DSGW-200 Bluetooth 5.1 AoA Indoor Positioning Locator

Model: DSGW-200 Category:

DSGW-200 is BLE 5.1-based indoor AoA locator to perform RTLS location tracking on a map. It uses Silicon Labs chipset EFR32BG22 to implement sub-meter accuracy positioning (min. 0.3m). DSGW-200 can gather azimuth/distance/elevation data and then calculate X/Y/Z coordinites of asset beacons/tags in the space, and finally upload the data to the position engines to achieve the visualization.

DSGW-200 features low-power consumption an low-delay. It has both PoE and 5V USB type-c power supply. Users are allowed to adopts ceiling/wall mountable bracket design and PoE port for cable-invisible installation and built-in battery power option as the backup in case of a power failure.

DSGW-200 supports BLE 5.1 AoA, WiFi 2.4G/5G, LTE Cat M1. It is a pure hardware running AoA software and capable of sending beacon location information to a sever by using MQTT protocol. Dusun IoT will provide the API file for cloud integration. Turnkey AoA Beacon solution provided as well.

Quick View of DSGW-200 BLE 5.1 AoA Indoor Locators

  • RK3328 Quad-core Cortex-A53 MCU, enabling working out the “x””y””z” coordinate value ,and then upload to the server;
  • 360° 4*4 antenna array to measure and design the phase difference of BLE 5.1 direction finding signals;
  • Linux OS and supporting customers to develop their own APP. SDK Quick Start Guide offered to make development process easier;
  • Support integrating with third-party positioning platforms or private cloud platforms;
  • LuCi GUI page will be provided for one-click deployment of all AoA devices;
  • Turnky solution of both AoA locator and AoA beacons;
  • Support BLE mesh, Zigbee, Z-wave as well, can be used as an IoT gateway in the meantime;
  • CE & ROHS &FCC certified, Bluetooth BQB certificate, PTCRB;
  • Operating Temperature: -10℃~60℃.

What is Bluetooth Angle of Arrival? And How does AoA devices work?

The Bluetooth SIG revealed at the start of 2019 that Bluetooth 5.1 has a new “direction-finding” capability, which enables devices to determine the direction of a Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) signal. This function will significantly increase Bluetooth positioning accuracy and offer improved location services.

For BLE-based RTLS positioning hardware solution, there is a single antenna used by BLE 5.1 transmitter to transmit a direction-finding signal, while a 4*4 antenna array is integrated inside the receiving end device.

aoa locator receiving singals
aoa locator working principle

When antenna 1 and antenna 2 receive the signal transmitted by the transmitter, due to the different antenna distances, the received Bluetooth signal has a phase difference. The signal’s angle of arrival and the known distances betwrrn the two antennas are then calculated.

Noted that The absolute X, Y, and Z coordinates of the Bluetooth asset tag cannot be determined by using AoA technology alone. Additional information is required. AoA technology only gives relative azimuth and/or elevation angle data between the sending and receiving devices. You need Bluetooth gateways with AoA function (some called it AoA gateway or AoA locator), known locations of gateways, as well as the azimuth and elevation data received together to determine the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the Bluetooth asset tags. The method used to arrive at this calculation is shown in Figure.

ble aoa gateway solution diagram

System Struction of BLE AoA Locators and Beacons

ble aoa solution system structure

BLE AoA Positioning Demo in Warehouse

Parameter Quick View of Dusun AoA Positioning Locator

CategorySpecifications
CPUDSOM-010R ( RockChip RK3328 ) Quad Core Cortex A53
RAMUp to 2GB
eMMCUp to 128GB
OSDebian 11
OTR-10℃~60℃ Industrial Grade
Dimension190mm*190mm*37mm
ProtocolUplink: LTE CatM1, Wi-Fi 2.4G/5G, Ethernet Downlink: BLE 5.2( AoA)
CoolingHeat dissipation silicone/aluminum
positioning accuracy0.3-1 meter
Detect range360° array antenna, Angle of Arrival measurement in the 2.4GHz   band

Features of DSGW-200 BLE 5.1 Indoor Locators

Multiple Backhaul Connectivities

Capturing data from end devices and sends it to the cloud via 4G(CAT M1), WiFi and Ethernet

