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We use Abeeway Compact Trackers connected via a ThingPark powered LoRaWAN network to track pallets. Our Application Server receives and decodes messages and stores the location coordinates in a DB so that the App Server can visualise the location history on request.

What would be the benefit of using a cloud-based location solver (e.g.: ThingPark X Location Engine) with this solution? Would that increase the location accuracy? Wouldn't it just add unnecessary complications to the platform?

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  • Those trackers have multiple ways of getting their position, including GPS (power hungry), WiFi or BLE scanning (useful in urban situations, mostly) and LoRaWAN-based. I suppose the last 3 require participation from the network or application server to convert WiFi or BLE SSIDs or LoRaWAN TDoA info into an actual position. Don't you actually need it (or already use it) to get the position in most cases? Of course it depends a lot on your use case (battery lifetime requirements, where the devices are, indoors or outdoors, urban settings or the middle of nowhere...).
    – jcaron
    Commented Sep 14, 2021 at 8:58
  • Beyond, GPS, we may do BLE sniffing for geofencing to check if the pallets are in the storage area. We can also utilizie the Gw Id that we receive as LoRaWAN meta data to detect at which site the pallet is located at. None of these technics require a loc solver. But a location solver can enable assisted GPS and apply filtering too. I am collecting all arguments and planning to answer my own question soon. Any other idea shared with me are appreciated.
    – Norbert Herbert
    Commented Sep 14, 2021 at 10:02

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If you use only GPS geolocation or a local BLE location solver, then a cloud service is not required. However if you want to benefit from assisted-GPS, or WiFi geolocation, then the ThingPark Location Engine (cloud based) is required.

The main benefit of Assisted-GPS is that the GPS chip will not need to wait to have acquired the full satellite information (which requires to have a good signal as this information is transmitted using modulation that requires good SNR): you will get a much faster fix from cold-start situation with assisted GPS (typically <10s versus over a minute), this is particularly noticeable if your application requires indoor-outdoor tracking, e.g. people tracking who get i and out of buildings. Shorter fix time means lower power, by an order of magnitude. This fix also has lower accuracy than a full GPs fix, because GPs does local avaraging before sending the location via LoRaWAN, which is not possible with A-GPS (so you get a single fix with AGPS). Assisted GPS is the only option if you use the LR1110 chip which is not a full GPS. All Abeeway trackers have a full GPS chip, which is used first in AGPS mode to get a shorter fix time, and then switch to full GPS when all satellite data is available so you get better accuracy if/when needed.

WiFi geolocation is very useful of course for indoor location, but also in urban area where it can be used typically in over 80% of the cases and also consumes a lot less power than GPS. Abeeway trackers can also use WiFi positioning, and this requires access to a cloud database (via ThingPark location).

The bottomline is that cloud services from ThingPark Location make Abeeway trackers much lower power and increase battery life, and also makes GPS location faster and more robust. Abeeway has a patent called "LP-GPS" with further enhances AGPS by solving independently for time leveraging LPWAN synchronicity, further reducing the fix time.

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