FAQ¶

Location Services APIs¶

What prerequisites are required for Location Intelligence?¶

An Enlighted lighting system designed to meet Enlighted IoT design guidelines running on a cloud-based Energy Manager. The facility must be equipped with the latest Gen 5 sensor hardware. Location Intelligence is powered by AWS using off-the-shelf asset and badge tags with BLE capabilities to communicate with Enlighted sensors.

How accurate is Location Intelligence?¶

There is no indoor location system that can provide 100% accuracy, 100% of the time due to physics and technology constraints. Multiple factors affect the performance of the BRI system, such as: sensor density, building material composition, number of tags actively in use in each area, and RF interference.

The room-level accuracy can increase to above 98% with 10-15s delay when rooms are well defined and have solid walls. The RF permeability of building materials, zone size and sensor density all have an impact on room-level accuracy. Unlike other RTLS systems which may experience degraded performance with thicker building materials, our machine-learning based algorithm with BLE fingerprinting benefits from solid walls. Reduced RF permeability helps identify the room with higher certainty.

Is historical location data available?¶

Both live time and one year of historical data are available on the Location Intelligence application, BlueGPS. Location Intelligence APIs ingested by third-party software provide live data only.

What is a streaming API, and how does it work?¶

A streaming API is a web service that provides a continuous flow of data in real-time. It allows clients to establish a connection and receive updates as soon as they occur. This is achieved through websocket or other streaming protocols, ensuring that clients are always up to date with the latest information.

What are the benefits of using a streaming API over traditional polling requests?¶

Streaming APIs eliminate the need for clients to repeatedly send requests to the server to fetch updates. Instead, the server pushes updates to connected clients as soon as they are available, reducing latency and network traffic. This is especially useful for time-sensitive applications.

What are common use cases for streaming APIs in location-based services?¶

Streaming APIs are valuable for various use cases, including asset tracking, space optimization, occupancy monitoring, and real-time location services. They enable applications to respond immediately to events like zone changes, button presses, or motion detections.

How often should I refresh my credentials when using a streaming API?¶

The frequency of refreshing credentials depends on the API and your specific use case. Some APIs may require more frequent updates than others. It's essential to review the API's documentation to determine the recommended refresh interval.

Are there any best practices for optimizing the use of a streaming API in my application?¶

Best practices include efficient use of filters, managing data subscriptions, handling errors gracefully, and ensuring your application can handle bursts of incoming data. Consult the API's documentation and consider load testing your application for robustness.