Chapter 9

Locating at Room Level

In This Chapter

Knowing how room-level locating works

Locating at room level in hospitals and schools

Understanding the underlying technologies

For many applications, you need to know the exact location of a person or asset; for others, your needs can be satisfied by just knowing what room a person or asset is in. This kind of location reporting — in which location is reported as an abstract idea of where something is — is called symbolic locating. Room-level locating is a prime example of symbolic locating; location is reported in reference to the room that a person or asset is in or near.

For many places of businesses — such as hospitals, hotels, and schools — a room identifier plays a significant role as a location indicator (for example, Operation Theater I, Waiting Room, Room #21, Exercise Room, Break Room, and so on). When you need to know where a person or asset is, a room number (or room name) is much easier to understand and find than a set of coordinates. Because of this, room-level (or subroom-level) locating has always received special attention from researchers and vendors.

Understanding the Methods of Locating at Room Level

You can use an RTLS to determine the room a person or asset is located in via a process called locating at room level. You can locate at room level in the following ways:

Using choke points: You can achieve room-level locating by creating choke points at the entrance and exit of every room. Using choke points ...

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