R F Technologies 30011534001 User Manual
PinPoint Corporation
System Hardware Introduction
FCC REGULATIONS
This system complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to
the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference,
and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference
that may cause undesired operation.
WARNINGS
Changes or modifications not expressely approved by PinPoint Corporation
could void the users authority to operate the equipment.
Contents
Section 1: Introduction to the System
WELCOME
Welcome to the 3D-iD system. The 3D-iD system is an LPS (Local Positioning
System) designed to take asset and personnel tracking to the next level. Where
GPS supplies global, outdoor, positioning data, the 3D-iD LPS system provides
local, indoor and outdoor, positioning data. In addition, the system comes with a
variety of tools that enable you to track and monitor tagged assets in threedimensional space. The purpose of this manual is to introduce you to the systems technology and walk you through the an overview of its installation.
There are myriad applications for the technology applications which previous
technologies, due to their many limitations cannot address. In manufacturig
and distribution applications, the 3D-iD system can help shippers find containers
in shipping yards. In healthcare, it can be used to insure that hospitals can
keep track of their valuable assets, decreasing lost equipment and increasing
efficiency.
The 3D-iD system relies on a combination of hardware and software. Before
examining the systems operation, well take a brief look at the components that
make up the system. The two elements relevant to an end-user include:
· Tags that are attached to assets or people which are to be tracked
· A suite of software applications that present the user with information
about Tag locations and conditions.
The remaining elements, all of which have to be installed and configured,
include:
· The Antennas,
· The Cell Controllers
· The software infrastructure.
In this manual, well briefly explore each of these elements.
HOW THE 3D-ID SYSTEM WORKS:
The 3D-iD system is comprised of two basic parts, a hardware and a software
system. The combination of the two systems allows tags to be located, tracked
and secured throughout an installation site. The hardware side of the system
generates Tag Antenna Distance (TAD) data, while the software side of the system converts that data to other forms, and presents it to the end-user.
The hardware side of the system consists of three parts: Tags, Antennas and
Cell Controllers.
Tags are the objects tracked they can be affixed to an asset or person,
allowing the system to track that asset or person.
Antennas are stationary devices from which TAD distances are meas-
ured. They are supplied with DC power via their coaxial cable connection
to a Cell Controller.
Cell Controllers are the brains of the hardware side of the system. They
coordinate the antennas and use the roundtrip time required for a radio
signal to travel from an antenna to a tag to calculate the distance
between the Tags and Antennas. This is what we call TAD (Tag-Antenna
Distance) data.
Once TAD data has been generated, it is forwarded to a ViewPoint Server on
the software side of the system. Which then converts that data into Location
and Alert data and publishes it to client applications.
Location (or LOC) data is data that indicates the Location (which are derived
from logical statements involving TAD variables) that a tag is in. A Location can
be a room, a wing or even an entire floor, depending on the configuration of the
system.
Alert (or ALR) data is data that is generated based on certain trigger events for
single tags or pairs of tags. There are two basic groups of alert conditions. The
first group, alerts associated with a single tag, can be set when a tag enters or
exits an area or when a tag remains within a certain location for a set period of
time. The second group, alerts associated with a pair of tags, can be triggered
when one tag enters an area without the other, when the two tags are near one
another or when the two tags are far from one another.
Detailed information about the ViewPoint Server is available in the Users
Manual. In brief, ViewPoints NT Services (which are programs that run in the
background on the server, and require no user input) receive the TAD data.
These services then use lookup tables created by the user when the software
system is setup to convert the TAD data into Location (LOC) and Alert (ALR)
data. The services then publish that data to various client applications which
end-users use to view specific data. The services can also publish data to a
Recorder service, which saves data to a database.
Combined, the hardware and software elements of the PinPoint system can
generate a wide variety of data based on the location of tags.
HOW THE HARDWARE WORKS:
The purpose of PinPoints 3D-iDs hardware system is to determine the distance
between tags and antennas. There are three elements involved in this process.
The first two are the tags and the antennas. The third is the cell controller,
which coordinates the actions of the tags and antennas and interprets their
signals.
Each tag is on (and detectable) for a very short period of time. Because this
on time is so brief - relative to the off times - the chances of two tags being
on at once are very remote. With this in mind, we can examine the Cell
Controllers operation. The Cell Controllers basic job is to record the amount of
time a radio signal takes to go between each antenna and the tag which is currently on and back. The Cell Controller can calculate the distance between a
single Antenna and a Tag from the transmission time and the speed of light.
