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.
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.
System Struction of BLE AoA Locators and Beacons
BLE AoA Positioning Demo in Warehouse
Parameter Quick View of Dusun AoA Positioning Locator
| Category | Specifications | |
|---|---|---|
| Power Supply | USB type-C 5V/3A | |
| Reset button | The reset button is hole button, After pressing the reset button for more than 5 seconds, the Locator will be restored to the factory settings. | |
| Network Interface | The network interface supports CAT-5/CAT-5E to transmit data and POE Power Supply (voltage range is 44~ 57V).WAN*1 | |
| Indicator LEDs | 1).Power &battery LED 2). BLE LED 3).Wi-Fi LED 4）LTE indicator | |
| Antenna array direction finding | 4*4 Antenna Array | |
| Installation method | Ceiling, Wall mounting | |
| RTC | Real Time Clock operated from on board battery | |
| Cooling | Heat dissipation silicone/aluminum | |
| positioning accuracy | 0.3-1 meter | |
| Detect range | 360° array antenna, Angle of Arrival measurement in the 2.4GHz band | |
Features of DSGW-020 BLE 5.1 Indoor Locators
Capturing data from end devices and sends it to the cloud via 4G(CAT M1), WiFi and Ethernet
One-click import and export of configuration files; support batch upgrade of both gateways and tags/beacons
Precision in X and Y direction can be sub-meter
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 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 16 to 160 s, 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.
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 16 to 160 s, 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.
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. If you use public platforms like AWS or Azure, we can adapt the firmware in order to support these platforms.
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.
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.
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 Tag | Date（KB/s） | Date per 24 hours |
| 1 | 2 | 400MB |
| 6 | 6 | 1200MB |
We offer all-in-one package including 2x AoA gateway, 3xAoA Beacon and quick start guides. Quickly deploy your AoA location solutions.
