BLE Asset Tracking System with Event-Triggered Cloud Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing asset management systems using WiFi and RFID technologies face challenges such as continuous instantaneous access, interference, scalability, physical constraints, and high power consumption, making them inefficient for real-time tracking and control of assets.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) system with leaf node devices, gateway nodes, and a processing engine for real-time location and condition monitoring, utilizing a tiered data pipeline for efficient data processing and low-power communication, enabling scalable and flexible asset management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If WiFi technology is used for asset management, then range and protocol availability are improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from WiFi to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, changing the fundamental communication parameter to achieve lower power consumption while maintaining acceptable range for asset tracking applications
2Measurement precision
If RFID technology is used for asset management, then identification capability is improved, but range constraints and physical access requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a hybrid system where BLE tags provide both identification and location tracking functions, replacing the need for separate RFID infrastructure and enabling long-range communication without physical access requirements
3Reliability
If continuous real-time data access is implemented, then monitoring capability is improved, but system complexity and interference increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic data transmission and event-triggered updates instead of continuous monitoring, reducing system complexity and interference while maintaining reliable real-time access to critical asset information
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and processes only relevant event data (such as location changes, temperature thresholds, or impact events) rather than transmitting all continuous sensor data, reducing communication overhead and system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
An asset location and management system, the system including multiple reader nodes, each reader node having a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio in communication with a plurality of peripheral devices, a local service module and a communications manager in communication with a cloud server. The system further including the cloud server having a communication module, a process flow library to describe how peripheral devices are expected to move through a facility, a rules library describing trigger events associated with one or more peripheral device and identifying a corresponding action for each trigger event, and a real-time compute engine to generate a sequence of events based on the data from the peripheral devices and the process flow library.