Asset Tracking Using Reference Beacons for Retail Location Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing asset tracking systems face challenges in accurately locating wireless beacons attached to products displays due to inaccurate GPS data, especially in densely packed retail environments, leading to incorrect site association and resource inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where mobile devices detect wireless beacons, obtain GPS data with accuracy metrics, and send this data to an asset tracking system, which uses algorithms to associate or dissociate beacons with sites based on accuracy thresholds and site-specific static radii, employing techniques like geofencing and secondary beacons to improve location accuracy and resource management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS location data is used to track wireless beacons on product displays, then asset tracking capability is provided, but location accuracy deteriorates in densely packed retail environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of multiple reference beacons deployed throughout the retail environment. These reference beacons act as mediators between the mobile device's GPS system and the target beacon, providing localized position references that compensate for GPS inaccuracies in dense retail settings. The system uses trilateration based on signal strength measurements from multiple reference beacons to determine precise locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the measurement parameter from relying solely on GPS coordinates to using wireless signal strength (RSSI) measurements from multiple reference beacons. By transforming the location determination method from satellite-based GPS to ground-based wireless trilateration, the system achieves higher accuracy in indoor retail environments where GPS signals are weak or inaccurate.
2Measurement precision
If all sites are evaluated for beacon association, then complete site coverage is achieved, but system processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the set of all sites into two groups: candidate sites (those within a threshold distance from the beacon's GPS location) and non-candidate sites (all other sites). This segmentation allows the system to focus computational resources only on evaluating candidate sites for beacon association, dramatically reducing processing time while maintaining association accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of evaluating all sites exhaustively, the system performs partial evaluation by considering only the N closest sites or sites within a distance threshold. This partial action approach provides sufficient accuracy for practical purposes while avoiding the excessive processing time that would result from evaluating every site in the database.
3Reliability
If GPS accuracy threshold is applied to filter locations, then false associations are reduced, but valid locations may be excluded
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses an intermediary reference beacon network that provides localized position verification. When a beacon is detected, the system queries the reference beacon system to obtain the precise location of the detected beacon. This intermediary verification mechanism reduces false associations while accepting valid locations that may have borderline GPS accuracy readings, as the reference beacon system can confirm the actual location independently of GPS quality.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are techniques and systems for tracking assets using wireless beacons attached to the assets. In some embodiments, an asset tracking system may receive, from a mobile device, a device identifier (ID) of a wireless beacon. At a different time, the asset tracking system may receive, from the mobile device, event data indicating that the mobile device is located at a site among a plurality of sites maintained in a data store. The asset tracking system may determine whether a time between the receiving of the device ID and the receiving of the event data is less than a threshold amount of time, and, if so, the asset tracking system may associate the wireless beacon to the site.