Technologies
30 Mar 2021 13 min

Published: Elvina Sharafutdinova

Last update 01 SEP 2022

Indoor Navigation with Bluetooth Low Energy beacons

Technologies
Navigine - Indoor Navigation with Bluetooth Low Energy beacons
30 Mar 2021 13 min

Published: Elvina Sharafutdinova

Last update 01 SEP 2022

For many years the GPS has been considered the best solution for object location. However, it has limited possibilities especially while moving inside premises, so in the modern world, it is being substituted by Bluetooth®. At present Bluetooth® Low Energy is probably one of the most convenient technological solutions for indoor positioning which allows developing effective navigation systems.

How the NAVIGATION WITH Bluetooth® works

Indoor positioning Bluetooth® is carried out using special beacons that are installed on objects and send signals at regular intervals. Due to their tiny size, they are widely used in a wide variety of geolocation solutions.

Bluetooth® navigation system is carried out through a mobile application. The smartphone receives Bluetooth® signals from beacons inside the location and sends certain information to users, such as location data, directions to desired places, advertisements, push notifications.

For project realization, two technologies can be applied:

  • iBeacon – an in-building positioning system that allows exchanging data between Bluetooth® Low Energy devices and beacons. The technology was developed in 2013 and since then it has been actively used.
  • Eddystone – a new standard of beacon work from Google. It is an extended version of Bluetooth® Low Energy and makes use of the key ability of beacons to transmit a unique identification code at short distances using Bluetooth® signals.

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Pros and cons FOR Bluetooth® NAVIGATION AND POSITIONING SYSTEM

The indoor positioning with Bluetooth® beacons has a wide range of benefits for developing projects. With its help, it’s quite easy to orient in big buildings, quickly find the needed objects, perform analytics of visits and movements inside the premises.

The main advantages of theBluetooth® Low Energy positioning and navigation are the following:

  • Possibility to build the infrastructure based on available and inexpensive equipment.
  • Simple system management without any specific expertise and skills.
  • Energy efficiency.
  • Optimization of interaction between system users and clients.
  • Locating objects with an accuracy of several meters.
  • Easy-to-install Bluetooth® positioning beacons.

Alongside with advantages, Bluetooth® beacon indoor positioning system has some disadvantages, such as its relatively small working distance (on average, up to 30 m), the necessity to use applications for clients’ solutions, employment of additional equipment.

Navigine Indoor Navigation Kit
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Indoor navigation solution

POSITIONING AND NAVIGATION WITH BEACONS: APPLICATION AREAS

Indoor navigation with beacons has found successful application in many spheres. The most common ones are:

  • Healthcare. Thanks to Bluetooth® beacon navigation system, patients can easily orient in big medical institutions, find the necessary rooms, get information on doctor’s appointments.
  • Industry. Bluetooth® LE location positioning allows optimizing production processes and monitoring the company’s assets. Any object that has to be followed is equipped with a small label with a beacon. The object's location and its performance can be displayed in the web interface at any time.
  • Warehouses. Bluetooth® LE beacons can be placed on important and expensive things. When the beacon leaves the defined zone, the alarm signal is activated or the system gets a security notification.
  • Transport. Bluetooth® beacons ensure convenient navigation for airline or railway passengers inside transport hubs. Using the Android and iOS applications, passengers can find the necessary routes or important objects, such as ATMs, recreation rooms, and ticket offices.

Navigine's Open Source Solution

Navigine, a leading provider of indoor positioning and navigation solutions, offers an innovative Open Source solution that enables developers to integrate advanced navigation and wayfinding algorithms into their projects. With Open Source, anyone can access, inspect, modify, and enhance the source code, fostering collaboration and innovation within the development community. Our Open Source solution includes a variety of algorithms that can be used for indoor navigation, such as position estimator, radiomap localization, and solution post-processing. These algorithms can be applied to diverse industries, including healthcare, transportation, and retail.

Navigine specializes in developing effective geolocation tools for businesses and offers a technological solution for indoor navigation with Bluetooth® beacons. The cooperation with our company will let you obtain an easy-to-use convenient SDK for rendering a wide range of services based on exactly detecting the user’s location and making routes around buildings. 

BLE is also effectively used in scenarios, where an enterprise needs to track its assets or equipment. More info about it here.

Are you interested in a BLE-based positioning system? Discuss more in a private free consultation:

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