Technology is the greatest achievement of extraordinary human imagination. In terms of location and navigation technology, GPS (Global Positioning System), which delivers precise position outdoors based on satellite signals, was a major leap forward in the 20th century, while IPS (Indoor Positioning System) opened up a whole new world within indoor environments where GPS doesn’t work properly. In this article, we’ll introduce you to indoor positioning system and outline the different technologies available.
Indoor positioning, also referred to as indoor location tracking, is a network of devices used to locate people or objects within an enclosed space where GPS signals are not strong enough. Simply put, it can be explained as ‘Indoor GPS’. Just like GPS helps people locate objects anywhere on the earth, IPS does the same but in large indoor spaces like train stations, shopping malls, hospitals, and underground locations. An indoor positioning system gives you the ability to accurately pinpoint the location of objects inside a building, typically via a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet.
IPS can be essential to enhance your indoor positioning experience. It is estimated that approximately 90% of a person’s time is spent indoors, so there remains a strong demand for technologies to deliver indoor location services, and this is as well as a big market opportunity for IPS technology vendors. IPS may not be a necessity for daily routines, but it’s absolutely necessary when accessing environments that you’re unfamiliar with, especially in emergency cases where the GPS signals are very weak, such as disaster management in a multi-storied building, coal mine, etc.
Pretty much people are wondering why GPS cannot be used indoors. If you have the same confusion, just read on and find out why indoor positioning systems are all the rage these days.
Inaccuracy of GPS signals when used indoors
The success of GPS has shifted the way we relate to technology. However, its efficiency only works well outdoors and fails to meet the expectations for sophisticated indoor environments. Since GPS technology uses the signals of satellites in orbit, these signals are seriously degraded by roofs and walls as soon as the satellite waves try to penetrate the barriers and enter the buildings. Typically, GPS can achieve an accuracy of 5m-10m in an open area where there are no adjacent tall buildings that can block signals.
Widespread application of precise positioning
The widespread applications of precise positioning have strengthened the demand for indoor positioning system services. While the need was there, indoor positioning systems are becoming more and more important across various sectors due to their ability to significantly improve service efficiency. Beyond the reach of GPS signals, IPS location services are being leveraged by industries such as retail, healthcare, and military, as well as inventory tracking in warehouses. Currently, there is no universal standard for an IPS system, and industry leaders and organizations including Google and the Bluetooth SIG are actively competing to bring these solutions to customers.
Before we dive into IPS technologies, it’s important to see how it works. Much like the transmitter-receiver principle of GPS, an IPS works on the same principle. Using a variety of beacons and tags, an IPS estimates a target’s location by processing data collected from various anchor devices. To track objects within a building, stationary anchors are deployed to detect signals transmitted from the mobile tags attached to the assets or individuals. These anchors capture the signals from the tags and forward the data to a central server, which then calculates the object’s real-time coordinates using specialized algorithms.
Contrary to satellite-based GPS, IPS is a melting pot of multiple different technologies, including radio-based, optical, acoustic, and magnetic technologies, while each comes with its own advantages and limitations. The different IPS technologies and techniques walk hand in hand toward integration for better accuracy. The following part will show you the most common indoor positioning technologies.
Bluetooth/Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth was originally used for short-distance data exchange, but is now widely used and a cornerstone of indoor positioning systems. Bluetooth positioning mainly includes terminal-side positioning and network-side positioning. Terminal-side positioning is suitable for positioning and navigation in shopping malls and public transportation centers such as airports, while network-side positioning is more suitable for positioning and tracking of assets and personnel in warehouses. Bluetooth positioning requires beacon deployment in the target area, using trilateration and RSSI value changes to estimate distances. Generally, standard Bluetooth positioning accuracy is about 3-5 meters.
A great example is Apple’s iBeacon. It uses BLE to broadcast signals that nearby smart devices can detect to trigger location-based services and positioning.
The Bluetooth 5.1 standard introduced a new Bluetooth direction finding approach, specifically Bluetooth AoA and AoD. Bluetooth AoA positioning is a new indoor positioning technology. The antenna arrays detect the direction of signals from the transmitting nodes and calculate the relative orientation or angle between the receiving node (gateway) and the transmitting node (tag). With this, Bluetooth positioning accuracy can reach up to 1 meter.
