[Home]


Universities & Institutions Systems


System
Architecture
Coverage
Cost
Cambridge, AT&T Laboratories
Active Badge
IR Limited IR range. Fluorescent lights and sunlight can disrupt IR. Indoor use only.

Cambridge, AT&T Laboratories
Bat
Ultrasound time of flight triangulation Indoor only
University of California at Berkeley
*TinyOS
RF
Indoor. External antenna gives range of about 60-70feet

Georgia Institute of Technology
Smart Floor/Carpet
Pressure sensors in carpet to recognise individuals footfall. Recognition further enhanced with computer vision of individuals' body structure and movements.
Tested indoor

Institute for Complex Engineered Systems

Table-based lookup for triangulation of user's location using a wireless LAN
Wireless LAN

MIT
*Cricket
RF to send information and ultrasound to measure distance by time of flight concurrently. Using Listeners that hear and analyze information from Beacons spread throughout the building.
Indoor
less than US$10 for each device
[Top]

Other Commercial Systems


System
Architecture
Coverage
Cost
activeRF
WhereNet
activeTag communicates wirelessly using RF with a receiver known as activeNode. Real-time XY location.
Indoor and outdoor coverage ranges from 50m to 300m.

Bluesoft Inc.
Bluesoft LF
802.11b network - synchronized TDOA is used to locate
Bluetooth network - uses advanced LF algorithms based in part on AOA techniques and proprietary treatment of multipath to locate
802.11b and Bluetooth networks

Ekahau
Ekahau Positioning Engine
Uses existing wireless LAN infrastructure and received signal strength intensity (RSSI)
Indoor and outdoor depending on the wireless LAN
up to 1m and gives coordinates (x,y,z) where z is which floor
US$595 to track 2 PC/PDA clients
Microsoft
MSR RADAR
Using RF signal strength information from multiple base stations and in conjunction with a Radio Map (building floor layout information) of the building. Built over an IEEE 802.11 standard-based RF wireless LAN.
Indoor

RFTechnologies
^PinPoint
RF
up to 200feet from Antenna (±10feet)

Versus Technology Inc.
Versus Information System (VIS)
IR/RF


WhereNet
^WhereLan
RF
Indoor coverage up to 100m and outdoor coverage up to 300m

[Top]

IR Systems


System
Architecture
Coverage
Cost
Cambridge, AT&T Laboratories Active Badge IR
Limited IR range. Fluorescent lights and sunlight can disrupt IR. Indoor use only.
Versus Technology Inc.
Versus Information System (VIS)
IR


[Top]

RF Systems


System
Architecture
Coverage
Cost
activeRF
WhereNet
activeTag communicates wirelessly using RF with a receiver known as activeNode. Real-time XY location.
Indoor and outdoor coverage ranges from 50m to 300m.

RFTechnologies
^PinPoint
RF
up to 200feet from Antenna (±10feet)

University of California at Berkeley *TinyOS
RF
Indoor. External antenna gives range of about 60-70feet
Versus Technology Inc.
Versus Information System (VIS) IR/RF


WhereNet
^WhereLan
RF
Indoor coverage up to 100m and outdoor coverage up to 300m
[Top]

Ultrasound Systems


System
Architecture
Coverage
Cost
Cambridge, AT&T Laboratories
Bat
Ultrasound time of flight triangulation
Indoor only
less than US$10 for each device
MIT
*Cricket
RF to send information and ultrasound to measure distance by time of flight concurrently. Using Listeners that hear and analyze information from Beacons spread throughout the building.
Indoor

[Top]

Wireless LAN Systems - Bluetooth and 802.11b


System
Architecture
Coverage
Cost
Bluesoft Inc.
Bluesoft LF
802.11b network - synchronized TDOA is used to locate
Bluetooth network - uses advanced LF algorithms based in part on AOA techniques and proprietary treatment of multipath to locate
802.11b and Bluetooth networks

Ekahau
Ekahau Positioning Engine
Uses existing wireless LAN infrastructure and received signal strength intensity (RSSI)
Indoor and outdoor depending on the wireless LAN
up to 1m and gives coordinates (x,y,z) where z is which floor
US$595 to track 2 PC/PDA clients
Institute for Complex Engineered Systems

Table-based lookup for triangulation of user's location using a wireless LAN
Wireless LAN

Microsoft
MSR RADAR
Using RF signal strength information from multiple base stations and in conjunction with a Radio Map (building floor layout information) of the building. Built over an IEEE 802.11 standard-based RF wireless LAN.
Indoor

[Top]

Other Systems


System
Architecture
Coverage
Cost
Georgia Institute of Technology
Smart Floor/Carpet
Pressure sensors in carpet to recognise individuals footfall. Recognition further enhanced with computer vision of individuals' body structure and movements.
Tested indoor

[Top]

* Made from off-the-shelf components therefore much cheaper than the other systems but trade-off with high density of devices in area.

^ These are commercial products that are usually catered for industrial purposes such as resource management and manufacturing process optimization.


[Home][Top]