PinPoint Corporation System Hardware Introduction
FCC REGULATIONS This system complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. WARNINGS Changes or modifications not expressely approved by PinPoint Corporation could void the users authority to operate the equipment.
Contents
Section 1: Introduction to the System WELCOME Welcome to the 3D-iD system. The 3D-iD system is an LPS (Local Positioning System) designed to take asset and personnel tracking to the next level. Where GPS supplies global, outdoor, positioning data, the 3D-iD LPS system provides local, indoor and outdoor, positioning data. In addition, the system comes with a variety of tools that enable you to track and monitor tagged assets in threedimensional space.
HOW THE 3D-ID SYSTEM WORKS: The 3D-iD system is comprised of two basic parts, a hardware and a software system. The combination of the two systems allows tags to be located, tracked and secured throughout an installation site. The hardware side of the system generates Tag Antenna Distance (TAD) data, while the software side of the system converts that data to other forms, and presents it to the end-user. The hardware side of the system consists of three parts: Tags, Antennas and Cell Controllers.
Detailed information about the ViewPoint Server is available in the Users Manual. In brief, ViewPoints NT Services (which are programs that run in the background on the server, and require no user input) receive the TAD data. These services then use lookup tables created by the user when the software system is setup to convert the TAD data into Location (LOC) and Alert (ALR) data. The services then publish that data to various client applications which end-users use to view specific data.
HOW THE HARDWARE WORKS: The purpose of PinPoints 3D-iDs hardware system is to determine the distance between tags and antennas. There are three elements involved in this process. The first two are the tags and the antennas. The third is the cell controller, which coordinates the actions of the tags and antennas and interprets their signals. Each tag is on (and detectable) for a very short period of time.
. By cycling constantly, the Cell Controller repeats the process for every tag within reach of its antennas. The 3D-iD tags are designed using L3RF technology. They are designed for Long range, Long battery life and Low cost. In an open environment, a tag can be seen at more than 100 feet. This is a far greater distance than traditional RFID tracking technologies can offer. In addition, a tags battery typically lasts over 1 year. With some configurations, a tags battery can last over 5 years.
While the 3D-iD system benefits from the strenths of L3RF technology, it must be kept in mind that various factors can negatively influence the effectiveness of the system. Shorter chirp rates - the rates at which the tag announces its presence - will result in shorter battery lives. In addition, microwave ovens, thick walls and metal surfaces - among other things - can significantly impact an Antennas effective range.
RULE SETS A brief examination of rule sets is suggested before the installation overview is begun. While the technician who carries out the site survey will define the location rule set for the site, an understanding of what rule sets are is very important. Rule Sets define how the software side of the 3D-iD system interprets TAD data. An end-user has very little use for TAD data in and of itself.
TAD data is converted to LOC data by means of a Location Rule Set. The first kind of Rule Set is called a Location Rule Set. A Location Rule Set works by reading in TAD data and testing it against a list of user-defined statements. Each statement is associated with a Location. These statements are descriptions of locations in terms of TAD data.
Entry: The Entry Alert is triggered when the associated Tag enters a particular location. Exit: The Exit Alert is triggered when the associated Tag exits a particular location. Stationary: The Stationary Alert is triggered when the associated Tag remains in the indicated location for a set period of time. TimeOut: The Timeout alert is fired when a Tag was last heard from in the indicated location, but has not been heard from in any location for a set period of time.
Section 2: Installation Planning CUSTOMER CONSULTATION The first step in setting up a 3D-iD Installation is the customer consultation. A customers needs must be assessed before any hardware placement work can begin. There is a series of questions that must be answered before work can proceed. The following are the questions which must be answered: WHAT TYPE OF COVERAGE IS REQUIRED? There are several basic types of coverage.
WHAT TYPES OF ASSETS ARE TO BE TAGGED, AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE? There is a tradeoff between a tags reporting rates and the amount of time required to track them. In a situation where there are 500 tags, each reporting every second, and all within the domain of a single cell controller, the Cell Controller will have a difficult time tracking the tags quickly. If, however, those 500 tags are reporting in every 3 seconds the Cell Controller will be able to see all of them far more quickly.
INITIAL SITE SURVEY Once the customers requirements have been examined, a site survey can be carried out. While we will briefly explain what the survey is and why it is done, referral to a PinPoint technician for your actual site survey is highly recommended. As the process is extremely complicated, our technicians are very practiced at it and effective at quickly and accurately completing it.
PHYSICAL INSTALLATION The physical installation of the 3D-iD system involves the placement of 4 components. These include, as mentioned in the Installation Planning section, the Antennas, Cell Controllers and Servers. In addition, tags must be attached to assets. While extensive documentation on the actual installation of all of these elements is available in the packaging for each element, a brief explanation of the installation process is included below.
