Lighting System Elements for RF Beacon Location Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for tracking wireless RF floor beacons within a space face challenges due to weak RF signal strength, especially in deep building structures like concrete, requiring numerous additional RF communication devices to maintain accurate location tracking.
Innovation Solution
A lighting system utilizing RF positioning nodes with local wireless network communication interfaces, processors, and memory, which communicate with wireless RF floor beacons to determine their location through signal strength measurements and triangulation, overcoming signal attenuation issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wireless RF floor beacons are used to track floor displays, then location tracking capability is improved, but RF signal strength deteriorates in deep building structures
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system elements are designed to perform dual functions: providing illumination and detecting RF signals from floor beacons. By making the lighting infrastructure multi-functional, the system eliminates the need for separate RF tracking devices, thereby maintaining location tracking capability while avoiding additional signal loss that would result from installing numerous dedicated RF devices throughout the building structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting system elements act as intermediary devices between the RF floor beacons and the location tracking system. These intermediaries detect and relay RF signals from beacons located on floor displays, enabling accurate location tracking even in areas with weak direct RF signals by utilizing the distributed lighting infrastructure as signal detection points.
2Reliability
If numerous RF communication devices are installed to overcome signal attenuation, then location tracking reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system elements are designed to perform dual functions: providing illumination and detecting RF signals from floor beacons. By making the lighting infrastructure multi-functional, the system eliminates the need for separate RF tracking devices, thereby maintaining location tracking capability while avoiding additional signal loss that would result from installing numerous dedicated RF devices throughout the building structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the lighting function and RF detection function into a single integrated system. The lighting elements that are already present in the building are combined with RF signal detection capabilities, creating a unified infrastructure that serves both illumination and location tracking purposes, thereby reducing the total number of devices required.
3Illumination intensity
If traditional lighting systems are used, then illumination function is provided, but location tracking capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system elements are designed to perform dual functions: providing illumination and detecting RF signals from floor beacons. By making the lighting infrastructure multi-functional, the system eliminates the need for separate RF tracking devices, thereby maintaining location tracking capability while avoiding additional signal loss that would result from installing numerous dedicated RF devices throughout the building structure.
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
Enables accurate and efficient tracking of wireless RF floor beacons within indoor spaces by using existing lighting infrastructure, reducing the need for extensive RF device installation and improving location determination accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
radio frequency (RF) waves detected by lighting system elements of the lighting system
Implementation Method 2
the deeper within the building (e.g., concrete structure) the wireless RF floor beacon coupled to the floor display is positioned, the weaker the RF signal to the wireless RF floor beacon becomes because the concrete and other building materials blocks and attenuate the RF signals
Data Source
AI summary
In response to receiving a lighting system element request message from a gateway to detect a subset or all wireless RF floor beacons in the space, a lighting system element receives via a local wireless communication network, a respective floor beacon identification message including a detected respective wireless RF beacon identifier transmitted from a detected respective wireless RF floor beacon. The lighting system element determines a respective RF signal strength between the detected respective wireless RF floor beacon from the respective lighting system element based on the respective floor beacon identification message. The lighting system elements transmits, via the local wireless communication network, to the gateway a respective lighting system element report message including the detected respective wireless RF beacon identifier of the detected respective wireless RF floor beacon, the respective RF signal strength, and the respective lighting system element identifier.