LiDAR and real-time location systems
With the costs of enterprise and industrial assets rising, the monitoring and tracking of these assets are increasingly important. This is especially true in environments such as warehouses or loading docks.
Online retailers, for example, handle countless packages in their warehouses every day. Not only is tracking necessary for those packages and the pallets they arrive on, but also to ensure that pedestrians within the environment aren’t colliding or entering and lingering in restricted areas. The right asset tracking solution will deliver superior object tracking, improving safety, traffic flow, and consequently productivity.
To function properly this needs to happen in real time. While conventional tracking solutions can achieve some of this, there are common scenarios in which they fall short. This is where the Quanergy concept of Tag-free Asset Tracking ™(TfAT) comes in.
Current asset tracking methods
Businesses use a range of tag systems for asset tracking – barcodes, Wi-Fi, RFID, BLE and UWB being some of the most widely implemented. All these methods have a place, serving a particular purpose. However, none of them will work for all situations. The biggest drawback of these methods is that a physical tag needs to be attached to every item that needs tracking, whether a vehicle, pedestrian, or package. Every single asset must be tagged, and if that tag requires power to function then batteries need to be deployed when running low. Also, if a large space needs to be covered, there may be a need for numerous readers, further impacting cost and efficiency.
Steel shelving is another potential problem. Often warehouses contain a large amount of steel shelving, which can interfere with radio waves, calling the efficacy of radio tags into question.
Privacy can be a concern with these methods. Some companies track employees’ movement for flow management, ensuring there are no collisions and that spaces are set up effectively for the work being undertaken within them. However, this comes with privacy concerns that must be considered. This information should be tracked anonymously so that personal data or identification is not being collected or stored.
Tag-free asset tracking
Quanergy delivers LiDAR-based solutions enabling tracking of all moving assets without the need for tags, in real-time and highly accurately. Whether a forklift, pedestrian, robot or package, LiDAR enables the detection, identification and tracking of objects. No other technologies in the market offer this. This is the Quanergy Tag-free Asset Tracking (TfAT) method.
LiDAR-enabled TfaT endows real-time location systems (RTLS) with several powerful features:
- Tags are not required, saving on deployment costs
- Without batteries to recharge or change, maintenance costs are reduced. Batteries for BLE-based asset tracking tools typically last for anywhere between one and six months, while UWB-based tools often need to be charged daily, depending on update rates
- Highly accurate, to less than 1m. Many existing systems offer accuracy of somewhere between five and ten metres. The Quanergy LiDAR-based solution pinpoints a more specific area
- Real-time tracking. With an update rate of less than 200 ms there is no need to choose between conserving battery life and getting real-time updates
- Superior classification ability. The system can differentiate between multiple objects, including pedestrians, vehicles, and robots
- Per sensor coverage area of up to 15,000 m²
- Immunity to steel interference, mitigating multipath returns
- Privacy protected. No collecting or storing of personal information
- Functions indoors and outdoors with IP69K protection, regardless of lighting conditions
TfAT is not intended as a replacement for existing asset tracking systems, but for complementing them, filling the gaps where these systems fall short. A powerful solution for RTLS providers to add their strategic toolbox, providing customers with more efficient, effective service and coverage.
LiDAR and TfAT
Industrial automation has moved beyond being a competitive advantage, into the realm of necessity. Improving productivity, safety, and accuracy, while lowering costs and increasing efficiency. LiDAR technology, with its versatility, adaptability and power, offers significant benefits for industrial automation across the board.
Many still associate LiDAR as a sensing solution for autonomous vehicles, but this concept further demonstrates the wide and increasing range of applications that LiDAR technology is used in.
This is further borne out by a recent whitepaper from ABI Research, which sees 16 million LiDAR sensors will be deployed in smart spaces, security and industrial verticals by 2030, on top of the 13 million installed in vehicles.
Level Five Supplies – your LiDAR partner
Level Five Supplies offers a comprehensive portfolio of LiDAR products from some of the world’s leading manufacturers ensuring that you can find the perfect sensing solution for your application.
