Localization techniques

Learn about different localization technologies that are used by Sensolus trackers.

Sensolus trackers can often make use of multiple localization techniques, because each technique has particular advantages and limitations.

The following localization technologies are supported:

Table 1. Localization technologies overview for trackers






GPS/GNSS Network location Wi-Fi scanning Bluetooth geobeacons Bluetooth Quuppa
Ideal environment Outdoor

Everywhere

Indoor-outdoor

Everywhere

Indoor-outdoor

Uncontrolled

Indoor

Controlled

Indoor

Controlled

Positioning accuracy range ~5m up to 50m (configurable) ~1km up to 10kms ~50m up to 700m ~20m up to 50m ~1m up to 3m
Optimal achieved accuracy Exact location City-level precision Building-level precision Room-level precision Exact location
Battery usage Medium Low Low Very low Low
Infrastructure No No No

Leverage existing IT infrastructure

Yes

No wiring, self-install

Yes

Wiring, certified installer

Cost $ $ $$ $ $$$$$
Figure 1. Different localization techniques used by Sensolus trackers

Localization technologies can differ on multiple aspects:

  • Ideal environment: is the technology suited for indoor, outdoor or mixed environments and should the user control the environment to install some infrastructure or not.
  • Energy consumption: the amount of energy consumed, which impacts the total lifetime of a battery powered tracker.
  • Positioning accuracy range: how accurate the position is depends on a multitude of factors, but here we show the possible accuracy range.
  • Optimal achieved accuracy:on which level or how precise can you track your asset?
  • Battery usage:how much battery power does the tracker use to get a location using this technology?
  • Infrastructure: Is there extra infrastructure needed to use this location technoloy? Is wiring needed and can users do it themselves or do they need a certified installer?
  • Cost: rough cost comparison of the differences in cost per location technology.

Combining different localization technologies

The order and priority of a location capture is implemented as a workflow with configurable actions and conditions.

The figure below shows an example of a location capture workflow:



Figure 2. Localization capture sequence

In this example, the tracker will try to determine its location in the following order: BLE, GPS, Wi-Fi and network localization. A subsequent localization will only be attempted if the previous localization was unsuccessful. This configuration example is very suitable for a use case where BLE geobeacons are be installed and where the asset is also often outside and the highest precision GPS localization is desired. The Wi-Fi gives a good fallback for indoor locations. As a last resort, network location is used.

Note: Often, the location capture workflow can vary depending on the trigger event. For example: in the case of motion-based triggers, it is often not needed to capture the location on start because it will be identical to the last recorded stop location. The Sensolus platform can be leverage to calculate the start location of the asset journey.

In the following example, the indoor detection setting has been enabled for the GPS localization step. When insufficient GPS satellites are detected, the tracker will assume it is indoors and immediately fall back to Wi-Fi localization instead of waiting for a GPS fix.



Figure 3. Example of combination of location technologies

Successful, degraded and failed localization capture

The outcome of a localization attempt can be either a successful location capture, a degraded localization capture, or a failed location capture. The definition of these actions is different for the different technologies used. In the table below the different definitions are described as well as the impact on the location capture.
Table 2. Successful, degraded and failed localization capture
Successful capture Degraded capture Failed capture
Technology GPS/BLE/Wi-Fi GPS GPS/BLE/Wi-Fi
Requirement GPS: within accuracy requirement

BLE: minimum one geobeacon scanned

Wi-Fi: minimum two Wi-Fi mac address scanned

Accuracy between accuracy requirement and accuracy acceptance. GPS: accuracy worse than acceptance.

BLE: no geobeacon found.

Wi-Fi: fewer than two Wi-Fi mac addresses found.

Result Message sent including location & predicted accuracy Message sent including location & (lower) accuracy Message sent with fallback to network location (low accuracy). Note: if message is resent later with data integrity, no location is available.

Localization technologies for indoor tracking of trackers

A tracker cannot get a GPS/GNSS location when being deep inside buildings or cellars. To be sure to get a location when the asset is traveling indoors, Sensolus provides different location technologies that can provide location information to the tracker when inside buildings. The different technologies are shown in the table below:
Table 3. indoor localization technologies for trackers
Wi-Fi scanning Bluetooth geobeacons Bluetooth Quuppa infrastructure
Positioning accuracy range ~50m up to 700m ~20m up to 50m ~1m up to 3m
Accuracy level Building-level precision or distant rooms Room-level precision or zones >20m apart Exact high-precision location
Infrastructure No

Leverage existing IT infrastructure

Yes

No wiring, self-install

Yes

Wiring, certified installer needed

RT technology Wi-Fi signals Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
Location capture behavior Public resolution: center of 2-3 AP's

Private resolution: snap-to-strongest signal

Snap-to-strongest signal Trilateration
cost $$ $ $$$$$