RTLS
and Wireless Technologies
Monitoring the
Convergence of RTLS and Enabling Wireless Technologies
(Courtesy: Venture Development Corporation)
The promises of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) have excited the
imagination, yet there have been few viable solutions that can provide
extensible, wide area coverage with 100% read rates and precision
location of assets and personnel. Enter Real-Time Location Systems
(RTLS) and, more importantly, the convergence of RTLS with other
wireless technologies (i.e., 802.11 WLAN, Wi-Fi, GPS, UWB).
Real-Time
Location Systems (RTLS) are systems based upon the use of active RFID
tag technology and use the transmissions from the active tag as seen by
several readers to accurately triangulate the position of the tag using
amplitude, time-of-flight, or differential time-of-flight information.
RTLS solutions move beyond the
typical restrictions of RFID systems in
terms of providing precise location information. These systems provide
coordinate-based information on where the RTLS tag is located, allowing
the tag's location to be precisely mapped and compared to other tags
and its surroundings.
In
addition, RTLS systems are more complex than RFID systems. A typical
RTLS tag is battery-powered and communicates with not one but several
different receiving devices. Each received message will arrive at a
slightly different time and at a different RF signal strength. RTLS
solutions have long range communication of 50 to 100 meters, with the
ability to locate tags to within 10 feet. RTLS
applications have become
of extreme interest for many users because of the wide range of
problems that can be solved with the unique combination of wireless
technologies. For example: - Pallets or containers are often stored in
the wrong location in a large warehouse or yard and cannot be located
on demand;
Expensive tools or parts cannot be found when needed,
slowing
production. More are purchased and asset utilization drops as capital
expenditures rise;
Critical work-in-process cannot be located among
scores of
similar-looking items;
High-security facilities have no knowledge of
personnel movements
after people clear security checkpoints; and
Enterprises have thousands of high-value mobile
assets, with theft
and inefficiency as primary challenges to address.
As the RTLS market continues to take shape, the growth of RTLS from
being a niche solution to becoming an enterprise application is being
powered by the increasing number of WLAN, Wi-Fi, GPS, and UWB
deployments in diverse fields such as manufacturing, logistics, retail,
hospitality, defense, etc. Here VDC will explore these enabling
wireless technologies and their convergence with RTLS.
I. RTLS and WLAN - VDC expects RTLS to play a significant role
in
shaping the WLAN landscape. These wireless solutions focus on ushering
in enterprise applications that spawn efficiency, profitability and
growth for its adopters. The IEEE 802.11 standard was developed for
high-speed data communications. The architecture was designed to
operate at data rates of a minimum of 1Mbps. Communication at these
data rates over ranges of hundreds of feet requires approximately 100mW
of power. Therefore, these radios are normally installed in devices
that have rechargeable batteries. In addition,
locatable tags must
remain operable for years in order to be maintenance free and cost
effective. Consequently, the data rates of these tags are much slower,
trading data rate for range, while still requiring only very low power
transmissions from the tags. WLAN-based RTLS offerings are increasing
their presence in the market, driven by demand from users hoping to
leverage existing 802.11 systems.
II. RTLS and Wi-Fi - The RTLS market will also be a
key beneficiary of
the enterprise Wi-Fi adoption trend. VDC expects national security
initiatives to accelerate adoption in government and
logistics/distribution markets in North America and EMEA. However,
individual privacy concerns may stall human asset tracking in European
markets and union-represented industries. Furthermore,
enterprises with
Wi-Fi deployed will likely have faster adoption rates and sales cycles
of less than 6 months as customer success stories are communicated and
vendors and systems integrators build implementation competencies. And,
where customers lack Wi-Fi networks for build out and RTLS, one should
expect 6- to 9-month sales cycles to move from trial to wider
deployment. RTLS solutions can enable enterprises
across multiple
industries to take advantage of existing WLAN and Wi-Fi networks to
locate and manage high-value assets easily and at a lower total cost of
ownership. This delivers increased asset utilization, streamlined
operations, and improved productivity, all resulting in tangible and
rapid ROI. III. RTLS and GPS - Global Positioning
Systems, or GPS, is a
type of RTLS technology, very useful for tracking vehicles. But GPS is
not appropriate technology for tracking hundreds or thousands of tags
in a fixed space, especially indoors. GPS-based tracking applications
are mostly limited to vehicles that have a need for a cell phone, and
are integrated with the cell phone.