The following is the procedure it follows for deriving the time needed for a radio
signal to travel between the Tag and the Antenna:
1. The Cell Controller sends an antenna a spread spectrum radio signal to
broadcast to the tags at 2.442GHz.
2. Whichever tag is on at that moment (assuming one is on and in range of
the antenna):
2.1. Receives the signal
2.2. Converts it to 5.770GHz
2.3. Modulates its unique serial number on the return signal
2.4. Retransmits the signal
3. The current antenna receives the signal and sends it back to the Cell
Controller.
4. The Cell Controller receives the signal and runs filters to remove multipath and then demodulates the signal.
5. The Cell Controller determines the delay between the sent and the
received message and then uses that to calculate the distance between
the tag and the antenna.
6. The newly created Tag Antenna Distance (TAD) data is then forwarded to
the Cell Controllers subscribers in the software system.
7. The Cell Controller then returns to step one, cycling the next antenna.
The Cell Controller cycle time is fast enough for every antenna on a Cell
Controller to detect a tag during that single tags on time.
8. By cycling constantly, the Cell Controller repeats the process for every
tag within reach of its antennas.
The 3D-iD tags are designed using L3RF technology. They are designed for
Long range, Long battery life and Low cost. In an open environment, a tag can
be seen at more than 100 feet. This is a far greater distance than traditional
RFID tracking technologies can offer. In addition, a tags battery typically lasts
over 1 year. With some configurations, a tags battery can last over 5 years.
What defines the tag as an L3RF device? The technology is proprietary, however, there are some interesting technologies involved.
Spread Spectrum Technology:
First and foremost, the system uses direct sequence spread spectrum technology. Spread spectrum is used because the technology allows for clear transmission over long distances with little signal strength. In addition, spread spectrum
technology allows for the operation of many devices within a single frequency
range. This removes the impractical requirement that a frequency be set aside
soley for use of the 3D-iD system. Direct Sequence spread spectrum is used
because alternatives, such as frequency hopping spread spectrum, require significantly more complex hardware and far greater system synchronization. This
hardware would complicate Tag, Antenna and Cell Controller design, raise maintenance costs, increase Tag weight and significantly increase the initial costs of
the system. For more details, see the www.pinpointco.com
Dual Frequency Technology:
The 3D-iD system also relies on a unique dual frequency architecture. The
Antennas send signals to the Tags at 2.442GHz. The Tags respond with a
5.770GHz signal. The dual frequency approach is used to remove the complex-
ities of separating modulated Tag responses from unmodulated radio reflections
when both lie within a single frequency. Take as an example a signal that is
broadcast by an antenna at one frequency when the antenna is listening at that
same frequency. Metal walls and other objects might bounce back a false
return signal that would be difficult to distinguish from a geniune Tag return signal. If the tag responds at another frequency, in this case, at 5.770GHz, its signal need only be separated from the surrounding noise - not from very similar
versions of itself.
While the 3D-iD system benefits from the strenths of L3RF technology, it must
be kept in mind that various factors can negatively influence the effectiveness of
the system. Shorter chirp rates - the rates at which the tag announces its
presence - will result in shorter battery lives. In addition, microwave ovens,
thick walls and metal surfaces - among other things - can significantly impact an
Antennas effective range.
RULE SETS
A brief examination of rule sets is suggested before the installation overview is
begun. While the technician who carries out the site survey will define the location rule set for the site, an understanding of what rule sets are is very important.
Rule Sets define how the software side of the 3D-iD system interprets TAD data.
An end-user has very little use for TAD data in and of itself. For example, knowing how far a wheelchair is from a particular antenna is of little practical use to a
nurse sitting at a desk. Far more useful would be some sort of data indicated
which room a wheelchair is in - or perhaps simply an alert if a wheelchair goes
someplace it is not supposed to. Rule Sets, which are lookup tables of a sort,
were created to convert TAD data to more useful formats.
As previously mentioned, alert sets are used to convert TAD data into two other
forms of data.
The first of these is Location (or LOC) data. Location data is data that
indicates the Location (which are derived from logical statements involving TAD variables) that a tag is in. A Location can be a room, a wing or
even an entire floor, depending on the configuration of the system.
The second kind of data is Alert (or ALR) data. Alert data is generated
from Location data. Alert data is data that is generated based on certain
trigger events for single tags or pairs of tags. There are two basic
groups of alert conditions. The first group, alerts associated with a single
tag, can be set when a tag enters or exits an area or when a tag remains
within a certain location for a set period of time. The second group,
alerts associated with a pair of tags, can be triggered when one tag
enters an area without the other, when the two tags are near one another
or when the two tags are far from one another.
L
OCATION DATA
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