Dead Reckoning GPS Modules for Reliable IoT Asset Tracking

Business owners and managers can track inventory by using technologies and innovations like:

• Scanning barcodes,
• Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
• Bluetooth® Low Energy wireless technology location broadcasting
• High-accuracy GPS tags

However, what happens when satellite coverage is obscured by travel underground and through tunnels?

Modules that utilize dead reckoning technologies circumvent cellular and satellite reception problems. They accomplish this by linking navigation systems to other data-measuring devices. Untethered dead reckoning enables device location tracking. It can do this without connecting to additional data sources like a vehicle’s central control unit.

From Automotive Dead Reckoning to Untethered Dead Reckoning

Dead reckoning modules boost accuracy in areas where standard GPS or GNSS satellites cannot reach. They calculate a device’s future position by extrapolating information about past positions, travel speed and intended goals.

Therefore, dead reckoning software can cover signal gaps and allow asset tracking in places like:

• Urban canyons
• Tunnels
• Parking garages
• Occluded environments

Automotive dead reckoning (ADR) relies on input related to the number of a vehicle’s wheel turns, known as wheel ticks. It also requires a signal for the heading direction (forward or reverse). Hence, ADR chips must be connected to the vehicle’s central control unit to collect this information.

As the capabilities of DR chipsets expanded, an innovative technology has emerged: untethered dead reckoning (UDR). Using a built-in inertial measurement unit (IMU) and computational power, a UDR can resolve the device’s approximate position without wheel tick or heading data.

While UDR’s accuracy is usually less than ADR, it is still quite high. Moreover, its flexibility and minimal power consumption make it ideal for many use cases.

The Automotive Industry: The Top Dead Reckoning Beneficiary

The automotive industry remains the largest dead reckoning GPS module utilizer. When a satellite system fails, untethered dead reckoning modules like the SE868K5-DR deliver accurate, continuous location and precise timing. In addition, it supplies multiconstellation, multifrequency GNSS positioning when signal is available.

For the automotive industry, dead reckoning system benefits include:

• Collaborative satellite communication for better accuracy and precision
• No more dead signals when traveling into parking garages and tunnels
• Less confusion on highways with multiple lanes, overpasses and bridges
• Depth perception to determine vertical positioning in tall structures
• Less time wasted on faulty navigation and fuel
• Avoiding traffic jams
• More accurate arrival times for commuters
• Telematics improvement through secured goods and passengers
• Improved emergency vehicle response times
• Better map matching across blocked signal locations

Other industries are seeing the benefits of dead reckoning smart sensors as well. Organizations across verticals will find uses for dead reckoning IoT modules beyond asset tracking due to:

• Smaller devices
• Streamlined energy usage
• Declining module prices

IoT Dead Reckoning Benefits and Solutions for Asset Tracking

Dead reckoning amplifies IoT asset tracking strengths by providing positional information even when GNSS signals are weak or nonexistent. In turn, remote asset tracking can:

• Reduce risk
• Save money
• Create new revenue streams for any industry

Collecting and analyzing data saves companies money at every touchpoint, including logistics and loss prevention. IoT asset tracking lets businesses monitor:

• Speed
• Temperature
• Moisture
• Location

Augmented with dead reckoning technology, IoT asset tracking allows businesses to save more on their bottom line through:

• Improved prevention and recovery solutions
• Real-time location management
• Precision pinpointing
• New opportunities stemming from better time allocation

These industries are already seeing benefits from improved asset tracking:

Transportation and Fleet Management

Asset tracking in the transportation industry means vehicles and supplies aren’t lost in large operations. Environmental conditions (e.g., snow, sand and dense landscapes) can present huge problems for satellite signal strength and positioning. ADR and UDR can improve the security and visibility of asset transfers in harsh conditions.

Micromobility

One emerging use case for dead reckoning, particularly UDR, is micromobility. With the growth of rentable, IoT-connected scooters and e-bikes worldwide, managing large fleets of these devices can be challenging.

Micromobility vehicles typically contain GNSS modules for positioning. However, challenges arise when users park them in multilevel parking garages or areas the signal can’t reach. Adding a low-energy UDR chipset allows fleet managers to track and find these missing scooters and bikes.

Health Care

IoT modules play a significant role in the health care industry. Smart monitoring means that assets can be scanned for environmental factors like temperature. Shipping and receiving temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals and organs are vital to daily operations in the health care sector.

Smart cold chain and condition-monitoring solutions can reduce wasted and damaged food and drugs. Through dead reckoning’s modules and navigation satellites, emergency vehicles can:

• Reach their destinations more efficiently and accurately
• Avoid gridlocked traffic
• Relay critical information

Agriculture

Real-time alerts allow farmers to streamline their approach to livestock management. Using IoT sensors, GNSS-enabled asset tracking modules support livestock health by monitoring geographical position along with health information, including:

• Heart rate
• Blood pressure
• Reproductive cycles
• Temperature
• Digestion

Applying UDR to IoT GNSS modules enables farmers to locate livestock that have wandered “off the grid” or where overlapping signals are jamming the connection. Smart sensors keep animals safe and protected, no matter where or how fast they move.

Insurance

Car insurance companies can utilize asset tracking technology to monitor:

• Driving habits
• Store data
• Score drivers to reward behavior

This data is a cornerstone of the growing usage-based insurance (UBI) practice.

Data gaps with faulty navigation and uncharted areas are a thing of the past with ADR and UDR modules. Expect better, more accurate results, even in signal-losing parking garages where many accidents happen. Insurance companies can collect crucial data in real time without fear of inaccuracy.

Achieve Asset Tracking Success with Telit Cinterion

As a global pioneer in the IoT industry, Telit Cinterion offers a comprehensive GNSS module portfolio. You can connect to and manage them through a web-based IoT portal. GNSS modules like the SE868K5-DR positioning receiver are the simplest, most cost-effective way to implement location positioning technology for your project.

Speak with our IoT GNSS experts to discover how your business can benefit from dead reckoning GNSS modules.

Editor’s Note: This blog was originally published on 13 June 2018 and has since been updated.