Westico Visibility System

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Westico Visibility System allows tracking of assets, people and equipment in real time in a standard WiFi wireless network. To determine the position it uses a small battery powered WiFi tags with a long battery life. This technology is designed for positioning objects mainly inside buildings, where appropriate, within the campuses. Inside buildings the system typically achieves accuracy in the order of meters. Since the tags are equipped with sensors, the system supports also a very efficient wireless sensor based data collection. From the technological point of view it concerns about the active RFID technology.

SYSTEM TOPOLOGY

Each RTLS system is based on the existence of radio wireless infrastructure. The signal must be available wherever the RTLS should work. Tags transmit data through the wireless infrastructure to location server, which is capable to determine the current position of the tag out of captured data. These data about the current position, but also about the routes of tag movement in time, are provided to applications that may use the information about the position of tracked objects in real time. A number of RTLS systems on the market use for their operation special dedicated wireless infrastructure. Disadvantages of such systems are obvious: it is necessary to build, pay and maintain the infrastructure, which serves only for a single application - RTLS. Westico Visibility System is based on the WiFi wireless network according to the standard 802.11 b / g, which has become an enterprise standard. WiFi is a universal infrastructure, it is cheap and it can serve for a wide range of applications.

Schema - WESTICO RTLS SYSTEM TOPOLOGY

THE RTLS SYSTEM PRINCIPLES

For object positioning the system uses the technique of RSSI, which consists in measuring the signal strength of all available WiFi access points. For proper system functionality it is necessary that in each spot within the monitored location, there must be the signal at least from three access points within the wireless network. Tags in regular intervals carry out passive radio scanning of the area and transmit the data through the wireless network to the server, which based on these data determines the tag location. Data about the location are stored on the SQL server and through data interface and applications are accessible to users.

WIFI NETWORK LOAD

A basic tag mode is a sleep mode. In this mode the tag is not active and it is not associated with any access point. It connects to the network only for the purpose of data transmission and this data transmission interval is very short - just one data packet. It follows that the WiFi network load is small and the entire data throughput is at the minimum and even in configuration with hundreds and thousands of tags in the network.

WESTICO TAG

Aktivni RTLS tag Westico tag is a small electronic battery powered device. It contains 32-bit microprocessor with ultra-low power consumption, WiFi communication module and several sensors. For reasons of power management, the basic tag mode is sleep mode when the tag is not active and it is not connected to the network and consumption is minimized. The tag can be activated into active mode on the basis of timer interval or by activation of a sensor.

Tag features ultra-low power consumption, which along with optimization of data transmission enables to achieve long battery life. Depending on the blink rate and parameters setting the battery life can reach up to five years.

KEY FEATURES

INTUITIVE USER INTERFACE

The basic function of the system is to provide information about the current tag position. Google-like search and maps user interface is therefore simplified to the maximum level and respects the experience and the usual convention. Just to enter a name of searched object, also incomplete, and the result of the query will be shown on the list. By next click you will reach your searched object, displayed on a detailed map.

UNIQUE COMBINATION OF INTERNAL / GOOGLE MAPS

With this technology it is possible to track objects over large geographical areas based on Google Maps. While in the maximum resolution, there are used internal maps of buildings and campuses, system is capable to track assets in detail with a resolution down to tables in the offices or loading ramps in a warehouse. The system works internally with geographical coordinates.

WESTICO VISIBILITY SERVER

Tags can communicate with RTLS location server via the Internet. In the locality of monitoring assets might be only a wireless WiFi network and the RTLS server can be located on the other end of the world. This concept also allows to access data not only through a PC but also by means of PDA and mobile phones equipped with Internet browser and with Internet or network connectivity.

TAG SENSORS

Tag can be equipped with a number of sensors and the whole system can be used for an extremely efficient and economically profitable data collection from these sensors, particularly within large-scale areas and facilities. Each tag is equipped with the standard temperature sensor and tamper detector, which responds to the attempted tag removal from the monitored object. Very important is an extremely sensitive motion sensor, which provides information on whether the tag moves or not. Tag can be optionally fitted with shock sensors in two axes and humidity sensor. For each sensor can be defined thresholds. By reaching these thresholds the system will respond by predefined way.

If the tag is present in the WiFi network, sensor based data collection runs in on-line mode. If the tag is not located within the WiFi network, it works in the off-line mode, where data from sensors are stored in the tag memory and than transferred to the server whenever the tag appears in a home WiFi network.

ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

Westico Visibility Platform is built on J2EE technology. It is platform independent and can be installed into the Windows, Unix or Linux server environment. Out of this technology results also many advantages such as scalability, high system availability, reliability, security.

WEB APPLICATIONS

Tags can communicate with Westico Sensor Server via the Internet. Also users access the Westico Visibility Platform through web applications. This concept allows flexible installation when the tracked objects, Westico Visibility Server, and users are at geographically different locations. To access the application users need only a web browser.

USER INTERFACE

The system provides data about the current location of monitored assets, the data obtained from sensors, routes of tracked objects, historical data and defined events. These data are available to users through a web application: data can be accessed anywhere from any device equipped with a web browser.

INTEGRATION

Database, platform and hardware independence creates non barrier conditions for system integration into any of third party applications. The Westico Sensor API interface that meets the requirements of international standard ISO 24730-1 provides all the necessary data to these applications in real-time.

EVENTS DEFINITION AND MONITORING

The system allows defining events to which the system will respond by defined manner.

Examples of monitored events:

tag in / outside the defined area

activation / value of the sensor (eg. increase or decrease in temperature above/bellow a set limit; attempted forced removal of the tag from the object; tag has not moved during a defined value, shock of defined intensity)

Relations of two or more tags. Two tags will get far apart or closer to the defined distance, the number of tags in a given area reaches a given value.

Examples of possible responses to the event:

SMS

Call services

Switching external devices (relays, horn, signal light by means of wireless actor)