Mapping of infrastructure to RTLS use cases

Now that the RTLS use cases and required infrastructure and technology components are understood, this section shows which components are required to deliver the required outcome.

Mapping RTLS use cases to infrastructure, including further detail on the restrictions, can be found in the full RTLS Guidance v1.1 report on the FutureNHS collaboration platform.

These RTLS applications require high location accuracy and a radio 'tag' to allow the solution to operate effectively. Detection of the 'tag' requires RF sensors located in a coverage pattern over the geographical location. The following infrastructure provides the solution:

• Wi-Fi or BLE enabled access points that can forward location data to RTLS solution
• Wi-Fi or BLE enabled tag
• possibly a map

This capability tracks equipment that inherently contains RF technology. Usually this would be Wi-Fi enabled equipment and as such no tag would be necessary.

The following infrastructure provides the solution:

• Wi-Fi solution that can forward location data to RTLS solution

Tracking of valuable assets that should not travel. Confirmation of the presence of the asset and its correct position.

Either:

• Wi-Fi or Bluetooth BLE enabled access points that can forward location data to RTLS solution
• Bluetooth BLE or Wi-Fi tags

Or

• passive or active RFID tags and readers

This requirement lends itself to an RFID solution as a standalone system. When part of a wider asset tracking solution this can be incorporated into a Wi-Fi or BLE based solution.

Wayfinding uses the mobile application as the focal point of location determination; therefore, it picks up the transmissions from the access points and beacons. Generally, it is preferable to use BLE transmissions as the Bluetooth radio uses less power. Another advantage is that the accuracy can be improved by deploying battery powered BLE beacons rather than denser deployments of Wi-Fi access points. This wayfinding has historically been the sole domain of BLE solutions. However, the introduction of Fixed Time Measurement (FTM) (802.11mc) allows this to be provided via Wi-Fi and may change this dominance. The main components are:

• Wi-Fi solution that can send location data to the RLTS solution.
• Bluetooth BLE enabled access points
• battery BLE Beacons
• bespoke mobile application with integration with solution Software Development Kit (SDK)
• custom maps for application

Wayfinding is increasingly using newer emerging device technologies such as barometric and geomagnetic information as well as GPS. FTM (802.11mc) will become more prevalent as the OpenLocate standard is adopted.

Proximity relies on the mobile application to respond to data from a designated BLE beacon to trigger a response in the application which indicates that the mobile device is within a certain defined proximity of the beacon. Proximity is exclusively a BLE based application and would require:

• battery BLE beacons
• bespoke mobile application with integration to the proximity solution Software Development Kit (SDK)

In most cases proximity will be offered as part of a broader wayfinding solution. There may be a standalone requirement using the application for info points with a non-wayfinding app.

Inventory RTLS is used for static tracking of items using tags, usually to aid storage organisation and tracking of stock levels.

Either

• passive or active RFID tags
• passive or active RFID readers

An inventory only requirement can be fulfilled using passive RFID, as movement tracking is not required, and any relocation can be dealt with by a reader or manual annotation. For large or extensive storage needs then active RFID could be more convenient but comes at a higher cost and requires more administration.

If there is a wider RTLS requirement that includes inventory, the need can be met using a Wi-Fi or BLE solution, but the cost would be much higher than an RFID-only solution.