Asset Tracking
Bluetooth at its limits
Order is an important building block for efficiency. The reality in production halls often looks different: Material is jumbled up in various forms on trolleys and forklifts, criss-crossing each other. The problems are exacerbated by limited space and a lack of space management. Ideally, however, tidiness, monitoring and maintenance can be tackled simultaneously in one project - as part of Industry 4.0 and asset tracking.
Information such as the location, status and position of assets is recorded with the help of IT systems and transmitters. Depending on the application, location and process, various technologies such as RFID, Bluetooth, Ultra Wideband or GPS can be used for asset tracking, even in combination. If there are a lot of metal materials in the storage areas, Bluetooth signals will quickly reach their limits on such walls and be reflected by surfaces.
The steel and metal industry in particular has problems because signals such as Bluetooth Low Energy interfere with metal. In addition, the trackers must have a high degree of stability in view of the extreme production environment. Under difficult environmental conditions, trackers specially adapted to the environment are required. For this reason, modern future technologies such as Ultra Wideband or RFID are recommended, especially in the steel and metal processing industry. Assets can be localized very precisely and further possibilities in the area of monitoring are opened up at the same time.
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