5G technology is predicted to be equally or even more impactful than the creation of the Internet.  That’s a powerful statement.  5G is transformation because it enables low power data communication using phones as data access points for a wide range of tag readers, machine and environmental sensors.  

The positive impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its related emerging technologies will be fully realized through the wide-scale deployment of 5G communication networks in combination with other connectivity solutions. The key functional drivers of 5G will unlock a broad range of opportunities, including the optimization of service delivery, decision-making, and end-user experience. 

5G is critical because it enables unprecedented levels of connectivity, upgrading 4G networks with five key functional drivers: superfast broadband, ultra-reliable low latency communication, massive machine-type communications, high reliability/availability and efficient energy usage.  

The main advantages of the 5G are a greater speed in the transmissions, a lower latency and therefore greater capacity of remote execution, a greater number of connected devices and the possibility of implementing virtual networks (network slicing), providing more adjusted connectivity to concrete needs.

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The system involves a network of satellites orbiting around the Earth and devices that can help determine an object or a person’s location. GPS has a range of uses, from military exercises across the globe to directions that help drivers find their way.  

GPS tracking requires a tracking device installed in a vehicle, on a piece of equipment, or worn by a person. This tracking device provides information about the person or object’s exact location so that it can report details on where a vehicle, equipment, or person is located. A GPS tracking system does this by using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) network. This network consists of satellites that communicate with GPS devices to provide information on the current location, direction, time, and speed of the people and objects being tracked.

GPS tracking can be utilized to track any object or person that is valuable to an organization, real-time, everywhere in the world where satellites can see tags.  Whereas GPS has become a seamless part of our day-to-day lives for many applications, GPS has been leveraged significantly for:

A GPS / GSM tracker utilizes either the Global Positioning System satellites or the Global System for Mobile Communications to determine precise location. However, while GSM and GPS tracking devices both accomplish similar tasks, they do so in very different ways.  

Both GPS and GSM tracking are accomplished by a receiver collecting data from at least 4 satellites in order to determine precise position. GPS / GSM tracker devices accomplish this task by referencing information from the cellular tower that is closest to the GSM / GPS tracking device. Between the two technologies, GPS systems are capable of much more precise location measurements, within a meter, whereas with GSM tracking technology, positioning can be determined within 10 meters. 

GSM tracking is ideal for any organization that needs visibility of goods, assets, personnel and vehicles on the move, no matter where they are. In contrast to GPS systems, real-time data such as motion, position and temperature, can be transmitted from anywhere in the world where there are mobile networks.

Wi-Fi is a radio-frequency technology for wireless communication that can be leveraged to detect and track the location of people, devices and assets, and can be easily activated for indoor positioning with existing Wi-Fi access points (APs) and hotspots. Incredibly vital and widespread, the Wi-Fi ecosystem is ubiquitous all throughout our daily lives. Wi-Fi is everywhere, especially in our indoor spaces, used by nearly all wireless devices and network infrastructures – including smartphones, computers, IoT devices, routers, APs, and more. Like other communication protocols including BLE and UWB, Wi-Fi can be used to transmit data between devices using radio waves.

The range of Wi-Fi positioning can differ depending on factors such as whether you are using Wi-Fi APs or sensors or the nature of the indoor space. Wi-Fi operating at 2.4 GHz generally performs at a range up to 100 meters (with optimal conditions and deployment), and can even be used in outdoor environments where adequate infrastructure is in place. 

Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, is a radio-frequency (RF) technology for wireless communication that can be leveraged to detect and track the location of people, devices, and assets for many indoor positioning use cases – including asset tracking, indoor navigation, proximity services and more. Incredibly widespread and accessible, Bluetooth is a technology prevalent throughout indoor spaces and supported by so many of today’s devices. Like other communication protocols including Wi-Fi and UWB, BLE is used to transmit data between devices using radio waves.

BLE beacons detect people and object tags. They are small, versatile, and low-power Bluetooth transmitters that can be detected by wireless devices like BLE-enabled smartphones. Beacons can be deployed in fixed positions, such as mounted on walls or structures, or placed on mobile assets, to provide location references for indoor positioning applications.

BLE indoor positioning solutions use either BLE-enabled sensors or beacons to detect and locate transmitting Bluetooth devices, such as smartphones or tracking tags throughout indoor spaces. Location data collected by the sensors or sent from beacons to mobile devices is then ingested by various locationing applications and translated into insights that power multiple location-aware use cases.

Data transmitted by a tagged object or person is received by multiple gateways, which forward the data packets to a centralized network server. The central server in turn handles packet filtering, security and network management. LoRaWAN is largely used to increase ability to communicate over longer distances, sometimes in conjunction with other technologies like GPS. This enables customers to implement advanced RFID solutions for a wider range of applications and use cases, customized at an affordable price point for a broad array of environments.

RFID empowered with LoRaWAN can supercharge facilities through IT and office asset management, production line material flow, consumables replenishment, room utilisation, state change notification, space/asset utilisation, field operations, ports, construction and mining, emergency detection, worker accountability, fleet monitoring, yard management and much more.

 

UWB RFID technology shares all the properties as does Active RFID, while providing unrivalled precision, transmission speed, and reliability. UWB is often the technology of choice for indoor localization of moving assets in complex and space-sensitive environments. UWB is considered the gold standard of indoor localization technologies thanks to its numerous advantages over comparable technologies such as RFID, BLE or WiFi. It is an ideal solution for location-based automation. UWB RFID typically enables defining object and people locations to within less than 10”. UWB combines very short impulses that move at the speed of light. The arrival time of the signal is measured precisely over a high bandwidth, thus determining the position of the transmitter with high precision.

UWB RFID helps solve prevalent industry challenges, including extensive search times, lack of documentation, error-prone manual processes and sustainability.

Whereas barcodes, NF RFID and UHF RFID tags are generally very small and flat, without requiring a battery. Active tags require larger, more expensive tags, that have batteries. However, the capabilities of Active RFID versus NF or UHF RFID are significant. The choice of RFID technology is primarily driven relative to real-time versus choke-point tracking and the distance of detecting tagged people and objects.

When business and organizations think of RFID, they are typically thinking of UHF RFID.  UHF RFID is the most prevalent type of RFID technology implemented for tagging and tracking assets, equipment and vehicles, because the tags are inexpensive and UHF RFID offers detection distances up to 40’ with standard tags, or 100’ with larger, specialty tags.  UHF RFID is ideal for wide areas, such as a dock door or a passageway from one part of facilities to another, and at standard sized doorways and checkpoints.  UHF RFID is faster and easier to perform inventories, because the mobile scanner has a detention distance up to approximately 20’, so, many tagged objects can be scanned simultaneously and quickly from-a-distance.

Barcoding is the most extensively used tracking technology in the world, replacing paperwork, spreadsheet and manual software applications with the ability to scan barcodes to speed processes and eliminate errors.  The TrackingSystems^IoT software platform supports 1D, 2D and QR Code barcode technologies.  Barcode scanning is accomplished using PC-based USB scanners, such as for check-in and check-out, and mobile scanners that can be used anywhere, such as for inventories, and the data syncs to TrackingSystems^IoT software via cloud, Ethernet or USB connection.