Building on that, the recent launch of Bluetooth 6.0 introduced Bluetooth Channel Sounding for secure and fine ranging. It uses Phase-Based Ranging (PBR) and Round-Trip Time (RTT) methods. This is a major innovation in Bluetooth distance measurement. In theory, this can achieve a level of accuracy comparable to UWB, with an accuracy up to 10-30 cm.
WiFi
Indoor positioning via Wi-Fi technology leverages existing infrastructure that is already widespread in commercial and public environments. Many public facilities such as shopping centers, hospitals, and restaurants typically offer ubiquitous Wi-Fi access points (APs). At the same time, Wi-Fi receivers are standard components in modern smartphones and tablets. This provides a ready-made foundation for using Wi-Fi as a technology for indoor positioning and navigation solutions.
When implementing Wi-Fi-based indoor positioning systems, the coordinates of the access points are mapped in advance. The positioning methodology primarily relies on measuring signal strength attenuation or identifying patterns in signal distribution to calculate the relative positioning between the end user’s device and the access point. This enables real-time indoor localization without requiring additional hardware. WiFi positioning accuracy typically ranges between 5 and 15 meters.
UWB (Ultra-wideband)
UWB positioning technology enables locating objects or people within buildings with high accuracy and has developed into one of the mainstream indoor positioning technologies. Since UWB signals have a bandwidth greater than 500MHz with a wide frequency range of 3.1-10.6GHz, they can transmit data by sending and receiving extremely narrow pulses at nanosecond or sub-nanosecond levels. UWB typically utilizes TDoA to achieve precise indoor positioning. It features strong resistance to multipath interference and superior penetration capabilities. Therefore, it can be applied to the positioning and tracking of stationary and moving objects as well as people, providing accuracy down to centimeters.
However, UWB cannot be deployed as simply, quickly, and cost-effectively as Bluetooth beacon solutions. It requires installation of a complete system with gateways, and each gateway has limited coverage (typically around 150 meters), resulting in higher costs. In some cases, UWB and Bluetooth AoA solutions can deliver comparable positioning performance.
As the above comparison indicates, choosing the right Real-Time Location System (RTLS) would be determined by your specific requirements of centimeter-level accuracy versus deployment cost. Although UWB positioning is far more precise, Bluetooth is the go-to solution when it comes to affordable indoor navigation and foot traffic analytics.
The term IPS is broad and can be implemented in pretty much all industries where the accurate position of animate or inanimate objects within indoor space is critical. Whether in shopping malls, amusement parks, transit hubs, hospitals, universities, or even large corporate offices, IPS will make your indoor location and navigation an enjoyable journey with an application on your smartphone. Below, we’ve selected some of the common use cases of IPS.
Airports＆Railway Stations
In transportation hubs, whether in large airports, railway stations, or bus stations, an indoor positioning system is of great help for passenger flow. Travelers can pinpoint themselves within the station and find a less crowded way to their vehicles with the help of digital indoor maps. Transportation hubs can also apply indoor positioning technologies to provide better location-based updates for travelers.
Real-world examples include BLE beacon deployments like the L01A in Indian metro stations and the M3 at Gold Coast Airport, Australia. They provide seamless indoor navigation for thousands of daily commuters and travelers.
Industry and Manufacturing
The adoption of indoor positioning systems in industrial and manufacturing sectors has accelerated in recent years, with the purpose of enhancing worker safety, reducing costs, and saving time in processes. Especially in large-scale factories, an indoor positioning system helps a lot in asset management, logistics, and emergency response.
UWB and Bluetooth AoA have become the preferred standards in manufacturing due to their ability to provide the high-precision tracking required for complex industrial environments.
Shopping Malls
IPS can be used not only to enhance the shopping experience for consumers, but also for location-based marketing campaigns held by vendors. Normally, these shopping malls are large and often accompanied by complex infrastructures. Based on shared guide assets, visitors could spend less time finding their desired products and get relevant information about what is easily accessible to them within the mall.
