Here is such a hybrid ...

    “Bearded” banter about hybrids:
    - What will happen if you cross a hedgehog and a snake?
    - Barbed wire.
    - And what about cybernetics and mathematics?
    - Kibenematics!

    But seriously, in this topic we will talk about a more complex and interesting hybrid.

    A team of Moscow specialists crossed


    RF technology for measuring distance with a ZigBee network and with a built-in inertial navigator on MEMS sensors, added its own mathematical apparatus for updating coordinates, erected application software of its own design on the foundation and received the first and so far the only full-featured Russian real-time positioning system (location) - Real Time Location System (RTLS).

    The system identifies, determines the exact coordinates and shows on the plan the location of people, vehicles or objects equipped with radio frequency tags, stores this information in a database, allows you to set rules for moving objects relative to assigned zones and routes, and signals deviations from these rules.

    A bit of history


    Real-time remote identification and positioning of moving objects is a young IT field. The first RTLS appeared at the junction of radio frequency identification (RFID) and wireless (WiFi) technologies in the USA in the nineties of the last century. Initially, RTLS was used in large clinics to quickly search for personnel and mobile equipment, as well as to monitor the vital parameters of patients and emergency call of medical personnel in critical situations.
    The technology has developed rapidly. Now this is a well-established independent industry - a whole range of technologies that have their own standards, production and service infrastructure. Moreover, this is one of the booming industries. The global RTLS market is growing by one third every year, and this growth rate is projected for the next ten years, despite the recession ( http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/real-time-locating-systems-2012-2022-000294. asp ).
    With the improvement of RTLS technologies, expanding capabilities and lowering prices, the scope of application has expanded.
    Here are just a few modern use cases:
    • intelligence and search for victims in the emergency zone,
    • enterprise security
    • asset Management,
    • personnel Management,
    • debugging and monitoring processes
    • safety on offshore oil and gas platforms,
    • supply chain management wholesalers,
    • monitoring of a complete set of cars on the conveyor,
    • and even monitoring the state of livestock health in conditions of non-stall keeping.

    Why exactly RTLS?


    In modern production, transport, and logistics, it is important to control the location of objects - vehicles, people, objects. For the sake of this, satellite navigation systems (GLONASS, GPS) and intelligent video surveillance systems capable of independently capturing and tracking many targets have been created and are being developed. For the sake of solving such problems, various location systems are also created.
    BUT!
    Satellite navigation systems work only in the open space, indoors they are powerless. CCTV systems, giving a clear video image, are not able to reliably and inexpensively identify a target without human intervention.
    RTLS has the ability to identify, determine the exact location and
    clearly show on the plan the location and movement of controlled objects.

    RTLS - eyes for ACS


    One of the topical directions in the development of automated systems is the elimination or at least reduction of the influence of the “human factor” by automating the input of data on the presence and location of objects. For this purpose, barcodes and radio frequency tags are increasingly being used. But even in this case, as at the time of punch cards, the operator remains an indispensable attribute of the process - a girl with a scanner or tag reader. Alternatively, instead of a girl, a reading portal on a warehouse gate or an RFID reading post on a conveyor can be used. In the latter case, not the girl goes to the object, but the object is “dragged” to the reader.
    The next stage in the development of data entry subsystems is RTLS, which not only automatically (without operator intervention) collects and stores data on the location of objects, but can also transmit them to the ACS, both in real time and upon request, for example, during inventory.

    RTLS - A Plow Field for IT Professionals and New Opportunities for Their Clients


    Even from this short note, it is clear that RTLS opens up new prospects for automation in many applications. Moreover, both on its own and in combination with existing and planned ACS - SAP ERP, SAP HCM, ACS, security systems ...
    As foreign practice shows, RTLS opens up new opportunities in various fields. Several thousand companies involved in the development and implementation of automated systems in more than a hundred countries around the world have adopted RTLS technology and successfully implement it in their market segments. The introduction of such a promising innovation allows them to better meet the needs of their customers, increases their competitiveness and income. Some examples of the use of RTLS (in translation) can be found on the blog www.rtlsnet.ru/blog .
    In Russia, the application of RTLS is just beginning.

    RTLS from RTLS


    But back to the team of creators.
    Now it is RTLS LLC. The company already mass-produces and supplies all the hardware and software for the positioning system. Although only a few weeks have passed since the official presentation, such large companies as RusHydro, Rosatom, Severstal, among others, have become interested in the RTLS system.

    Habratopik is too small to talk about the features of the RTLS system, the technologies used, and the applications. If the topic is of interest to Khabravchan, I will write a sequel. And the impatient can run ahead to the company's website: www.rtlsnet.ru - there all of these issues are covered in detail.

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