The Difference Between Bluetooth And UWB Positioning

2023-05-08/ By Admin

What are the indoor positioning technologies?

The indoor positioning industry can develop rapidly, all closely related to the diversity of positioning technologies. Common indoor positioning technologies include Bluetooth positioning, WiFi positioning, UWB positioning, ZigBee positioning and so on.

At present, SKYLAB's indoor positioning technologies are mainly Bluetooth positioning and UWB positioning, and SKYLAB provides Bluetooth positioning solutions and UWB positioning solutions for customers. Next, I will introduce the difference between Bluetooth positioning and UWB positioning in practical applications.

The difference between Bluetooth positioning and UWB positioning

There are 7 differences between Bluetooth positioning and UWB positioning.

（1）Wireless Protocol

Bluetooth positioning is the standard Bluetooth 4.0/5.0 protocol. UWB positioning is the standard UWB wireless protocol.

（2）Positioning principle

Bluetooth positioning is based on the RSS positioning principle. The Bluetooth receiver detects the strength of the surrounding Bluetooth transmitters. It derives an approximate positioning range through an algorithm of trilateral measurement.

The UWB positioning technology uses the anchor and bridge nodes with known locations arranged in advance to communicate with the newly joined nodes. It uses the TDOA positioning algorithm to locate by measuring out the difference in transmission delay between different base stations and mobile terminals.

（3） Positioning hardware

Bluetooth positioning hardware includes Bluetooth gateway, Bluetooth Beacon, bracelet, watch, server, etc.

UWB positioning hardware includes server, smart terminal, UWB base station, UWB tag, etc.

（4）Positioning accuracy

Bluetooth positioning can achieve positioning accuracy of 3-5 meters. The system can locate the position of people/objects approximately.

UWB positioning can achieve a positioning accuracy of 0.1-0.3 meters, and the system can accurately locate the position of people/objects.

（5）Deployment density

Bluetooth gateway or Bluetooth Beacon is generally deployed at an interval of 6-8 meters. UWB base station is generally deployed at about 50 meters.

（6）Standby time

Bluetooth gateway supports DC 5V/POE power supply. The power consumption of Bluetooth Beacon is extremely low. Battery powered, the battery can be replaced every 1-2 years.

UWB base station supports POE power supply. ultra low power consumption of UWB tag, tag can be charged. Battery life can reach more than 3 months.

（7）Applicable scenarios

Bluetooth positioning application scenarios: indoor positioning and navigation, reverse car search, intelligent time and attendance, access control system, asset positioning.

UWB positioning application scenario: high precision positioning of personnel, asset positioning.