What is Bluetooth AoA?

Bluetooth AoA positioning is a relatively new indoor positioning technology that benefits from the introduction of the Bluetooth 5.1 standard. The Bluetooth 5.1 standard introduced the AoA feature, where AoA positioning algorithm, also known as Angle-of-Arrival (AoA), is a positioning algorithm based on the angle at which Bluetooth signals arrive.

Technical Principles of Bluetooth AoA

The Angle-of-Arrival (AoA) method utilizes a single antenna to transmit direction-finding signals, while the receiving device has a built-in antenna array. When the signal passes through, phase differences are generated due to the different distances received in the array, which then calculates the relative signal direction. In contrast, the Angle-of-Departure (AoD) method involves devices with fixed-position antenna arrays sending signals to a single antenna terminal, allowing the terminal to calculate the wave direction based on the received signal for positioning. The receiving end is typically completed using AoA base stations, which can be single or multiple base stations.

Single Base Station Positioning

A single base station calculates the actual heading angle/pitch angle of the tag to obtain a unique ray. Based on the determined tag height, a single base station can calculate a unique spatial absolute coordinate, with better positioning accuracy the closer it is to the base station.

Multi-Base Station Positioning

Building upon single base station positioning, multiple base stations combined can cover a larger area, enhancing the level of positioning accuracy.

AOA vs UWB

There are various positioning technologies available, with AoA and UWB being the only ones capable of achieving sub-meter high-precision positioning.

Similarities:

• High positioning accuracy
• High real-time performance

Key Differences:

• BLE tags have better compatibility with devices such as smartphones, smart bands, and Beacon terminals, while UWB requires specific UWB tags.
• BLE tags have lower power consumption and cost compared to UWB tags.
• BLE deployment complexity is lower than UWB tags.

Advantages of Bluetooth AoA

Based on the comparison above, several key advantages of Bluetooth AoA technology can be summarized:

• High Precision: Capable of achieving centimeter-level positioning accuracy, more precise than traditional positioning technologies.
• Low Power Consumption: Utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy technology to maintain lower energy consumption while achieving precise positioning.
• Real-Time: Provides real-time location information, supporting quick responses and updates.
• Cost-Effective: Relative to other high-precision positioning technologies, Bluetooth AoA technology is cost-effective and suitable for large-scale deployments.

Technical Challenges of Bluetooth AoA

Despite its journey towards a mature market, Bluetooth AoA still faces some challenges:

• Environmental Interference: Factors like signal interference and multipath effects may affect signal transmission and positioning accuracy, requiring additional processing and calibration.
• Range Limitations: The positioning range of Bluetooth AoA technology is limited by the placement of device antennas and signal transmission distance, potentially limiting its application in large-scale positioning requirements.
• Technical Standardization: Currently, Bluetooth AoA technology is still in the development stage, with aspects such as standardization and device compatibility still requiring improvement and standardization.

Applications of Bluetooth AoA

The high-precision positioning and low power consumption characteristics of Bluetooth AoA technology play a crucial role in various application scenarios, providing more possibilities and solutions for smart applications.

Smart Retail:

• Real-time navigation for indoor guidance and floor map searches using Bluetooth AoA.
• Precise marketing by providing location information and promotional offers of target stores to enhance user shopping experiences.
• Customer flow insights through accurate statistics of foot traffic at various entrances/exits for visualizing historical traffic patterns in the backend.

Healthcare:

• Outpatient navigation for precise indoor navigation solutions using Bluetooth AoA to help users quickly locate required consultation rooms, operating rooms, or other service areas.
• Patient monitoring by having critically ill or special patients wear Beacon wristbands to send distress signals to medical staff for immediate patient location identification and safety assurance.
• Employee management by determining the locations of staff through carrying badges or devices, tracking real-time operational trajectories, supervising work statuses, and ensuring personnel safety conditions.

Other Application Areas:

• Warehousing and Logistics: Low-cost, high-precision positioning with seamless integration of location information into ERP/PMS/WMS systems for significantly improved efficiency.
• Transportation: Leveraging location data value to enhance intelligent traffic management and personalized services.
• Smart Factory: Personnel and equipment management positioning for achieving high efficiency and automation lean under low power consumption.
• Smart Tourism: Mobile navigation, precise positioning, and new value of tourism location data.
• Smart Building: High-precision indoor positioning of personnel and assets for scientific building management.

Future Development of Bluetooth AoA

Since the birth of Bluetooth technology, it has steadily developed to date, leveraging its outstanding technical characteristics. Bluetooth technology has enabled secure, flexible, low-power, and cost-effective communication among various digital devices, bringing convenience to smart living and working environments. Bluetooth technology has established a vast ecosystem supporting the development and application of various scenarios. Thanks to the widespread application of Bluetooth technology and ecosystem support, Bluetooth AoA technology is expected to continue to evolve and be widely applied.

Introduction of Feasycom's AoA Kit

Feasycom's Bluetooth AoA K3 Kit is a high-precision Bluetooth device based on Bluetooth AoA technology, serving as an RTLS evaluation tool. It includes 1 AoA gateway and 6 tags. The advantages of the K3 kit include:

• Low communication overhead in positioning algorithms, requiring fewer base stations.
• High positioning accuracy of 0.1-1m.
• Real-time location monitoring, historical trajectories, and open APIs.
• Simple deployment and installation, with base stations being PoE powered.
• User-friendly software for simulating deployments based on site size diagrams.

Watch the demonstration: