An indoor positioning system is a system that locates people and objects inside a building. As a user of the system, you can tell where you are going. As a business owner, you can tell where the different members of your staff are. If someone is visiting your building for the first time, you can guide him/her as you can see his/her location from the system.
How the system works
The system uses different technologies. Some of the most common are:
Proximity beacon tags: This technology is synonymous to when you are using Bluetooth low energy. In this technology, you use simple, inexpensive tags to transmit their IDs. The transmitted information goes to the backend system that calculates the location of the object or person. The attractive thing about this technology is that it's cheap.
Ultra narrow band: Ultra-narrow band systems feature cheap tags that chirp out weak, wideband signals that are received by three or more readers. Since the signal is wideband, the accuracy is usually outstanding. This makes the indoor positioning systems using this technology to be the most accurate in the industry.
Infrared: Here infrared light pulses are used to locate signals inside a building. A professional installs infrared readers in every room of the house, and when they create a pulse, the pulse is read by a reader device. When properly installed, this system is highly accurate. Unfortunately, you have to install a reader in every room, which can be expensive if you have a large building.
Wi-Fi based tags: This technology relies on Wi-Fi transmitters that send simple packets to Wi-Fi access points in a building. The access points report the time and strength of the readings to a backend that makes use of algorithms to calculate the position of the various objects and persons. They systems relying on this technology can be accurate but you need to install powerful location enabled Wi-Fi access points. You also need to install expensive Wi-Fi based tags.
Applications of indoor positioning systems
You can use the indoor systems in almost every area of your life. Some of the most common applications include:
Airports: In the airport, you can use the units in various ways. You can use them to display the current wait time. You can also display detailed information on what you want the people at the airport to know. For example, you can let them know about delays or change in schedule.
Offices: This is the most common application. You can let the staff know about the location of the next conference. As the manager or business owner, you can tell the place of the various members and contact them quickly.
Hospitals: The systems are also heavily used in hospitals. Here you use them to transmit treatment schedules and any vital information about hospitals and the staff working there.
Conclusion
This is what you need to know about indoor positioning systems. If looking to install one, invest in one that is of high quality.
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