CELL CONTROLLERS 1. 2. 3. Place the Cell Controller in the location determined earlier. Ensure that the Cell Controller has adequate ventilation. Attach the power and network cabling to the Cell Controller. ANTENNA/CELL CONTROLLER CABLING For each Cell Controller/Antenna combination: 1. String cable from the Cell Controller towards the Antenna. Leave 1-2 feet of cable at the Cell Controller.
3D-ID SERVER The 3D-iD Server is perhaps the most complex element to install. Detailed information is available on the ViewPoint installation process with the ViewPoint documentation. The below is a greatly (perhaps too much so) simplified Server installation process. Once you have located an appropriate PC for a primary server and it has been placed on the same subnet as the Cell Controllers: 1. Both DHCP and IIS must be loaded and configured. 2. The 3D-iD server software must be installed on the system.
INSTALLATION VERIFICATION There are tools that can be used to test whether an installation is functioning correctly. The bulk of those tools are accessible through software. Detailed assistance with those tools is available in the software documentation. However, a summary follows below. Cell Controller Waveform Viewer this Cell Controller based applet, accessible from the Configurator, displays waveform data from the Cell Controllers antennas.
Section 3. Equipment Descriptions and Specifications TAGS The tag is one of three key elements in the PinPoint 3D-iD hardware system. PinPoint 3D-iD Tags are radio frequency tags that are mounted onto assets or people that are to be tracked. Each tag contains a 2-structure antenna in the opposite configuration of the PinPoint 3D-iD Antenna, but at 500 milliwatts of power. The tags 5.
500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 50 100 0 Seconds A Tags chirp length is 2.3ms. While a Tag is chirping, it is responding to incoming signals. A Tag can only be detected by an antenna Time to See All Tags only while it is chirping. Tags chirp asynchronously, 60.0 meaning they are not syn50.0 chronized to the reader or Average 40.0 to each other. To prevent 90.0% 30.0 99.0% two Tags from continuously 20.0 99.9% chirping in synchronization, 10.0 the chirping interval 0.
System performance depends on the number of Tags in range of individual cell controllers, and whether the Tags chirp frequently or infrequently. For example, if 50 Tags within range of a single Cell Controller are configured to chirp at the default rate of 3 seconds, there is a 99% chance of seeing a specific tag within 5 seconds, and a 99% chance of seeing all Tags within 8 seconds. With 100 Tags, these values increase to 6 and 12 seconds, respectively.
PinPoint T20 Tags can be read at a distance of 80 meters (250 feet) under ideal conditions. This specification provides margin for the Tag to be read in a wide variety of typical indoor conditions, such as through walls. Specifically, the Tag is designed to be powerful enough to be read through sheet rock walls, but lacks the power to be read through concrete and metal typically found in floor construction.
CELL CONTROLLERS The Cell Controller acts as the brains for the PinPoint hardware system. The PinPoint Cell Controller is an active network peripheral, which transmits and receives a radio frequency signal through attached antennas. This signal is returned from a 3D-iD tag and translated by the Cell Controller into Tag Antenna Distance information (TAD data). The translated TAD data is then sent from the Cell Controller to a server via standard TCP / IP over an Ethernet LAN.
HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: A PinPoint 3D-iD Cell Controller (code named C20) includes: 4 x 4 switching antenna cards a 10 / 100 BT network interface card a power cord and PinPoint 3D-iD Cell Controller Software version 1.0 or higher TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
ANTENNAS The antenna actually broadcasts messages to the tags and receives the tags responses. The antennas are designed to work exclusively with the PinPoint 3D-iD Cell Controller. The antenna is composed of 2 structures, one designed to transmit and one to receive. The transmit structure broadcasts a 2.4 GHz radio frequency signal at 1 watt of power generated from the Cell Controller. When this signal is picked up by a 3D-iD tag, the tag responds with a 5.
VIEWPOINT SERVERS TheViewPoint Server is an active network peripheral which uses Microsofts DHCP server services to assign IP addresses to PinPoint cell controllers, receive tag / antenna / distance (TAD) information from the cell controllers and deliver TAD and alert data to client connected to the local area network. The server uses standard TCP / IP protocol, and, unless a router is installed, must be on the same LAN segment as the cell controller.
VIEWPOINT CLIENTS The ViewPoint Clients are Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 2000 or NT machines connected to the local area network via TCP / IP protocol, and running the ViewPoint 3D-iD Client software. 3D-iD clients will be able to track, locate and secure tagged assets and people by running any of the client application installed on the machine, these include: Location Viewer which allows the user to view Tag Locations by area.
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