The ResearchAndMarkets has added a new report that analyzes the specifics of indoor communications and localization. Though the focus of the report is public safety applications, the majority of findings relate to a wider spectrum of use cases (communications and localization) in the indoor environment.
The report, titled - Indoor Wireless Coverage and Objects Localization, addresses the specifics of wireless communications and localization technologies that support first responders and other users' activities inside of enclosures such as buildings, tunnels, and similar structures. It also addresses related industries, applicable standards, and markets. The report is also relevant to other users' cases related to indoor communications and localization.
Increasingly, public safety entities, commercial wireless service providers, and wireless users require reliable indoor communications. For public safety, reliable coverage is often essential throughout a broad jurisdiction, including coverage on-street, in-building, and in-tunnel. In such cases, there is no substitute for a properly designed dedicated mission-critical communications system with sufficient transmit sites to provide the level of signal required for reliable coverage anywhere within the jurisdiction, whether on-street or indoors.
Indoor wireless communications environments usually do not allow using traditional PSC (Public Safety Communications) networking based on TETRA, P25 or LTE. Building materials attenuate signals and this makes communications unreadable. Localization based on GPS techniques is becoming also questionable due to weak satellite signals inside of a construction.
All these factors make it necessary to develop special methods to extend outdoor communications channels inside of enclosures. Two such methods are analyzed in this report, and they are based on utilization:
- Small Cells: The Small Cell base stations are small in size, lightweight and designed to serve up to several tens of users. They may be conveniently spread throughout a building, covering each corridor, hall, corners and so on. The technology relatively recently became commercialized and brought multiple benefits to users.
- DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems): DAS is used for in-building signal distributions for at least twenty years. The report concentrates on advances in this technology, its specifics, and issues.
Standard organization's activities, the in-depth market analysis and survey of the industry are also included in this report. There are multiple methods suggested for in-building localization of first responders as well as other people or objects in the operational area. They are based on the utilization of sensors, RF signatures in a building, amplification of GPS signals and others. The report concentrates on commercialized methods and provides details of their advantages and issues. The report also addresses the marketing aspects of in-building localization and surveys patents related to indoor localization.
Click here to read the full report.
