RTLS Explained
The term RTLS, or Real-Time Location System, has emerged as the term to define indoor positioning systems. Real-time locating systems (RTLS) provide real-time tracking of inventory, staff, and equipment, significantly enhancing operational workflows and improving overall situational awareness. Businesses, industries, and even healthcare are increasingly relying on RTLS technology to streamline operations, enhance security, improve patient experience, ensure staff safety, prevent infections, and boost overall efficiency.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the depths of RTLS, exploring what it is, how it works, and most importantly, how it can help you!
Components of an RTLS System
RTLS utilizes a combination of hardware, software and a location engine to determine the precise location of objects or individuals within an enclosed area. Key components for an RTLS system include:
RTLS Tags or Beacons
Most RTLS systems today require small (battery-powered) tags for positioning. The tag can be attached on the asset that needs to be tracked. Usually, these devices will transmit signals that are picked up by the anchors. The majority of trackers are battery powered, with a lifetime of several years. For vehicle tracking, some trackers can draw power from the vehicle itself. Finally, some RTLS systems support smartphone localization as well, so no dedicated tag is required.
> Learn more about the Pozyx UWB tags
Anchors or Receivers
While outdoor positioning can rely on GPS coverage, indoor positioning systems require some kind of infrastructure. Typically, anchors or receivers need to be installed to act as RTLS reference points. This typically requires power and/or Ethernet connection to be available.
> Learn more about the Pozyx UWB anchors
RTLS Software
The RTLS software is a key part of the system where the actual locations are being calculated (location engine), and where the user is able to configure and manage an RTLS deployment. Once, installed, API's allow other systems to ingest the location data. The RTLS software is typically used by system or IT administrators.
Application Software
In it's most limited form, an RTLS will only provide location information. Either this data is integrated into some existing application such as an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or WMS (Warehouse Management System), or it is fed to a dedicated RTLS application which will typically combine RTLS with indoor mapping, geofencing and analytics. These applications are typically used on a day-to-day basis by end-users such as operators, process engineers and managers.
> Learn more about the Pozyx Application software
Pozyx offers an industry-proven RTLS for both UWB and BLE which provides accurate indoor positioning at scale.
Main Use-Cases of RTLS
One of the key applications of RTLS is asset tracking, which optimizes operations across various industries. Real-time locating systems enhance operational workflows and improve overall situational awareness. This includes tracking inventory, managing supplies, and ensuring the location accuracy of critical assets.
The number of use-cases for an RTLS is very large. With Pozyx we have identified, and maintain a list of over 250 unique RTLS use-cases. Based on this list we have seen that most use-cases can be grouped in the following 4 categories:
1. Real-Time Visibility
The primary use-case for an RTLS is to provide better visibility of company assets. These assets could include equipment, vehicles, materials, work orders, containers, carts, personnel and so much more. Visibility could mean as much as knowing the exact location of an asset or knowing the exact amount of assets in a certain location.
The location data collected in real-time from sensors or beacons using technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi or UWB is crucial for this visibility. Without an RTLS, this visibility may be outdated or simply incorrect. A good example of this is the ERP system claiming negative inventory levels for a certain asset, which is simply not possible. With an RTLS, searching for assets is reduced from hours or days to seconds.
Visibility from an RTLS isn’t just limited to the location of assets itself. Using location-based triggers, you can also obtain visibility on certain events based on location. For example, whenever something enters or leaves a certain area, or when an asset is standing still for a long time and when it was last moved. This ability to accurately determine location helps in resource allocation and improves operational efficiency.
Typical 'assets' to track with an indoor positioning system
2. Data-Driven Analytics
Real-time location data contains a wealth of information that can be used for data-driven decision making or predictive analytics. Its value goes much beyond simply knowing the location of an asset. Where things are, for how long and how they move, in combination with the context of the facility can provide insights into operational patterns, resource utilization, and overall efficiency. This data-driven approach helps organizations make informed decisions to optimize processes, improve resource allocation, and enhance overall performance. Some examples location-based analytics are:
- Detecting sick cows or cows in heat based on movement patterns
- Determining the efficiency of a forklift based on its activity and number of trips
- Understanding how frequently equipment is used to understand how much you actually need.
By analyzing historical location data, organizations can develop predictive models to anticipate trends, identify potential bottlenecks, and proactively address issues before they impact operations. This ability to transform location data into actionable insights is a key benefit of RTLS solutions.