Easy Configuration

One-click import and export of configuration files; support batch upgrade of both gateways and tags/beacons

multiple backhaul connectivity
high precisioncapacity 1
High Precision

Precision in X and Y direction can be sub-meter

High Capacity

Adopt Silicon Lab’s enhanced SoC, capable of manage over 300 tags/beacons, suitable for wide-space projects with high-density tags/beacons

Dimension and Package of DSGW-200 AoA Location Tracker

dsgw 200 dimension
Dimension
dsgw 200 Accessories
Package List

Model List

ModelWi-Fi 2.4G/5GAOALTE CatM1BLE5.2
DSGW-200-1
DSGW-200-2
DSGW-200-3

DSGW-200 Bluetooth AoA Development Kit

Use Cases of DSGW-200 Bluetooth 5.1 AoA Locator

FAQs of DSGW-200 Bluetooth AoA Locators

Is it necessary to use Bluetooth 5.1 beacons?

Dusun IoT strongly recommends customers to user BLE 5.1 beacons/tags. Since the Bluetooth signal is modulated, its very nature will cause a phase change, making it difficult to directly sample the signal and determine the phase difference. As a result, the Bluetooth 5.1 specification mandates the CTE standard to facilitate the detection of phase differences. In other words, the BLE AoA locators will be easy to detect and precisely locate indoor beacons/tags thanks to the embedded application within beacons/tags that emits standard Constant Tone Extension (CTE).

CTE is a non-wave signal with a constant frequency of 250 kHz that may be utilized easily for phase difference detection. It has a duration of 16us to 160us, doesn’t perform a CRC check, and supports both connection and broadcast modes. CTE signal is added after the CRC check, and the original data remains unaffected. The header of the PDU allows the CTE type (AOA, AOD lus.AOD2us) and duration to be configured.

Which is the beacon requirements to be compatible with DSGW-200 running AoA software?

iBeacon is ok, but we will add the OOB to limited the unknow beacon interference.

What is the advantage to use DSGW-200 rather than average Bluetooth gateways?

Bluetooth gateways without AoA function can only use the RSSI, which means the accuracy is not good as BLE AoA. It may be difficult to keep track of stock and location of where a specific asset is located at.
When use Bluetooth RSSI positioning, location is determined based on the relationship between signal strength and distance. It uses trilateration, which averages (or performs signal processing on) different RSSI readings across time to smooth out erratic RSSI.
To determine which positioning technology to use, positioning accuracy and cost are the most important factors to think about. The higher the precision, the higher the expense, and the more complicated the system. You can view more on Bluetooth RSSI vs BLE AoA vs UWB here.

What is the coverage range of DSGW-200?

The coverage range is depended on the installation height of the locator. Here is a formula to calculate:
Angle α maximum value
Height =h , α= 60℃
Coverage r= h*tagα ≈2h

What is the high-accuracy area of DSGW-200?

The positioning accuracy typically decreases as the height of the locator installation increases. As a result, it is advised that the locator’s height not exceed 10 meters. Theoretically, a high-precision region is constituted as the overlapped coverage area of two or more locator gates with a radius of 1.5H.

high accuracy area of ble aoa locator

How many locator slaves are connected?

This depends on what beacons you are using. Nordic beacons have a maximum number of 50 and a 1 second broadcast frequency. However, there is an improved technique that when uses Silicon Labs beacons, it can supports up to 1000 beacons theoretically. But after testing, we found its approx. 300 pcs.

How many beacons/tags are supported simuteneously?

There can simultaneous connection 20pcs beacon upload simultaneously. If there have 30 beacons in the cover range , there could upload 20 at first then upload the remaining 10 beacons. Or the other 20 beacon can also be scan by other AoA loctors.

How many samples (MQTT messages) will be sent by the master gateway for each beacon (ie: every 5 seconds, every 60 seconds, ...)?

The report interval can be configured and adjust as you prefered.

How to configue beacons with AoA locators and upgrade?

