How Does Bluetooth Asset Tracking Work?

Asset Management is one of the major factors involved in running a successful business. Companies routinely manage their assets by monitoring them closely and keeping track of their overall performance. This is done by adopting a systematic approach so that the efficiency and productivity can be increased. Moreover, Asset Management is done by formulating plans and strategies within the company by assigning the task to a specialized team of Asset Managers or employing an external team of specialists who take a closer look at the assets and their functionality and devise methods to improve the operations and increase the profitability of the business.

In the past, Asset Management was done manually on paper by the specialists. It was not only a long and tedious task but the margin of error was also huge. With the advancement of technology, Asset Management has been made simple by using software and innovative technologies. In this article, we will focus on the most important feature of Asset Management: Asset Tracking.

WHY IS ASSET TRACKING IMPORTANT?

Asset Tracking is important to obtain real-time information of physical assets. These assets can be in the form of equipment, parcels, machines, vehicles and even humans. Asset tracking can be done both indoors and outdoors and has numerous benefits such as increasing employee efficiency and reducing extra costs. There are various methods of Asset tracking such as Barcode, QR code, RFID, NFC and Bluetooth technology.

WHY IS BLUETOOTH TECHNOLOGY TRENDING?

Bluetooth Asset Tracking is a technology that is being widely used as it doesn’t require a lot of components or infrastructure and can be easily done via small hardware transmitters and smartphones. It is a smart and low-cost tracking solution. As Bluetooth technology consists of a simple wireless network, it works efficiently on reduced power.

HOW DOES BLUETOOTH ASSET TRACKING WORK?

Bluetooth tracking functions with the help of three major components:

HARDWARE- Bluetooth Beacons

First of all, a small amount of data is transmitted by the help of battery-powered transmitters which are known as Bluetooth Beacons. The drawback of these Bluetooth Beacons is that their range of transmission is short, up to a few hundreds of meters. On the other hand, they consume much less power so power efficiency and short-range go hand in hand.

GATEWAY- Bluetooth Readers

The data being transmitted by the Bluetooth Beacons is received and read by the Bluetooth Readers. These readers in turn transmit the information about the asset location to the tracking applications. A Bluetooth Reader sends information to the servers by using internet and acts as a gateway between the hardware and software component of Bluetooth Asset Tracking System. . Hence, a Bluetooth Reader provides the real-time tracking of assets by continuously giving updates about the asset locations to the tracking applications.

SOFTWARE- Tracking Applications

Finally, the information that is being sent by the Bluetooth Beacon and received by the Bluetooth Reader is displayed on the Tracking Application. These applications can be used to monitor the exact location of the assets.

WHAT ARE THE USES OF BLUETOOTH ASSET TRACKING?

Some of the major uses of Bluetooth Asset Tracking are:

• Asset Tracking
• Asset Monitoring
• Asset Management
• Asset Utilization

Some of the major cost-saving features of Bluetooth Asset Tracking are:

• No need to install additional gateways
• No complex installation processes
• No maintenance costs
• No expensive hardware costs

Some of the major advantages of Bluetooth Asset tracking are:

• Low power consumption
• Easy to use and implement
• Tracking can be done on smartphones
• Real-time Tracking
• Fast and efficient
• Reduce asset theft

Let us discuss briefly the Power Consumption, Speed and Coverage of the Bluetooth technology.

Power Consumption

A Bluetooth Beacon generally comes with a lithium battery that is powerful and is low-maintenance; it can last for up to two years. Moreover, these batteries are replaceable and are the major cost-saving feature of this tracking system.

Speed of Data Transmission

The speed of data transmission using the Bluetooth technology is almost double as compared to the other methods. Data is transmitted and updated at a fast rate and this makes the tracking procedure fast and efficient.

Coverage Range

If we compare the Bluetooth technology with other types of asset tracking systems such as QR Code Scanning, Radio Frequency Identification (RFI), Near Field Communication (NFC), the coverage range is up to 4 times better.

WHERE CAN ‘BLUETOOTH ASSET TRACKING’ BE USED?                                   

Bluetooth Asset tracking can be used in various industries such as:

Manufacturing Industries: Asset tracking can be used to track goods from the production lines to the areas where the goods are being dispatched.

Logistics: Asset tracking is very crucial in tracking the assets as they are transported from the warehouse to the delivery points. Tracking ensures safe delivery, effortless navigation and customer satisfaction.

Medical Industry: Asset tracking helps the medical staff and doctors to find the equipment easily and utilize it efficiently, saving precious time for both the medical staff and the patients. Moreover, it also helps in monitoring the supply of assets and increases cost-efficiency.

CONCLUSION

Bluetooth Asset Tracking system is a highly efficient system that quickly locates, monitors, and tracks high-volume assets. It is cost-effective as well low maintenance. The tracking results are accurate and real-time, and the updates are regular and uninterrupted. Therefore, this tracking system is a modern system that can help a business grow and support timely business decisions. Like all other technologies and systems, tracking based on Bluetooth comes with its share of disadvantages as well. These may include short-range data transmissions; this means that the tracking service would stop as soon as you go out of the coverage range. Moreover, it is likely that data transmission becomes slow in crowded places. Moreover, Bluetooth security is also considered to be weak as compared to Wi-Fi or other wireless systems and therefore, the threat of a hacker gaining access to the sensitive information can also not be ignored.

In summary, Bluetooth Asset Tracking has many advantages and with the advancements in technology, the few loopholes that are a part of it can be dealt with successfully.