3. Safety, Security and Compliance
RTLS is used to enhance workplace safety by tracking the real-time location of personnel, especially in hazardous environments. In healthcare facilities, RTLS can improve patient and staff safety, mitigate staffing shortages, and enhance infection prevention and control. Some examples are:
- Locating and evacuating employees quickly in the event of an emergency
- Prevent collisions by warning operators that are too close to a moving forklift, AGV or other vehicle
- Prevent an overhead crane of lifting materials over people's heads
In industries with strict regulatory requirements, such as healthcare and manufacturing, RTLS can help organizations comply with safety and security regulations by ensuring that assets and personnel are where they are supposed to be, and by providing audit trails for tracking movements and activities. This ensures employee and patient safety and adherence to compliance standards.
4. Location-Based Automation
More advanced use-cases use location information to automate certain processes, known as "if this, then that." Because of the real-time nature of an RTLS, these automations can happen in a timely manner which is critical for most processes. For example:
- Automate bookings in the ERP system whenever an assets enters a certain area
- Automatically turn off the lights and machinery when a room or zone is empty for 5 minutes
- Automatically signal pickup for containers or patients based on their location
These use-cases demonstrate how RTLS can drive operational efficiencies and improve resource management in various industries. By leveraging real-time location data, organizations can implement smart automations that enhance operational workflows and reduce manual interventions.
Applications of RTLS
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is one of the largest application domains for indoor location services. Manufacturing facilities leverage RTLS technologies such as ultra wideband (UWB) and active radio frequency identification (RFID) to monitor the movement of equipment, raw materials, work orders, and finished goods.
By using real-time location systems and precise location data, these facilities can ensure efficient production processes, shorter lead times, safer work environments, and better quality compliance. The integration of RTLS solutions in manufacturing also enhances asset tracking, productivity, and resource allocation, driving Lean operations that are cost-effective.
Warehouse management
RTLS has transformed warehouse operations by providing real-time insights into the exact location of inventory, reducing search times, and enhancing overall operational efficiency. The integration of RTLS technology enables automated booking, optimizes routes for pickers using precise location data, and minimizes errors in shipping and receiving processes.
Utilizing RTLS solutions, such as ultra-wideband technology and active RFID tags, warehouses can achieve more accurate location tracking, streamline operations, and improve resource allocation, ultimately leading to significant cost savings and improved productivity.
Healthcare
Healthcare is another major market for RTLS. In hospitals, real-time location systems are vital for tracking medical equipment, managing patient flow, and ensuring the safety of both patients and staff by providing high location accuracy.
By utilizing RTLS technologies such as UWB and active RFID tags, healthcare facilities can locate critical assets swiftly, enhancing response times during emergencies. These systems also aid in improving patient safety, optimizing resource allocation, and driving operational efficiency, thereby significantly enhancing the overall quality of care provided.
Retail
Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) in retail are used to track and manage inventory, improve operational efficiency, and enhance the overall customer experience. By utilizing RTLS technologies such as ultra wideband (UWB) and active RFID, retailers can monitor the movement of goods throughout their stores in real-time, optimize stock levels, reduce out-of-stock situations, and streamline replenishment processes.
Additionally, RTLS solutions can be leveraged for location-based marketing and personalized customer interactions, offering targeted promotions and improving store layout based on traffic patterns and customer behavior data. These capabilities lead to better inventory management, increased sales, and a more engaging shopping experience for customers.
Agriculture
Locating livestock and people, tracking equipment, managing supplies, registering yield, and observing animal behavior are just a few examples in agriculture where real-time location is vital for indoor farms with livestock or crop production.
RTLS systems, especially when combined with artificial intelligence (AI), provide detailed animal location and movement data that has proven to be extremely beneficial for improving animal reproduction outcomes, productivity, welfare, and health. Utilizing RTLS technology in agriculture enhances operational efficiency, resource allocation, and overall farm management. Consequently, animal tracking has become a major RTLS application, driving advancements in the agricultural sector.
Main technologies for RTLS
In this section, we give an overview of the different RTLS technologies for RTLS systems, and how they compare to each other. This comparison is restricted to mainstream commercial technologies, excluding less common options like ultra-sound positioning. We will see that many solutions come with trade-offs between various system parameters, such as location accuracy, power consumption, and range, which can impact the overall performance of RTLS applications.
The choice of which positioning technology to select is not always a simple one. In many cases, no single technology is able to provide all the requested positioning requirements. A solution to this problem can be the combination of multiple sensors. For example, motion sensors such as accelerometers or gyroscopes can be integrated with other RTLS technologies to enhance location accuracy. While these sensors alone cannot provide absolute positioning information, they can improve the precision of location data during tracking.
