iLocate utilizes Beacon Cells that continuously transmit their ID over the air for location purposes. The Beacon Cells are stand-alone devices, which do not require infrastructure connectivity. Smart Agent devices, within range, sense the Beacon’s RF signal and use it to derive their location.

The Beacon Cell is an exceptional alternative to the standard approach of most real time location systems, which are uni-directional and are based on reader architecture for location. In order to calculate the location using reader triangulation, these competing systems require that at least 3 readers provide a measurement for each "tag". Therefore, attaining location accuracy is dependent on a dense mesh of high-cost readers, yielding a solution which is not very accurate and usually extremely expensive.

With the N3 bi-directional network architecture, Precyse was able to move from a reader based to a Beacon Cell based approach, drastically reducing infrastructure cost, simplifying the network and increasing location accuracy.

Since the Beacon Cell’s transmission power can be wirelessly tuned to cover a changing range, the Beacon Cells constitute a location infrastructure capable of supporting location zone sizes from just a couple of feet and up to a maximum of 3,000 ft requiring just 1 beacon unit to derive location. Smart Agent devices can use the Beacon Cell’s data to either implement a zone location (one cell is enough) or an advanced triangulation scheme in which multiple Beacon Cell signals are received by the Smart Agent device to deliver high accuracy location. To further reduce cost, both location approaches may be combined together, delivering business-need focused location accuracy, indoors or out.

Benefits:

• Low cost – the Beacon Cell is a no-wire, low cost device.A single Beacon Cell includes 4 independent beacon devices in one box and may operate over multiple radio frequencies simultaneously.
• No maintenance – the Beacon Cells are maintenance free with easy, one time installation.
• Plug & play – all you need to do is to plug the Beacon Cell into to an electricity socket or switch on the battery powered mode. If your business environment layout changes, Beacon Cells support over-the-air programming for on the fly re-configuration.

Key features:

• Real time monitored and configured over the air using iLocate EMS.
• Small footprint, low power device.
• Does not require network connectivity
• Configurable coverage range (min 3 ft, max 3,000 ft)
• Flexible software controlled features
• 4 independent Beacon Cells in a single device