Crowd-Sourced Indoor Asset Tracking via RFID and Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing asset tracking systems in enterprise environments face challenges in accurately tracking assets indoors without relying on costly infrastructure or satellite GPS, which is unreliable in indoor settings.
Innovation Solution
A crowd-sourced asset tracking system that utilizes mobile devices equipped with GPS and RFID technology to detect signals from asset tracking tags, collecting location data from multiple devices to estimate the location of assets within indoor facilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex and expensive hardware is installed for tracking assets, then tracking reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by enabling mobile devices to serve multiple functions: they act as both RFID readers that detect asset tags and as location sources that provide positional data for triangulation. This eliminates the need for dedicated tracking infrastructure, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity by using existing multi-functional devices instead of specialized hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies self-service by leveraging the mobile devices' own built-in capabilities (GPS, RFID readers, processors) to perform tracking functions. The mobile devices themselves provide the location data and processing power needed for tracking, eliminating the need for external tracking infrastructure and thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining reliability
2Measurement precision
If GPS satellite signals are used for indoor tracking, then location accuracy is improved, but signal reliability deteriorates in indoor environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses RFID tags as intermediaries between the asset and the mobile devices. Instead of relying on direct GPS satellite signals that fail indoors, the system introduces RFID tags that can be detected by mobile devices' RFID readers, providing a reliable intermediate mechanism for indoor location tracking that maintains both accuracy and signal reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the GPS satellite-based electromagnetic signal system with an RFID-based near-field communication system for indoor environments. This substitution uses near-field magnetic coupling between RFID tags and mobile device readers, which works reliably indoors where GPS signals fail, thereby maintaining both location accuracy and signal reliability
3Device complexity
If manual tracking methods are used, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity is deteriorated due to laborious processes
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies self-service by automatically collecting location data from mobile devices and processing it through the server without requiring manual intervention. The mobile devices automatically detect RFID tags, report their locations, and the server automatically performs triangulation calculations, eliminating laborious manual tracking while maintaining simplicity and improving productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously collecting location data from mobile devices and updating asset positions in real-time. This automated feedback loop replaces manual tracking processes, providing continuous location information without human intervention and thereby improving productivity while keeping the system simple
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
Provides a lightweight, cost-effective, and reliable method for tracking assets indoors by leveraging crowd-sourced data from mobile devices, improving location accuracy and reducing the need for extensive infrastructure.
Implementation Method 1
The asset tracking tag includes an accelerometer, a wireless transceiver and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to receive sensor data from the accelerometer indicating that the associated asset has undergone motion.
Implementation Method 2
processing circuitry causes the wireless transceiver to start broadcasting a signal
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and system for tracking an asset in an indoor facility. The method includes receiving, from a first mobile device, an asset tracking tag collision report, the asset tracking tag collision report including a tag identifier of an asset tracking tag associated with an asset; determining a new location of the asset based on the received asset tracking tag collision report; updating an asset location database to indicate the new location of the asset; and, in response to determining the new location of the asset, transmitting an instruction message to a mobile device to cause the mobile device to direct the asset tracking tag to cease broadcasting the wireless signal. The method and system use crowd-sourcing to determine a new location of an asset that has moved in an indoor facility.