Quick Start Guide

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WISER Systems, Inc. 819 W Hargett St

www.wisersystems.com Raleigh, NC 27603

Chapter 1. Setting up the System

1.1 Physical Setup

This setup assumes you have five Antennas. Four or more of these Antennas will establish

the mesh. One will be plugged into the base station laptop; this Antenna also contributes

to the mesh. One Antenna may serve as a roaming device.

First, identify an area within which you wish to track, such as a small shop floor or office

space. It is helpful to have a to-scale image of the floorplan (BMP, PNG, JPG) of the area

pre-loaded onto your computer for use in the software program. In the absence of your

own to-scale image, the software provides an infinite grid and scale so you can determine

distances quickly and accurately.

Next, position the Antennas in a rough square to form your tracking perimeter. When

selecting Antenna positions, keep in mind the availability of power, height, distances

between Antennas, and the shape of the perimeter being formed by Antenna placement.

One of these Antennas should be plugged into a USB port on the computer that will run

the WISER software.

Note that operating distance varies indoors depending on the density of large objects and

walls. The spacing of the Antennas can typically be much farther apart in large, open

spaces with direct line-of-sight between the Antennas. Typically, spacing of no more than

50 feet indoors yields the best performance. Outdoors, spacing can usually be much

larger, with an upper bound of more than 150 feet.

For optimal performance, place Antennas 10 to 15 feet above the floor with a clear line-of-

sight between each other and the tracked items. Note: Antennas and Tracker Tags do not

require line-of-sight for tracking, though it typically helps system performance. The UWB

pulse will be able to penetrate most interior walls, but not metal sheeting.

After positioning them, power four or more of the Antennas. Antennas can be plugged

into USB power banks or AC power adapters; one Antenna will be powered by being

plugged directly into a computer. They can also draw power over Ethernet (PoE), which

typically works best for more complicated installations.

Note: Some USB power banks intelligently sense power draw and turn off automatically if

there is not enough power drawn. WISER devices use very little power, so some power banks

may shut off prematurely. If using your own batteries, choose one that remains on at least a

minute after a device is plugged in.

The images below show the Antenna plugged into a USB power bank and into a standard

AC power adapter: