IoT Tag Location via Gateway Signal Affinity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current solutions for monitoring the location of small-size items in industries like retail and manufacturing are inefficient, requiring manual labor, complex infrastructure, or ineffective RFID systems that fail to determine item location when signals are not received.
Innovation Solution
A method and system using low-energy IoT tags that transmit sensing signals to gateways, allowing for affinity determination and probabilistic location calculation based on received signals, enabling accurate tracking of item locations without continuous signal transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual labor is used to identify item locations, then location monitoring can be performed, but labor costs increase and human errors occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated location monitoring where IoT tags attached to items self-report their locations through sensing signals received from multiple gateways. The server automatically processes these signals to determine item locations without requiring manual identification, thereby improving reliability while reducing operational complexity.
2Extent of automation
If cameras or tracking devices are deployed to monitor item locations, then automated tracking is achieved, but infrastructure costs increase and installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical camera-based tracking systems with a signal-based IoT tag and gateway system. Instead of using cameras that require line of sight and complex image processing, the system uses IoT tags that transmit sensing signals to gateways, which are then processed by a server to determine locations. This substitution reduces infrastructure complexity while maintaining automated tracking capability.
3Loss of information
If RFID tags are used to track item locations, then item identification is enabled, but location determination fails when signals are not received
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensing signals that can be received by multiple gateways simultaneously, creating a form of signal propagation similar to vibration waves. When an IoT tag transmits its sensing signal, multiple gateways in different locations can receive it, allowing the server to determine the tag's location even if no single gateway has continuous line-of-sight contact, thereby improving location determination reliability.
4Measurement precision
If continuous signal transmission is used for tracking, then location accuracy is maintained, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The IoT tags transmit sensing signals periodically rather than continuously. The server receives these periodic signals from multiple gateways and uses them to determine item locations. This periodic transmission approach maintains location tracking precision while significantly reducing the energy consumption of the battery-powered IoT tags compared to continuous transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for determining locations of internet of things (IoT) tags are provided. The method includes receiving, during a predefined time window, packets from a plurality of gateways, wherein a received packets include at least sensing signals transmitted from the IoT tags; determining an affinity among the IoT tags based on the sensing signals; determining locations of IoT tags based on the determined affinity and the sensing signals, wherein a location of an IoT tag is a probability that an IoT tag is located in proximity to a gateway; and reporting the determined locations to a user terminal.