In the following, we give a non-exhaustive list of properties that are important when selecting a positioning system:
- Accuracy
- Infrastructure cost
- Maintenance cost
- Battery life
- Update rate
- Tag size
- Scalability
- Ease of installation
- Positioning delay (real-time behavior)
- Interference with other systems
- Robustness in challenging environments
- Range
These factors should be carefully considered to ensure the chosen RTLS solution meets the specific needs of the application.
UWB RTLS (ultra wideband UWB)
Ultra-wideband (UWB) is a technology that specifically designed for indoor location applications. Today UWB is considered the gold standard for real-time location systems due to its high accuracy of 10-30cm, low power consumption and robustness in challenging environments with lots of metal.
Furthermore, the costs of this technology have significantly decreased in recent years due to the mass adoption of UWB technology in smartphones and vehicles. Because of this, UWB is now viable for tracking thousands of assets in large facilities without breaking the bank.
Learn more about UWB technology.
BLE RTLS (Bluetooth Low Energy)
Bluetooth is a well-known technology which has a wide range of successful applications. BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) was not initially designed for indoor positioning and is more of a by-product of the technology. Because BLE has been widely available in all mobile devices, it is the most commonly used technology for tracking mobile phones.
The typical accuracy that can be achieved with standard BLE tracking is around 5-10 meters. However, because the system relies on the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) to estimate the location, the results may vary significantly depending on the environment. Obstructions, metals, or people walking around can strongly affect the signal strength. Regardless, BLE positioning remains very popular due to the low-cost nature of the technology.
Recently, the BLE standard added BLE direction finding capability to improve positioning performance. With this method sub-meter positioning accuracy is possible. However, this requires dedicated infrastructure and does not work with standard BLE tags without modification.
RFID (Radio Frequency indentification)
RFID is probably the most well known and most widely used technology for track-and-trace applications. With passive RFID the 'tag' can be as simple as a sticker with a small chip and antenna inside costing just a few cents, which opens up the potential to track 'everything'.
However, the downside of this is that it doesn't provide real-time tracking, as the RFID tag can only be detected when being scanned by a (short-range) RFID scanner. This makes RFID technology suitable for inventory control or for certain automations, but not for finding lost assets or for location analytics.
One thing to note though, is that the robustness of RFID is relatively low, and in the presence of metal, there is no guarantee that you will actually detect all RFID. For this reason, RFID is less used in industrial environments.
Wi-Fi scanning
Wi-Fi tracking is very similar to standard Bluetooth in the way that it also uses the signal strength indicator of the Wi-Fi signal to determine location. The accuracy is typically around 5-10m of accuracy, although performance can greatly differ between providers. An advantage is that existing WiFi infrastructure can be utilized, which reduces additional setup costs. However, Wi-Fi has much higher power consumption compared to BLE or UWB, making it more suitable for tracking devices that already have internal WiFi, such as laptops or certain equipment.
Stand-alone, battery-powered Wi-Fi trackers work differently; they do not connect to any Wi-Fi network but instead sniff which access points are around. This information is then offloaded through the cellular network to the cloud to determine the position using the known locations of Wi-Fi access points. Due to the reliance on the cellular network, these trackers require a monthly connectivity fee and are limited to a few tens of location updates per day. This method can be effective for specific use-cases but is constrained by power consumption and update frequency limitations.
Wi-Fi tracking provides a viable option for real-time location systems (RTLS) in environments where Wi-Fi infrastructure is already established. However, the trade-offs in power consumption and accuracy must be considered when implementing these systems.
How Pozyx Pushes the Edge of RTLS
Pozyx develops and designs its products in-house, including electronics, antenna design, and housing, allowing full control over final product quality. With an in-house electronics lab and anechoic chamber, Pozyx guarantees top-of-the-line radio performance, resulting in the best possible range and performance.
The patented Pozyx location engine has been developed by our signal processing team together with Ghent University and is optimized for perfomance, scalability and realiability. It has been battle-tested and improved over the years in over 200 RTLS installations in various environments resulting in a highly qualitative and reliable system.
Pozyx has developed accompanying RTLS software that makes it easy to install and maintain the RTLS and all of its components.
Pozyx is a strong believer of industry standards and is an active member in various standardization committees such as Omlox to push forward interoperability and promote the eco-space around indoor UWB positioning.
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