Indoor asset tracking

The problem

GPS stops at the building's door: inside the walls it can't tell the floor or the room. In hospitals, factories, and warehouses, the time wasted searching for equipment that's there but can't be found adds up to hours every week. Worse, a device may be declared lost and a replacement bought while it sits in another room. The problem isn't the loss itself but the lack of an up-to-date record of where each asset is.

How it works

1. The tagEach asset carries a small tag that sends out a periodic signal.
2. CaptureReceiver nodes spread across the rooms pick up the signal and measure its strength.
3. EstimationThe system compares the signal strength at each node to estimate the nearest room.
4. FilteringAveraging several readings stops the asset from appearing to jump between rooms due to signal fluctuation.
5. DisplayThe building map shows each asset in its current room.
6. AlertsAny asset leaving its permitted zone triggers an instant alert.

Project features

• It solves GPS's limitation indoors — a clear technical point for the committee.
• Tags are cheap, so dozens of assets can be covered at a reasonable cost.
• A history log shows where each asset was before, not just where it is now.
• The exit alert also turns the system into loss protection.
• It has real users: hospitals, warehouses, factories, and universities.

Expected challenges

These are the main obstacles to expect during the build, laid out clearly so you know them before you start.

• Signal strength is affected by walls, metal, and people — the hardest technical part.
• Room boundaries aren't clear to the system, so an asset near a door flips between two rooms.
• The tag's battery must last months, not days.
• Every extra node increases both accuracy and cost, so a balance is needed.
• Calibration differs from one building to another; there's no ready setting that fits every site.

The consultation gives you a solution for each one.

Expected committee questions

Prepare your answers in advance: these questions come up often in defenses of similar projects.

1. How is the room determined accurately from signal strength (RSSI)?
2. How does the system handle signal fluctuation caused by walls and people?
3. How long does the tag's battery last, and how was its power use reduced?
4. What positioning accuracy was achieved, and how was it measured?

Practice the defense, question by question