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Bluetooth low energy (BLE) real-time location system (RTLS) having tags, beacons and bridges, that use a combination of motion detection and RSSI measurements to determine room-location of the tags

  • US 10,251,020 B1
  • Filed: 06/18/2018
  • Issued: 04/02/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2016
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A real-time location system (RTLS) having tags, beacons, bridges, and a location server for providing people and asset-tag locating, comprising:

  • at least one beacon equipped with a motion sensor, that uses the motion sensor to include a history of motion status sensed in a beacon'"'"'s room, embedded in radio transmissions from the at least one beacon;

    at least one bridge for receiving location-update messages from at least one tag, and measuring multiple characteristics of the received location-update messages, including received signal strength, and forwarding those location-update messages to a central server;

    at least one tag for listening for radio transmissions from the beacons, and measuring multiple characteristics of the received transmissions, including received signal strength and the beacons'"'"' indication of motion status in the beacon'"'"'s room, where patterns of accelerometer-sensed-motion status of the tag are compared to patterns of the motion status in the beacons'"'"' transmissions, and location-update messages are transmitted to the at least one bridge; and

    a central location server utilizing a plurality of location-determining methods comprising;

    a first location method for determining a first location estimate for the at least one tag, based on radio characteristics of BLE beacon signals emitted by at least one beacon in fixed locations and received by the at least one tag, and transmitted to the central location server;

    a second location method for determining a second location estimate for the at least one tag, based on comparing changes in the history of motion status in the beacons'"'"' rooms, and the coincident history of changes in accelerometer-determined motion status of the at least one tag that is likely in the room; and

    a third location method for combining the first location estimate and second location estimate to determine a location result for the at least one tag.

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