The growing demand for real-time locating and retrieval of items, regardless of their size, has led to the rise of precision positioning systems. The pandemic has further highlighted the need for manufacturing facilities to optimize resources amidst a tight labor market and supply chain disruptions. To tackle these challenges, corporations have turned to wireless real time location systems (RTLS), aiming to streamline and improve their monitoring of work processes, parts, orders, and equipment.
In the context of location tracking, precision-location refers to a highly detailed granular level of analysis that focuses on individual components, processes, or elements within a larger system. It’s important to note that the interpretation of micro-level can vary among companies and applications. For example, one company might define it as tracking within meters, while another might consider it as tracking within inches. The adaptability of location systems is key, as they can be tailored to meet the precision required within a facility. This flexibility ensures that businesses can optimize their operations at a detailed level, aligning with specific needs and preferences.
UWB RTLS
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology has made significant strides in recent years. UWB is a wireless technology that utilizes a wide frequency spectrum for building-level object tracking and precise positioning. Recently, there have been a number of new developments in UWB localization.
UWB has gained attention due to its potential applications in various fields. Industries such as warehouses and factories have leveraged UWB’s increased usage in commercial applications to improve processes and benefit from highly accurate location data.
UWB systems employ multiple techniques to achieve ever-increasing real-time accuracy. While mechanical measuring and calibration techniques are still being used by legacy systems, emergent solutions utilize more precise digital methods, including angle of arrival (AoA), time-of-flight (ToF), and other time-domain transmissions that enable precise positioning even without line-of-sight, and at longer ranges than Blue Tooth beacons can provide. Additionally, UWB offers high data rates, surpassing Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) by approximately 10 times. Time domain measurement methods also provide superior positioning accuracy compared to signal strength-based methods, similar to GPS technologies, which are particularly error-prone indoors.
UWB enables centimeter-precise object tracking using two-step approaches. When two devices equipped with UWB radios come into contact, they perform ranging by measuring (AoA, ToF, etc.) between challenge and response packets. While some systems operate radio-to-radio, others use fixed mesh antenna infrastructure to accurately calculate real-time positions.
To ensure accuracy, reliability, and real-time capability, the underlying technology needs to be designed for precise location—something WiFi was never intended to do. UWB technology is transforming the game by delivering highly valuable location information accurately and reliably across different applications. Its application to RTLS opens possibilities for much more precise and reliable indoor positioning and navigation, compared to BLE, WiFi, and active RFID alternatives. UWB’s extremely precise locating abilities can instantaneously pinpoint assets and people within one centimeter.
UWB RTLS has been slow to develop, however, due to two primary obstacles. First, like WiFi, BLE, and all wireless systems, achieving accurate location information in indoor environments is challenging due to signal reflections and dispersion, especially in highly reflective industrial settings. And second, unlike bar codes and RFID, RTLS systems in general have, until recently, had difficulty tracking more than a few hundred assets simultaneously, and without latency.
That’s all changed. Continuous advancements in UWB location and tracking technology now allows companies to track hundreds or thousands of tagged assets in real-time with unprecedented accuracy. This capability was previously not feasible; companies heretofore have been obliged to take inventory (for example) using costly manual processes. The application of UWB technology in indoor location systems is proving to be a game-changer, particularly in manufacturing facilities where efficient, in-the-moment tracking of very large volumes of assets is crucial. Additionally, UWB technology offers benefits such as flexible data visualization through graphical user interfaces (GUI) on mobile devices. And on-premises data storage options help to assuage security concerns associated with cloud-based solutions.
Real-Time Asset Tracking of Large Numbers of Assets in Industrial Settings
Traditionally, tracking large numbers of assets in heavy-metal manufacturing facilities was cumbersome and resource-intensive, relying on manual efforts and infrastructure-heavy mechanical measuring systems. Wireless location systems that did exist were unable to track around metal accurately, given interference and multi-path propagation reflectivity. To address these challenging environments, blue-tooth and RFID systems require complex and extensive infrastructure. Blue-tooth and RFID beacons must be close-to and within line-of-site to an asset being tracked at all times. As a result, these systems tend to be intrusive, expensive and maintenance prone.
