User's Manual

User Guide

WherePort III User Guide D948 Rev B

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4.1 Zones

In some applications it is not necessary to be able to determine the precise position of an

asset. All that is needed is to know when the asset is in one or more key zones of the

facility. Fewer antennas are required to define zones.

While accuracy may not be essential, reliability will be. By placing one or more

WherePorts in a zone, the system can reliably determine that a tag asset has entered and

is still in a zone.

4.2 Area Coverage

There may, however, be many areas where different activities occur that must be

monitored. Well positioned WherePorts can define these areas of interest by pinging

tagged assets as they enter them. Examples are assembly stations in a factory, loading

docks, or different types of rooms in a hospital. One or more WherePorts mounted at the

station will ping a tag whenever the tag enters the area. If more than one port is placed in

a large area, they must all have the same ID.

The WherePort can be particularly important if the structure of the facility

obstructs the line of sight visibility to location sensors or location antennas. The garages

in a repair facility may have metal walls. Multiple sensors, likely four, would need to be

mounted around the bay to guarantee a signal that locates a vehicle in the bay.

When more areas are to be monitored, more issues must be considered in planning

the location of the WherePorts.

• What will the orientation of the tag be as it moves through the area?

• Will tags be pinged while they are moving past but not through the area?

• Are there sources of interference that may restrict the capture area?

• Will WherePorts be close enough to each other that their fields may

overlap?

4.3 Portals

An additional complexity may arise if the best way to monitor assets is to detect when an

asset enters or leaves the area through a door, gate, or similar portal. WherePorts

mounted at the portals of these areas will ping a tag, indicating that the tagged asset has

passed through and is not in the area.