The document outlines Kontakt.io's Bluetooth-based real-time location system (RTLS) for tracking assets and people, emphasizing its low cost and ease of integration. It discusses various use cases and benefits, such as analyzing employee efficiency and equipment utilization, while providing specific API endpoints for accessing tracking data. Additionally, it highlights the system's capability for raw data streaming and real-time alerts, making it suitable for operational process improvements.

1. #kontakt_io
Kontakt.io
Real Time Asset
Tracking with
Bluetooth
Adrian Łukawski
Steffen von Bünau
January 18th, 2017

3. Overview: Bluetooth based Real Time Location
System (RTLS)
Bluetooth Low Energy
● Accuracy/reading distance: 4 m (room level)
● Battery life: 11 months for card beacons, 2+ years for tough beacons

4. Benefits of a Real Time Location System
● Information on location of assets or people does not create value in and of itself.
● Location information is the most powerful tool for approximating metrics
important to enterprises. For example,
○ How much time are employees spending performing certain tasks and what
can be done to improve efficiency?
○ What is the utilization rate of important equipment?
○ How does the utilization of space change over time?
○ Is an individual spending too much time in a hazardous or unauthorized
area?

5. RTLS: Value beyond a blue dot on a map

6. RTLS: Benefits of the Bluetooth stack
LOW COST
Build a Real-Time Location System at 1/5th the cost of competing
positioning technologies such as active RFID or WiFi.
EASY INTEGRATION
Launch faster by building an asset positioning solution on
Kontakt.io’s scalable Rest API.
NO HASSLE
Ease maintenance and additional costs by leveraging hardware
designed to be reliable and integrate seamlessly.

7. Kontakt.io cloud platform overview
https://developer.kontakt.io

8. Kontakt.io REST APIs overview
Kontakt.io Proximity REST API Location Engine REST API
URL: https://api.kontakt.io https://ovs.kontakt.io
System
specification:
● Bluetooth device management
● Fail fast
● Processing Gateway data
● Failure tolerant
Use cases: ● Manage beacon structure
● Beacon configuration
● Battery power saving
● Beacon battery alarms
● Secure shuffling
● Analytics
● Real-time data
● Triggers

9. How does the Location Engine work?
Under The Hood - Process Flow:

10. Location Engine architecture

11. Static part: analytics
How does it work?
● Received data is sliced into intervals and
stored in Location Engine database
How to use it?
● Analyze asset or item presence
● Analyze time spent by asset in areas
● Static analysis
● Operational process improvements
● Process bottleneck detection
● Asset movement analysis
● Not appropriate for real-time use cases

12. HTTP endpoints
GET /presence
Returns devices’ presence in given period of time.
This resource is the basis for other analytics
calculations.
Use cases:
Simple presence checks:
● Is an employee currently at a workstation?
● Is a package or item in the warehouse or
out for delivery?
● Who was in a room before you?
JSON Response:
{
"searchMeta":{
...
},
"presence":[
{
"timestamp":1484472600,
"sourceId":"GATWY1",
"trackingId":"BGVU",
"rssi":-79,
"proximity":"FAR",
"scanType":"BLE"
}
]
}

13. HTTP endpoints
GET /presence/dwelltime/item
- where was a beacon tag over time?
Returns time beacon tags spent in range
of specified Gateways.
Use cases:
● Path traveled by assets
● Process flow overview
● Process improvement insights
● Bottleneck detection
JSON Response:
{
"searchMeta":{
...
},
"dwellTimes":[
{
"trackingId":"BGVU",
"receivers":[
{
"sourceId":"GATWY1",
"proximity":"FAR",
"startTimestamp":1484472600,
"endTimestamp":1484482500
}
]
}
]
}

14. HTTP endpoints
GET /presence/contact - which
beacon tags were near other tags?
Use cases:
● Asset movement analysis
● Process flow overview
● Improve communication in office space
● Improve desk position in office space
● Monitor which packages have been jointly
transported
JSON Response:
{
"searchMeta":{
...
},
"contacts":[
{
"startTimestamp":1477549740,
"endTimestamp":1477549750,
"sourceId":"7ed6de42ca37fc602b310cc6bbdbcfdc",
"trackingIds":[
"PHvc",
"NWId",
"OcPC",
"NZsJ",
"SOT9",
"VKGx",
"dQYM"
]
}
]
}

15. Items
“Thanks to ‘item’ you can get important conclusions easily.
It helps you describe assets and compare them to one another.”
GET /presence/contact?
q=category==HUMAN&properties.age>=20
GET /presence/dwelltime?
q=(properties.department==DEP1|properties.department==DEP2)&properties.tool==SAW1

16. Dynamic part: real-time data processing
How does it work?
Real-time raw proximity data delivered directly from
your Gateways all over the world.
Instant actions can be triggered by your beacon tag
infrastructure.
How to use it?
● Raw data streaming
● Monitoring BLE infrastructure
● Notifications
● Alarms
● IFTTT

17. If you need notifications about
your infrastructure or actions, use
triggers. Triggers work according
the rule “If This Then That.”
Use cases:
● Entry or exit notifications
● Health & Safety alarms
● Assurance that asset is in
place
● Alert that asset is out of place
Dynamic part: Triggers

18. JSON WebSocket payload:
[
{
"timestamp" : 1481625272,
"sourceId" : "GVQ4F",
"trackingId": "sojk",
"rssi" : -93,
"proximity" : "FAR",
"scanType" : "BLE"
}
]
Thanks to raw data streams you can process
proximity data from all your Gateways in real-time.
Use cases:
● Custom analytics (analytics outside of
Kontakt.io)
● Specific events flow processing (as needed by
your business logic)
● Integration of other systems and data sources
● Real-time infrastructure monitoring
● Storing data outside Kontakt.io infrastructure
Dynamic part:
raw data stream

19. Combine, Mix, Enjoy!
Other examples:
● Send triggers to API to change configuration
● Use company data to improve processes - compare examples
● Automatically update item properties (e.g. via triggers)
● Use items for more efficient analysis

21. #kontakt_io
January 18th, 2017
Thank you.
Please get in touch with your questions and
feedback at any time:
Steffen von Bünau
s.buenau@kontakt.io
+49 176 82092631
Thank you