Indoor Positioning Technologies: BLE AOA Vs UWB World Wide Web Product Guide

Suitable for asset tracking commonIndoor positioning technology::BLE AOAPositioning has become a common choice for asset tracking with its excellent price/performance ratio, and UWB high accuracy wins out.

With the growing importance of asset tracking in a wide range of industries, indoor positioning and navigation technologies have become key tools. Popular indoor positioning technologies currently on the market are particularly well suited for asset tracking: BLE low-power AOA positioning and UWB positioning. Many people may be confused when choosing an indoor positioning technology and are unsure which one best suits their needs. This article will explain the differences between these technologies in detail and help you make a more informed choice.

_{World Power Material Tracking Series}

🧊 UWB indoor positioning technology

• Introduction to UWB technology
  • Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology is a short-range wireless communication technology characterized by high bandwidth and low power consumption, which is particularly suitable for indoor high-precision positioning.
• Technical Principles and Advantages
  • UWB technology achieves positioning by transmitting ultrashort pulses that penetrate obstacles such as walls and provide centimeter-level positioning accuracy. Its main advantages include high immunity to interference, high positioning accuracy and low latency.
• Application Scenarios and Case Studies
  • UWB technology has a wide range of applications in medical equipment localization, warehouse logistics management, and smart factories. For example, one of our customers uses UWB technology to realize precise tracking of items in the warehouse, which greatly improves operational efficiency.
• Technical details and hardware configuration
  • A UWB positioning system usually consists of a base station and a tag. The base station is responsible for receiving signals from the tag and calculating its location, while the tag is mounted on the object or person to be located. Our UWB systems also support multiple base stations working together to improve positioning accuracy and coverage.
• protocol version
  • Following the IEEE 802.15.4a standard, UWB pulse signals are received and time difference (TDOA) or time of arrival (TOF) calculations are performed to determine the location of the tag.

🧊 BLE AOAIndoor positioning technology

• Introduction to BLE AOA Technology
  • Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology is a widely used wireless communication technology, featuring low power consumption and cost-effectiveness.AOA (Angle of Arrival) technology, on the other hand, utilizes the angle of arrival of the signal for positioning, and combines with BLE technology to achieve accurate indoor positioning.
• Technical Principles and Advantages
  • BLE AOA technology receives signals from BLE tags through a multi-antenna array, calculates the angle of arrival of the signal and combines information from multiple reception points to determine the location of the tag. The advantages of this technology are its low cost, ease of deployment, and ability to be upgraded on existing BLE infrastructure.
• Application Scenarios and Case Studies
  • BLE AOA technology has rich applications in retail, smart buildings, asset management and other fields. One of our retail customers realized in-store customer flow analysis and product tracking through BLE AOA technology, which greatly improved management efficiency and customer experience.
• Technical details and hardware configuration
  • The BLE AOA system consists of a positioning anchor point and a tag. The anchor point is equipped with a multi-antenna array to receive signals from the tag and calculate the angle of arrival. Our system supports multiple anchor points working together to provide higher positioning accuracy and coverage.
• protocol version
  • BLE 4.x: For basic low-power Bluetooth communication, suitable for low-power and simple positioning applications.
  • BLE 5.x: BLE 5.1 and above, in particular, adds orientation sensing capabilities (e.g., AOA and AOD), which allow tags and base stations to perform high-precision localization.

🧊 UWB vs.BLE AOAComparison of technologies

• Technical Performance Comparison
  • UWB technology has obvious advantages in positioning accuracy and anti-jamming ability, suitable for scenes requiring high-precision positioning; while BLE AOA technology has advantages in cost and deployment convenience, suitable for applications with wide coverage and lower accuracy requirements.
• Scenarios and application differences
  • UWB technology is suitable for industrial automation, medical device tracking, and other scenarios that require high positioning accuracy; BLE AOA technology is suitable for retail, office buildings, and other scenarios that require wide-area coverage and low cost.
• Cost and implementation considerations
  • UWB systems have a higher hardware cost, but provide higher positioning accuracy and performance; BLE AOA systems are less expensive and are suitable for applications with limited budgets but still need to achieve precise positioning.

🌐 World Power related Bluetooth Positioning products

🌐 World Wide Web related UWB positioning products

References ▾

https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/802.15.4/7029/
https://www.bluetooth.com/bluetooth-resources/bluetooth-core-specification-v5-1-feature-overview/