From this article you will learn:

• What are the types of real-time resource location systems (RTLS)?
• What is Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology?
• What are the advantages of UWB technology?

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Manufacturing companies are increasingly implementing technological solutions in the field of Industry 4.0. The ideal is a smart factory, i.e. a digitised and automated production facility that enables impressive benefits in areas related to on-time delivery, product quality, inventory management, labour costs and overall productivity. It is no coincidence that there is talk of a fourth industrial revolution. This is evident in the chart below, which compares the annual actual improvements in manufacturing plant productivity rates recorded since 1990 against the expected improvement in the same rates over the next five years.

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As you can see, the potential benefits are significant. It is therefore hardly surprising that factory owners around the world are investing in smart manufacturing. Between 2017 and 2026, the global smart factory market is predicted to grow by almost 12 per cent per year, reaching $378 billion.

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Digitalised factories collect increasing amounts of data, which mainly come from automated processes and machines. On the basis of this data, it is possible to better manage resources and plan production. However, the more data that comes from automated processes, the more the lack of data from manual processes, i.e. those that involve workers and do not use machines, becomes an obstacle. Despite rapidly advancing automation, in many industries most tasks are still performed manually, and some processes will always require the involvement of employees.

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Production processes inevitably involve movement - of workers, semi-finished products, forklift trucks - regardless of the level of automation. Real-time location systems (RTLS) are used to monitor these. The most popular of these are currently based on RFID or Wi-Fi, but unfortunately both of these technologies have serious drawbacks that significantly limit their usefulness. RFID has a very short range and does not allow movement measurements, while Wi-Fi has insufficient accuracy and high measurement unreliability. Much better results are offered by systems based on Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, which has been available on the market for a dozen or so years, but only recently has been applied in industry. UWB is a radio communication technology with very low power consumption allowing for sending large amounts of data in a wide radio spectrum. It was initially used mainly by the military (radars) and in hospitals, but its capabilities mean that it is increasingly being used for real-time asset monitoring. Below, we outline in more detail why Indoorway, after thoroughly researching other available alternatives, chose this technology to create its RTLS solution.

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Reason 1: Reliability of measurements

A UWB signal can pass through many different obstacles, such as high racks. It is also not very susceptible to interference from metal components, as well as other networks, because it transmits on a wide bandwidth and different frequencies than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. This feature is very important in industry because, with the increasing penetration of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, Wi-Fi bandwidth in industrial plants is becoming increasingly clogged, to put it colloquially.

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Measurement reliability is the most important criterion in monitoring applications for production processes and internal logistics, because it means that the data collected and the analyses or alerts based on it can simply be relied upon. This is especially important if the system informs about an event affecting the continuity of production or work safety.

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Reason 2: Very high accuracy

With UWB, it is possible to achieve measurement accuracy in centimetres rather than metres as with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi based systems. Such accuracy is important in industrial applications because, as already mentioned, it allows reliance on the data collected. Less accurate measurements could, for example, suggest that a forklift is sometimes driving through a wall and that the forklift operator, while driving the vehicle, is simultaneously running around it.

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The high accuracy of the measurements is made possible by a method of calculating location based on measuring the time it takes for the signal from the locator to reach the signal receivers located in the monitored area, similar to GPS. In contrast, systems using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi calculate location based on signal strength measurements, which is a much more inaccurate and interference-prone method. Another feature of UWB that improves location accuracy is the ability to send signals at a high frequency. Thanks to this, the system receives a lot of data allowing for possible corrections to the calculations if individual signals are disturbed, for example.

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The accuracy of the measurements is particularly useful in applications related to the automatic allocation of labour costs, as it allows you to define small zones (e.g. at a machine) and rely on measurements showing how much time and when workers spent in that location.

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Reason 3: Low energy consumption

UWB signal sending locators can operate for long periods of time, which is made possible by the ultra-short signals they send, the frequency of which can be further adjusted. For example, a slow-moving logistics train may not send a signal as often as a forklift, and a die put away in storage may send a signal less often than the same die used at another time on a production line.

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Locators designed and used by Indoorway can run for more than 12 months on a single battery, and customers are kept informed of the battery's state of wear so that they can replace the locator or battery with a new one before it wears out.

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Reason 4: Short implementation time

Compared to most Industry 4.0 solutions, a real-time asset monitoring system based on UWB is very easy to implement and configure, as it does not require integration with other systems or interference in the production process. In our experience, it should take no more than one day to install the measurement infrastructure on an area of even around 5000 m2 and configure the system. What is more, it can be performed mostly by local maintenance services, only under specialist supervision.

Monitoring data is collected and immediately visualised in the customer panel, so the first observations can be made just a few days after system installation.

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Proposal

UWB-based RTLS solutions allow manufacturing companies to understand their production processes and internal logistics much better than alternative solutions. However, reliable technology and trustworthy data are only the basis. The real benefit for manufacturing companies is the information from the system, based on which decisions can be made to improve productivity, reduce waste and better allocate resources.

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If you would like to learn more about the specific benefits of process and asset monitoring, we encourage you to visit our website or contact us directly at indoorway@aiut.com.