How to Make Buildings Smarter with Smart Location

Smart buildings are seeing an increased focus on occupant-centric workplaces using occupancy analytics and Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS). RTLS generate live updates on the location of people and objects. Think of them as the blue dot on a map showing where something is at a given moment.

Memoori defines occupancy analytics and location-based services in the commercial office space as “electronic hardware and software used in workplace management and indoor location-based services to enable one or more of the following applications – optimizing spatial efficiency in the workplace, improving the location-based experience of building users, people finding, using location-based data to optimize building and operational performance, asset tracking.” Memoori estimates that the occupancy analytics commercial office space industry will grow at a CAGR rate of 21.5%, from $2.17 billion in 2019 to $5.73 billion in 2024...

Location data sources

RTLS are all about collecting and analyzing data. Therefore, it is important to understand where that data is coming from and what its source is. Knowing how the data is collected is extremely important, as it will help you to determine the data’s accuracy and depth of information. Location data is information collected at the device’s geographical position, called coordinates, and is typically expressed in the latitude and longitude format.

There are several ways in which location data is collected:

• Global Positioning System (GPS): Latitude and longitude coordinates are collected on a device by communicating directly with satellites. The location is calculated by measuring the time it takes the signals to be received. Mobile phones, car navigation systems, and fitness trackers typically use GPS. While GPS is considered to be the standard for location data because it is very accurate and precise outdoors, it is difficult or impossible...

Indoor positioning

Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) refer to the technology and systems used to locate people and objects indoors. These systems are the backbone to support location-based indoor tracking systems such as way-finding, inventory management, people locators, and first responder location systems. There are several different technologies that can be implemented, and these are the most common:

• Proximity-based systems: These systems detect the general location of a person or object by using tags and beacons. These are generally low-cost systems and are used in manufacturing, industrial, and healthcare-type facilities:
  • They can deploy reader-based dumb-tags that transmit their identification information continuously to reader devices, and based on the signal strength, the position can be collected and calculated.
  • Another method is a reference-point-based system that uses low-energy beacons (BLE) as reference points. The tags use the reference points to calculate their...

Navigation, maps, and way-finders

Indoor navigation systems are digital processes that help individuals find their way around indoor areas. These systems are very precise and leverage Augmented Reality (AR) to deliver precise real-world directions. Building technicians can use a navigation system to find maintenance access points. Visitors can be guided to key locations without the expense of an escort.

In hospitals, patients and visitors can be guided to treatment rooms, cafeterias, stores, or even other buildings. First responders and rapid response teams can be given immediate directions, and when connected with other systems in a building such as an elevator, its doors could be held open until they arrive. Retail stores use these systems to help customers find products. Customers can download an app and then have access to a product’s shelf location, as well as the restroom and other locations.

Indoor positioning systems determine in real time where a person or object...

Asset location and tracking

The terms asset tracking and asset management are used interchangeably and refer to the process of keeping track of the physical items, devices, and equipment used to support the operations and maintenance of a building. Important information such as location, status, maintenance records, usage, and user manuals are often tracked along with an item. Inventory management can be performed automatically and in real time. Configuration management information can provide critical dependencies and relationship information. Assets can be monitored through their life cycle, providing building operators with useful long-term information.

The goals of an IoT-enabled asset-tracking solution are as follows:

• Real-time location to save time and money looking for assets
• Automation to eliminate manual processes and inventory management
• Increased accountability
• Improved security and loss prevention
• Maximized utilization rates
• Data collection...

Real-time occupancy

When the pandemic first began in March 2020, many grocery stores and box stores remained open because we needed food and supplies. Government and health organizations all suggested safe distancing and limiting the number of people in the store at the same time. Since most of these stores did not have occupancy sensing technology installed, they resorted to physical counting methods.

Lines developed outside stores, and using the health and safety guidelines, management determined a safe number of customers to allow in a store at the same time. Employees with cell phones were positioned by each entrance and exit, and every time a customer or customers left the store, the person at the exit door would text or call the entrance door personnel to let them know a person or several people could enter.

This accelerated the need for buildings, regardless of type, to install real-time occupancy sensing solutions for more sustainable building management procedures. Other...

Summary

RTLS continue to gain momentum as the explosion of IoT capabilities and post-pandemic space requirements drive the need to know where people and assets are all the time. Occupant health and safety, operations and energy efficiency, and the desire to access information instantly are fueling this growth. While GPS is the de facto choice for outdoor tracking, dozens of technologies have emerged, ranging from simple inexpensive barcoding and Wi-Fi solutions to hybrid solutions, using UWB frequencies and sounds to track and locate people and assets within a building.

In this chapter, we reviewed the navigation, indoor positioning, asset tracking, and real-time occupancy IoT technology solutions available to make your building smart. In the next chapter, we will explore another fast-growing smart segment focused on improving the quality of experience for a building’s occupants. Almost any aspect of the occupant-building interface and occupant-building management interactions...