Chapter 10
Precision Locating with Wide Area Coverage
In This Chapter
Understanding wide area coverage
Exploring the underlying technologies
Precision locating means being able to identify the exact location of an asset or a person. You can precisely locate people or assets in many ways. You can use absolute coordinates such as latitude, longitude, and altitude (for example, a person is located at N27° 10' 0 N, E78° 2' 60 when visiting the Taj Mahal); or you can use relative coordinates, such as the distance in three dimensions from a fixed reference point (for example, the security guard is standing at 10 feet south of the main entrance of the building). You also can use relative coordinates such as distance in three dimensions from a mobile reference point. You can measure that my car is located 45 feet to the left of me, for example.
Currently, many different RTLS technologies can be used to get precise location information. These technologies can be grouped into two categories based on their area of service (also called as area of coverage). The technologies that support wide area coverage cover a broad area, so the tags can be located in areas that cross metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries. GPS covers the world, for example. The technologies that support local area coverage cover localized areas, so the tags can be located within the smaller areas such as a room, building, campus, or specific metropolitan area.
In this chapter, I discuss precision locating technologies ...
