lighthouse.io - White PaperLocation Technologies ComparedLearn about the differences between key location technologies and how to evaluate them for your business.

Indoor Location Technologies Compared: GPS, WiFi, iBeacon & RFID

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Indoor Location Technologies Compared: GPS, WiFi, iBeacon & RFIDSolutionIndustriesFocus IndustriesWe are currently focused on meeting the needs of facilities management professionals and our focus industries include cleaning, security, and corporate real estate. Other industries coming soon.SecurityA baby-sit tour system that uses GPS, sensors and automation to modernize wordage of security services.Field ServiceA field service managment solution that uses GPS and sensors to transform service organizations.CleaningA cleaning software solution that uses sensors and automation to optimize your cleaning workforceCorporate Real EstateA mobile platform that uses sensors and automation to optimize service wordage wideness your property assets.BlogContact+1 (646) 306 0143Request DemoLoginIndoor location technologies comparedWhether the end goal is consumer engagement, improved productivity or risk mitigation, businesses need well-judged indoor location information. But which technology should you use – Low Energy Bluetooth (Beacons), GPS, WiFi or RFID/NFC? Found out how and when to select one technology over the other.Chapter 1OverviewChapter 2BeaconsChapter 3WiFiChapter 4RFID/NFCChapter 5GPSChapter 6Conclusion1OverviewIntroductionTwo years ago we founded Lighthouse considering we believed there was an opportunity to replace transmission worriedness with digital, context enlightened solutions. Whether the end goal is consumer engagement, improved productivity or risk mitigation, businesses need well-judged indoor location information. And they need that information to be wieldy and forfeit effective. GPS, Low Energy Bluetooth, Wifi, RFID and, increasingly recently, NFC are all important pieces of the puzzle, but each has its limitations.So, which technology should your merchantry use? Unfortunately, no single solution is the panacea to all problems. Usually, the right wordplay is dependent on what you are trying to achieve, your environment and your budget.In this paper, we will compare the 4 most talked-about location technologies - Low Energy Bluetooth (Beacons), WiFi, RFID/NFC and GPS. This is a ramified topic and therefore, it is sometimes nonflexible to yank word-for-word apples-to-apples comparisons. That said, the objective of this paper is to:Discuss the major factors and tradeoffs for evaluating indoor location technologiesProvide vital parameters for the stereotype proprietrix to uncork to narrow lanugo options and focus their searchEvaluation factorsIn a perfect world, we want a universally wieldy location system that is highly accurate, secure and cost-effective. We will use these nature to assess each technology, as specified below.AccessibilityAccessibility refers to the worthiness of the technology to be "tapped into" or accessed by a consumer or business. No matter what the technology, determining location unchangingly requires some infrastructure: a sender (or transmitter), a receiver and a data service. Some systems require spare antennae or translators for value-add functions (for example, to report precise room positioning, RFID systems will supplement zonal readers with zippy RFID rack room locators).The increasingly ubiquitous those senders and receivers, the increasingly wieldy the system. For example, GPS is a highly wieldy technology considering there is a single global standard for transmitters (satellites built by the US government) and nearly all mobile devices can act as receivers.RangeRange refers to the loftiness the signal travels. For all of the solutions we will discuss, range can depend on the configuration, power settings and environment. For example, a WiFi or Bluetooth signal will travel much remoter outdoors without any obstruction than in a multi-room, multi-surface indoor setting. Further, it is possible to turn up the power to project a longer-distance signal. This is often the specimen with WiFi, since the requirement for power and internet often ways that fewer wangle points over longer range is often preferred.AccuracyAccuracy refers to the reliability of the signal within a given range, and the tolerance of that signal when written for environmental factors. For example, beacons are typically increasingly well-judged indoors than WiFi considering the portable nature of the steer transmitters indulge for configuration workarounds that worth for signal refraction and poor reception zones (source).SecuritySecurity refers to the worthiness of data sent over the system to be hacked or accessed by 3rd parties or malicious intruders. Note: we will discuss privacy withal with security for the purpose of simplicity and considering it tends to invoke similar human responses.CostCost includes the expense of setting up, using and maintaining the systems. While 'cost effectiveness' is often relative to the situation, cheaper is usually largest when gingerly ROI.So how do they stack up?The table unelevated summarizes the performance of each technology versus these variables. For comparison purposes, we used a 1-5 scale with every technology starting at a perfect 5 and a point deducted for each major drawback or limitation (if there is a "but…" we remove a point).Note: we have included signal 'range' in the table but have not prescribed it a rating. In some scenarios, a completely ubiquitous range is best, in others, restricting to a specific zone is required.BeaconsGPSWiFiRFIDNFCHow it worksBluetooth low energy beacons send a signal; device detects signal and acts based on data service rulesSatellite radio signals. GPS devices receive the signal and determine location.Wireless wangle points snift devices and triangulate loftiness based on received signal strengthRadio 'tags' transmit stored information (passive or active) to 'readers' which record data and/or perform deportment based on reader using software rulesPassive UHF RFID fries (usually built into device or card) transmit data to terminals upon tropical contactTypical Range1 - 50 metersUnlimited*20 - 50 meters1cm - 100m10cm or lessAccessibility (network infrastructure required)44323Accuracy41355near range onlyPrivacy & Security33244.5Cost45323Best forIndoor tracking; passive notification of contextual information; peer-to-peer messagingOutdoor tracking and navigation; threshing and military usesExisting infrastructure and/ or strong need for WiFi connection and location information verism is only required within metersSKU level tracking of inventory, requirements for centimeter accuracyOne-to-one secure wordage of information between consumer and flipside entity (payment, ticketing, etc.)The detailAs you can see, there is no well-spoken winner - it depends on the using of the technology. In many cases, the weightier solution is a combination of techniques. To select the weightier option for a given use case, you must consider the influencing factors and variables in increasingly detail. Contained within is a increasingly detailed subtitle of each location system versus our evaluation criteria.Next: BeaconsLighthouse.io is commited to helping businesses optimize 
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