Geolocationing System Using Gateway Arrays for Employee Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Employees in hospitality environments face increased personal security risks due to limited existing security measures in multi-room settings, necessitating improved systems for awareness and safety.
Innovation Solution
A geolocationing system comprising a vertical and horizontal array of gateway devices with wireless transceivers that receive beacon signals from personal locator devices, determining the estimated location and sending gateway signals to a server for enhanced awareness and safety notifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a geolocationing system with gateway devices and wireless transceivers is implemented, then employee safety and awareness are improved, but device complexity and system cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the hospitality environment into multiple zones with gateway devices strategically positioned in common areas, hallways, and rooms. Each gateway device independently monitors its local area, and the collective network provides comprehensive coverage. This segmentation approach improves safety through distributed monitoring while managing complexity by breaking down the overall system into manageable, modular units.
2Measurement precision
If gateway devices are deployed in a vertical and horizontal array throughout the environment, then location accuracy is improved, but device complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs both vertical and horizontal arrays of gateway devices to create three-dimensional spatial coverage. This multi-dimensional deployment strategy enhances location accuracy by enabling triangulation from multiple angles and elevations, while the standardized array configuration simplifies installation through repeatable patterns rather than custom placements.
Solution Approach 2:
Gateway devices are positioned at specific strategic locations throughout the hospitality environment, with each device optimized for its local area. The vertical and horizontal arrays ensure that every region has appropriate coverage density, providing high location accuracy where needed while avoiding unnecessary device proliferation in already-well-covered areas.
3Speed
If beacon signals are continuously transmitted and received by multiple gateway devices, then real-time location tracking is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous transmission, the system uses periodic beacon signals at optimized intervals. The personal locator devices transmit beacons at regular intervals, and gateway devices receive and forward these signals. This periodic approach maintains real-time location tracking capability while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous transmission, extending battery life of wearable devices.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides enhanced awareness and safety by accurately locating individuals within a multi-room environment, enabling timely notifications and alerts, thus improving employee security in hospitality and similar settings.
Implementation Method 1
a wireless transceiver that receives a beacon signal from a proximate wireless-enabled personal locator device
Data Source
AI summary
A geolocationing system and method for providing awareness in a multi-space environment, such as a hospitality environment or educational environment, are presented. In one embodiment of the geolocationing system, a vertical and horizontal array of gateway devices is provided. Each gateway device includes a gateway device identification providing an accurately-known fixed location within the multi-space environment. Each gateway device includes a wireless transceiver that receives a beacon signal from a proximate wireless-enabled personal locator device. The gateway devices, in turn, send gateway signals to a server, which determines estimated location of the wireless-enabled personal locator device.