Systems should be built around a purpose.
A technology should enhance a project, not complicate it.
While a bluetooth beacon can provide a simple wireless signal, it is up to receivers, software, network infrastructure and planning that will turn the signal into something useful. Near the end of the beacon process, teams should also think about maintenance. All beacons will eventually need some sort of assistance whether that's battery maintenance, updates to the beacon itself, or checking the range and coverage of the beacon.
By implementing realistic expectations and thorough testing procedures, it will be possible to make Bluetooth-based location systems practical and useful in commercial settings. Such technology may be applied to various tasks, such as asset tracking, navigation assistance, automated operations, and analyzing spatial patterns of human behavior.
However, the experiences of past implementations suggest that the most successful installations are those that began with modest expectations and gradually expanded their scope according to actual performance observations.