The beacons and AoA locators are all based on BLE protocol, so there is no need for pairing between the locators and the tags. As long as both of them are powered on, the tag will send a broadcast packet, and the locator will accept. As for how to configure the AoA loctor,we will send you the AoA Locator Implementation Guide, which will guide you how to go on.

How to install DSGW-200 AoA locators?

The DSGW-200 is normally installed in the ceiling, and the recommended installation height is at least 3 meters, and the highest is 10 meters. The higher the installation height, the more accurate the positioning.
To connect to the device with PoE. First thing you need is the IP address of the AoA locator. You can get the WAN IP of the locator form your router, or you could download an IP scaner to get it.
About detailed AoA locator implementation, welcome to view this instruction.

Do you provide Software and Platform?

Dusun IoT is mainly focusing on hardware so our BLE AoA solution only include hardware for customers. The AoA data are collected by the AoA gateway and transmitted to the platform, and the location depends on the platform algorithm function. If you have your own platform, you need follow the implement file to configure the gateway by yourself. If not, we have software partner, Navigine, who are most professional positioning software solution provider. Our AoA locator gateway have been integrate with them already, and it could be directly used. 

How to improve the accuracy of BLE AoA solution?

Firstly, follow the instruction of BLE AoA locator manufacturer. For Dusun IoT’s, a high-precision area must encompass the 1.5H radiation overlap of two or more locators. H is the distance in height between the tags and locators. Secondly, you can deploy more locators to increase the accuracy. A broader positioning coverage area is obtained by strapping down multiple locators, and the global spatial accuracy level is raised by multiple anchor course angel calculations.

multiple aoa locator working together

There are two ways to meet your positioning demands. The positioning algorithm in the cloud platform is the first choice, while the IoT gateway hardware with positioning algorithm is the other choice. You can choose to have the AoA locator sending the I/Q data straight to your platform if your business uses its own positioning algorithm or runs the positioning algorithm on your platform.

aoa edge computing gateways sending info to position engine

What backhaul connectivity should I choose?

It is advised to use an Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection for typical usage scenarios to reduce costs. A quick test on data consumption for cellular connections was conducted by Dusun IoT, and the results showed that using cellular connections may affect the accuracy of the final data.
The test results are based on 25 packages per second for each locator, with between 1 and 6 AOA tags active at once. Six active tags in a single location need around 1.2GB of data each. The accuracy is substantially impacted once the locator is situated in an area with data lags of more than 200 ms, and xyz data for true location cannot be calculated in time. This may be significant for RTLS positioning.

AOA TagDate(KB/s)Date per 24 hours
12400MB
661200MB

For BLE AoA positioning solutions, is a minimum of 3 gateways required to work, or can it work with just 1?

Both single and multiple gateway deployments are available for BLE AoA positioning solutions, depending on your specific requirements. If you aim for higher accuracy, it is recommended to use at least 2 gateways. However, for basic functionality, a single gateway can still facilitate the positioning process. We have an informative article discussing the deployment of AoA locators, which you can read for reference and gain further insights into the implementation process.

I want to know more about the DSGW-200 Bluetooth 5.1 AoA development SDK, could you provide some documents for it? Whether the gateway support develop by customer?

DSGW-200 Indoor Positioning Gateway supports second development by customers, and Dusun IoT does offer quick start guide and SDK for this purpose. You can visit the this support center page to find the resources and documentation to assist you in utilizing the DSGW-200 and customizing its functionalities according to your requirements.

Does DSGW-200 Bluetooth 5.1 AoA Indoor Locator support OTA upgrades?

Currently user can update the firmware image in web portal for the DSGW-200 BLE AoA gateway.

How many indoor locator should we setup? I have 100 beacons (maybe 1000s) to deploy in a large building. Should we have a single edge gateway locator for the whole floor and every other locator set up as a slave? Or should we set up each room to have its own edge gateway with multiple slave locators?

The installation mode is depending on the real scenario for AoA locator Gateway installment. It is recommend to install one edge computing gateway per floor per room. Currently we’ve tested about 300 beacons in one edge computing gateway. So if the number of beacons exceed this value, more edge computing would be required

We offer all-in-one package including 2x AoA gateway, 3xAoA Beacon and quick start guides. Quickly deploy your AoA location solutions.

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