Tracking & Sensor Tags

There are different kinds of tags: Tracking Tags, Sensor Tags and the combination of both. One could argue that you could also have a non-trackable tag that does not provide sensor data but we believe that this is not the kind of device we want to manage.

Tags do not directly participate in a mesh network. Only Mesh Nodes are able to form a mesh network. Mesh Nodes need to be installed at fixed positions. Tags are able to move around but you are also able to set them to a fixed position in our platform if you know that they will be permanently installed in your building.

Tracking tags (previously called Assets) are something that you put on valuable things (aka. assets). Some of our tracking tags also offer additional sensors such as temperature, barometric pressure, etc,…​. You will be able to always see their current position in your building, have a historized view of their movement and if they have, check their sensor values over time.

Sensor tags are used in the same way, except that you can set them to a fixed position in your building. They will not report their position to our platform and you can simply see the current sensor values and also get charts on how these values have changed over time. A good example would be our BlueRange CO2 Sensor Tag that we offer.

Tags that come with our BlueRange firmware offer a wide range of benefits in comparison to other tags that are not equipped with BlueRange firmware. Some of these benefits are:

Nevertheless, our system can also be used to track other tags such as tags that broadcast Eddystone or iBeacon messages. Please contact us for further information.

One of our upcoming tracking tags uses an inertial navigation system. This will greatly improve our tracking accuracy and responsiveness for when this tag is moving. The tag uses a number of sensors to determine its movement and calculates a movement path with this information. This information is fused with other information from our tracking system. Stay tuned!

Any tag can be equipped with a number of sensors. It can collect these sensor values and send them to our platform once it is connected by our mesh network. A tag can broadcast its intention to send sensor data to the platform. You will then be able to view this information in our platform as you would be with other sensor data from Mesh Nodes.

Tags or Beacons from other vendors work in different ways. Some only broadcast something as simple as an iBeacon Message while others send out sensor data as well. Some can be configured with a 3rd party app, others not. If you are interested in knowing whether a specific tag can be used with our platform, do not hesitate to contact us.

Tags that are equipped with BlueRange firmware typically use the deviceType ASSET in our platform. In our firmware, there are two different device types DEVICE_TYPE_ASSET and DEVICE_TYPE_LEAF (see Device Type Specification) that might be used depending on the power consumption and data throughput needs. Make sure to also look at the firmware documentation if you plan to implement a custom firmware.

Tags can be enrolled into any network of your organization and they will be able to roam freely between these networks. They do not have a continuous connection to a mesh network but will rather be contacted from time to time if data needs to be transferred. You can chose to enroll your tags into several networks where they will be typically located or maybe recharged, a kind of Home Network, or you can chose to enroll all of them in a single network. This does not affect the asset tracking.

For more information on the enrollment, see the See Enrollment chapter.