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RTLS

RTLS (Real Time Location System), as the name implies, is all about location. As everyday objects become readable, recognizable, addressable, and sometimes even controllable via the internet (Internet of everything), it is very important to know location of things and people. Whether represented as a map, encoded as a ZIP code, labeled as a store aisle, or as any of the many other ways to represent location, people make fundamental decisions based on location. Location is a foundational information ingredient. If you need something, you need to know its location. If you want to show something, you need to put it in the right location. The ability to control or coordinate actions based on the location of things or people is fundamental. A business can set processes in place to ensure that specific assets are present in a specific location to increase sales. A professor can quickly account for a student’s location at a time of distress. A business can ensure that workers can find shared equipment to prevent time wasted in searching for it. A paramedic can reach the trapped miner by taking the shortest route. A nurse can find the defibrillator in the shortest time. Businesses, schools, government, people, and so on can use location information in many ways to improve security, safety, service, Return on Investment (ROI), and in general, efficiency.

When you want to know the physical location of an asset or a person, depending on your needs, you may want to know the absolute position, relative position, or symbolic position:

✓ Absolute position is the absolute coordinates, such as latitude, longitude,and altitude. For example, the Taj Mahal is situated at N27° 10’ 0 N, E78° 2’ 60, and the Washington Monument is at N 48.629283 and W –121.831533 with peak elevation of 4,455 feet (1,357.88 meters) above sea level.

✓ Relative position is the distance in three dimensions with reference to a fixed point. For example, the security guard is standing at 10 meters south of the main entrance of the building.

✓ Symbolic position implies presence in a specific area (for example, the doctor is in the operation theater room) or presence near something or someone (for example, the child is near her mom).

To satisfy the needs of various applications, whether they need precise location or room-level location, various RTLS systems report the location of tags in one of the following ways:

✓ Presence-based locating: In this model, the tag location is returned as to whether it’s present in a given area. For example, if your boss is carrying a tag, you can know whether he’s in the building.

✓ Locating at room level: In this model, the tag location is returned as presence in a specific room. For example, if a schoolteacher presses the panic button to summon security assistance in the event of a classroom emergency, the location engine reports the teacher’s exact classroom to the security guard.

✓ Locating at sub-room level: In this model, the tag location is returned as presence in a specific part of the room. For example, in hospital rooms that accommodate multiple patients, such as dual-bed rooms, if a nurse is carrying a tag, the location engine can report how much time the nurse spent by each patient’s side.

✓ Locating at choke points: In this model, as shown in Figure 1-2, the tag location is returned by a specific choke point (an entry or exit point, such as a door; it’s assumed that people or assets move from one area to another through these choke points). By monitoring the time a tag was seen at a specific choke point, you can also determine the direction the tag is moving. In other words, you can determine whether the tag is present inside or outside an area and whether it’s entering or leaving the predetermined area. For example, if all visitors to a facility are required to carry tags, you can determine on which floor or building the visitors are located.

✓ Locating by associating: In this model, tag location is returned as proximity with respect to another tag (see Figure 1-2). For example, if each patient in a clinic wears a tag and each IVF pump has a tag, the location of the IVF pump is returned as present next to a specific patient. The billing department can use this data, which indicates how long the IVF pump was in use with any patient, to calculate invoice amounts. Or maybe you need to know whether the owner of a specific laptop is actually next to that laptop. Many securities, financial, or other location-based services can benefit by knowing this type of information.

✓ Locating precisely: In this model, the tag location is pinpointed precisely. You can pinpoint the exact tag location on the map of the world and/or in a given building. The location is reported as absolute or relative position as described earlier. Locating precisely is the exact form of RTLS, and depending upon the accuracy of reporting, the precise location information can be extrapolated to room level, sub-room level, association level, presence level, and choke point.

Whether you’re talking about businesses, consumers, or public sector markets, the need for an RTLS is arising from the inherent need for just-in-time actionable information — the right information at the right time and location — which is a fundamental concept to make effective decisions and take immediate action.

Many technologies are available or being developed that enable an RTLS with one of the variables and the algorithms described in the previous sections. Here are just a few (note that most of these technologies and how they’re used in an RTLS are detailed later in the book RTLS for Dummies by Ajay Malik): WiFi, UWB, RFID, Infrared, Ultrasound, Sunlight, shadows, digital imaging, GPS, mobile, etc. RTLS is achieved using devices that people carry such as iPhone, iPad, android, laptops or external tags on objects or worn by people.

You may implement an RTLS because you have a problem that you want to solve. Perhaps you have some expensive equipment that’s getting lost or stolen and you want to know whether that equipment leaves your building. Or maybe you need to locate a doctor or nurse to determine how much time the attending physician will take to reach a patient. To find an RTLS that fits your needs, you must compare competing technologies, hardware, solutions, and associated vendors. However, the comparison’s outcome on its own may not tell the full story because not only are there certain ancillary needs that you need to consider but also because you’ll learn more about the RTLS and may grow to use it in new ways. For example, you may install the RTLS in one facility and later take it to others, or you may use the RTLS to track visitors and later use it for employee safety.

Read More: Get up to date information about what is happening in real time location industry, vendors, events, innovations at http://thertlsblog.com