An interesting deployment of beacon-based proximity marketing involves a client using MOKO’s W6 Wristband Beacon to filter employee data and accurately count visitors, providing valuable insights into facility foot traffic.
Healthcare and Hospitals
Hospitals have been trying to tackle the complex indoor wayfinding for decades. An indoor positioning system can help visitors navigate their way easily, thus lowering the stress and late arrivals. Besides, doctors and other staff can also benefit a lot, which allows them to instantly locate mobile equipment (like ventilators or wheelchairs), pinpoint patients within a certain range, and avoid delays in emergencies.
Bluetooth beacon solutions are increasingly vital for healthcare safety and asset tracking. The diagram below illustrates how an Indian hospital adopted W6 and W7 Medical Wristbands to monitor patient locations and staff movements in real-time. For a deeper look, you can explore more healthcare-specific applications of our IoT technology.
Multi-story Car Parks
Multi-story car parks are usually built under shopping centers and large office buildings where GPS signals are not available. A smart parking system using indoor positioning technologies can track the occupancy of parking lots and guide drivers directly to the nearest available space. Additionally, it solves the common “where did I park?” problem as users are allowed to navigate back to their vehicles using digital maps based on IPS.
Pretty much people can be confused when it comes to the difference between GPS and IPS, as they perform similar tasks and have similar acronyms. In fact, IPS can be regarded as further development and extension of GPS. As we mentioned earlier, the biggest difference between IPS and GPS lies in the field of application. One is accurate for indoor environments, and the other is practically designed for outdoor spaces.
Due to the huge difference between the outdoor and indoor spaces, the technology adoption of IPS and GPS is totally different. A GPS receiver has to lock on signals from three or more satellites to determine a location and track the movement, while IPS applies diverse technologies to make more precise measurements. What is worth noticing is that indoor GPS is an ongoing area of research, and new options may emerge in the future.
Indoor navigation and indoor positioning are actually two separate applications that combine together to serve an enhanced wayfinding experience for users. Indoor positioning allows users to pinpoint their location inside a building and indoor navigation will suggest a path to their desired destination. To simply put the difference, indoor positioning or tracking is passively recording the data, whereas indoor navigation is actively suggesting that the users follow a path.
Indoor navigation combines indoor positioning technology with wayfinding to show a blue dot on an indoor map that moves with the user in real-time. Without an indoor navigation system, your current location will be displayed but there are no directions, and if there is no indoor positioning system, users of indoor maps have to choose the starting and ending coordinates on the map. It is with the help of indoor positioning systems that you can create effective interactive indoor navigation.
MOKOSmart is a trusted partner for versatile IoT devices. Our team delivers a wide range of reliable and high-performance Bluetooth beacons and gateways for indoor positioning systems. Whether your goal is to increase operational productivity, enhance customer engagement, or mitigate safety risks, if you have any confusion about indoor positioning and tracking technology, you can send information to our technical team for consultation.
FAQs about Indoor Positioning
1. What is the most accurate indoor positioning technology in 2026?
UWB remains the gold standard for high-precision requirements with centimeter-level accuracy, then Bluetooth AoA, but Bluetooth 6.0 is also expected as a strong competitor in the fine-range applications.
2. Which one do I select between BLE and UWB in my warehouse?
It depends on your asset visibility requirements. UWB is preferable if you have to keep track of small tools with high precision. For general logistics and personnel tracking, BLE beacon solutions are more cost-effective and scalable. LoRaWAN is also an excellent long-range option when it comes to tracking in an industrial park.
3. Can IPS work without an active internet connection?
Yes, many IoT-based positioning solutions can function locally by communicating directly with gateways and smart devices.
Nowadays, more and more businesses move into modern office buildings to conduct daily operations. To…
1. Core Challenge & Pain Points The Problem Cold chain failures rarely occur inside highly…
The FIFA World Cup has always been the world’s most watched sporting event. Every four…
When we think of airports, we think of long security lines, crowded terminals, confusing gate…
In daily hospital operations, knowing the exact location of critical healthcare equipment is essential, as…
As workplace violence incidents continue to rise and security threats add complexity across industries, organizations…