Longer-range wireless systems like UWB RTLS are both infrastructure-light and low-energy, they require less maintenance, and can be installed in minutes or hours, rather than days. As a result, these systems are easier to put up and manage, more economical and cost-effective, and faster to achieve ROI.
UWB solutions thus defy conventional beliefs that achieving a specific level of accuracy typically necessitates a more robust and sophisticated infrastructure. Today’s more sophisticated UWB systems don’t inherently translate to a larger infrastructure footprint. On the contrary, a cutting-edge UWB RTLS solution can deliver improved accuracy, even with significantly less infrastructure, offering a more economical, streamlined approach.
Furthermore, as described next, companies are using UWB RTLS to achieve real-time tracking of large numbers of assets with remarkable accuracy.
Track Assets at the Enterprise level
Surprisingly, many companies that need to track thousands of assets make do with last-seen-at-scan barcode and RFID systems because they are not aware that some UWB RTLS solutions can scale at the enterprise level. This means having the capability to visualize, in real time, thousands of assets across even the largest factory footprint, or industrial campus. Large enterprises like GE Aviation now have the ability to track and mange assets through a single Graphical User Interface (GUI) that spans across multiple facilities. This integrated approach provides a holistic view of asset movements and statuses, offering companies unparallel control and visibility over their entire asset inventory on an enterprise scale.
At this level, the process of asset tracking typically has the additional tedious chore of attaching, removing and re-registering tags as assets move between buildings or into different arenas or facilities This labor-intensive process can be particularly problematic when you’re tracking very large numbers of assets that must be de-tagged and re-tagged as they move between facilities. Advanced UWB RTLS systems allow companies to use a single tag across all sites. The elimination of cumbersome tag changes generates both labor saving efficiencies and improved reliability, coupled with significant battery life savings.
Graphical User Interfaces (GUI)
UWB indoor location technologies have seen significant advancements in the visualization of tracking data through user-friendly graphical user interfaces (GUI). These GUIs provide intuitive and customizable interfaces to interpret and analyze the vast amount of location data generated by UWB systems. Users can monitor and manage the real-time location of assets, track movement patterns, prevent mistakes and theft, and gain valuable insights into operational workflows. GUIs enhance user experience and simplify decision-making processes for manufacturing facility managers and operators.
On-Premises Data Storage
While UWB technologies are best suited reliably accurate real-time tracking at scale, it’s important to note that not all UWB systems inherently offer on-premises solutions. Data security and privacy concerns have grown in recent years, leading many companies to be cautious about storing sensitive operational data in the cloud due to potential security breaches. The good news is some UWB RTLS solution providers support customer-owned data, and storage and management within company firewalls. These UWB systems are nearly latency-free. Further, by allowing customers to own and manage tracking data within the facility’s local network, companies maintain control over sensitive information and minimize exposure to external threats. As companies increasingly move sensitive internal processes to the edge, they’re realizing benefits including increased data integrity, reduced latency, compliance with security regulations, and the peace of mind that comes with uncompromisable data safety.
In summary, advances in UWB technology and UWB-based tracking systems have recently revolutionized real-time asset tracking capabilities in industry and metal-heavy manufacturing facilities. Real-time tracking of large numbers of assets with high accuracy transforms operational efficiency and resource utilization. Some of these systems offer the ability to track your assets in one user-friendly graphical interface (GUI) across all your facilities, allowing for a complete enterprise-wide tracking solution. This integration of intuitive GUIs allows for effective visualization and analysis of location data, empowering facility managers to make informed decisions. Additionally, the option of on-premises data storage addresses growing concerns related to latency, data security, and privacy. As UWB technology continues to evolve, the potential applications and benefits from real-time location and tracking—both indoors and out—will expand, making it a vital tool for optimizing manufacturing processes and enhancing overall safety, security, and productivity.
Cris Masselle is the chief marketing officer of WISER Systems. Cris brings extensive leadership experience in marketing to her role at WISER, having held leadership positions in a range of industries, including IoT technologies, chemicals, medical devices and biologics. With more than 25 years of corporate marketing experience, she is skilled in developing and directing comprehensive strategic marketing campaigns, crafting marketing tools and overseeing advertising programs. Her breadth of experience spans diverse industries, enabling her to communicate effectively with a wide range of target audiences. Cris holds an MBA in marketing and a BA in literature and rhetoric from Binghamton University in New York.