Despite extraordinary advances in GPS technology, millions of square
meters of indoor space are out of reach of GPS satellites. Their
signals, originating high above the earth, are not designed to
penetrate most construction materials. So the greater part of the
world's commerce - which is conducted indoors - cannot be tracked by
GPS.
Even for outdoor applications, GPS does not provide the accuracy of
location that is possible with RTLS. Some of these systems are capable
of providing asset location accurate to a radius of 10 feet. GPS
systems are not capable of providing this level of accuracy.
Additionally, GPS does not provide a cost-effective
way to track
thousands of assets. GPS chips are highly complex and require a
substantial power source for operation. And, although GPS can determine
its own location, a second radio system is needed to report this
location to a central computer. Some embedded GPS
systems can also be
considered RTLS systems. In these systems, a tag uses the GPS satellite
network to locate itself using latitude, longitude, and elevation. If
the tag then sends this information on to the rest of the system in
real time (i.e. through a wireless radio link, similar to active RFID);
then the GPS system is operating in RTLS mode. GPS-enabled RTLS
solutions are expected to remain niche-oriented, with users managing
large vehicle fleets serving as early adopters.
IV. RTLS and Ultrawide Band (UWB) - The term "ultrawide band" refers to
the development, transmission and reception of extremely short duration
bursts of radio frequency (RF) energy - typically ranging from a few
hundred picoseconds (trillionths of a second) to a few nanoseconds
(billionths of a second) in duration. UWB technology supports read
ranges in excess of 200 meters (650 feet), resolution and accuracies of
better than 30 cm (1 foot), battery lifetimes in excess of 5 years,
fewer tag components (i.e., 25 versus 150), and micro-miniature tag
sizes. For RTLS applications, UWB further
translates into superb
performance and robust operation in severe multi-path environments
(i.e., within most industrial and hospital applications). Multi-path,
or "multi-path cancellation" occurs when a strong reflected wave -
e.g., off of a wall, file cabinet, ceiling, vehicle, building, etc. -
arrives partially or totally out of phase with the direct path signal,
causing a reduced amplitude response at the receiver. With very short
pulses, the direct path has essentially come and gone before the
reflected path arrives and no cancellation occurs.
UWB systems are approved for unlicensed use within
the United States
under FCC Part 15, specifically Subpart F and Part 15.250, permitting
both indoor and outdoor use. The FCC Part 15.250 band spans from
5.925-7.250 GHz. European regulators are currently considering the
authorization of UWB-based RFID and RTLS systems within the 6.0-9.0
GHz, overlapping allocations within the U.S.
As a market, VDC expects RTLS to reach an estimated $55 million in
2005, with rapid growth (37.5% compounded annually) anticipated through
2008. Although this forecast is conservative, there is tremendous
growth opportunity if the industry works on growing the available
market and leveraging enabling wireless technologies.
RTLS and its convergence with existing wireless technologies discussed
here are currently under investigation by VDC as part of its 2005-2006
RFID Business Planning Service. To view the program proposal, go to:
http://www.vdc-corp.com/autoid/annual/05/br05-21.html.
About VDC
Venture Development Corporation (VDC) is an independent technology
market research and strategy consulting firm that specializes in a
number of retail automation, RFID, AIDC, embedded, component,
industrial, and defense markets. VDC has been operating since 1971,
when the firm was founded by graduates of the Harvard Business School
and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Today, we employ a talented
collection of analysts and consultants who offer a rare combination of
expertise in the market research process; experience in technology
product and program management; and formal training in engineering and
marketing. VDC's clients include thousands of the largest and
fastest-growing tech suppliers in the world and the most successful
investors participating in the markets we cover.
For further information about the "RFID Business Planning
Service
2005-2006: Global Asset and Transaction Management Systems Market
Analysis" or any other VDC service, contact:
Marc Regberg, Vice President, 508-653-9000 ext. 111,
msr@vdc-corp.com
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