Outdoor positioning is becoming a vital tool for businesses looking to keep up with their competition in the digital age.
This technology has been around for some time, but its popularity has grown significantly in recent years due to advances in mobile technologies and the increasing availability of location-based services. By leveraging outdoor positioning, businesses can gain a competitive edge by creating more accurate customer experiences, improving operations, and enhancing security. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at what outdoor positioning is and how it functions, as well as seven key benefits that businesses should consider when implementing it.
What Is Outdoor Positioning?
Outdoor positioning refers to a range of technologies that allows users to determine their exact location outdoors using satellites or other sources of radio signals.
The technology works by sending out signals from a predetermined anchor point or GPS system which are then detected by receivers on the user’s device such as a cell phone or tablet. This data is then used to calculate the user’s precise location — typically within several meters of accuracy — which is displayed on a map or other type of interface.
Outdoor positioning can also be used to track vehicles and other moving objects outdoors which makes it particularly useful for businesses that need real-time tracking solutions such as transportation companies and delivery services. Outdoor positioning is also a very important tool in your security infrastructure as combined with indoor positioning and lone worker protection features you can always see where your employees or patients (in the healthcare sector). This allows you to react fast in any hazardous situations and find people in danger in the fastest possible way.
How Does Outdoor Positioning Function?
The first step in determining an individual’s or object’s position is the detection of satellite signals sent out by navigational systems (e.g., GPS). These satellites provide information regarding their positions and locations which are received by receivers on the user’s device (e.g., smartphone).
The receiver then calculates its own position by comparing the positions of multiple satellites using triangulation methods known as trilateration and multilateration algorithms before providing coordinates based upon latitude, longitude and altitude (altitude being optional depending upon accuracy requirements). This data can then be used to pinpoint an individual’s exact location on a map or other graphical interface, allowing them to determine where they are relative to surrounding landmarks such as streets, buildings etc.
Additionally, this data can be combined with additional factors such as motion sensors for more complex calculations like speed and direction when tracking movement patterns over time. Best example of outdoor positioning is Google Maps and other tracking apps from technology companies, but combining them with your security infrastructure requires additional technical work.
Benefits for Businesses Using Outdoor Positioning
Businesses have numerous opportunities available when it comes to leveraging outdoor positioning technology – here are seven key advantages worth considering.
Improved Customer Experiences
By utilizing outdoor positioning services like geofencing, businesses can create customized experiences tailored directly towards customers’ needs while they are outdoors – leaving behind physical flyers or printed menus no longer necessary while giving customers access to pertinent information faster than ever before via digital interfaces accessible through mobile devices.
Enhanced Security
With the ability to detect changes in location rapidly, businesses can benefit greatly from automated security protocols set up according to predefined areas; if something deviates from expected behavior alerts could be triggered accordingly.
Outdoor positioning together with your whole security infrastructure helps to locate lone workers and all other employees if they are in need of help.
Increased Efficiency
Utilizing indoor/outdoor navigation tools helps personnel move quickly between tasks with greater accuracy; thereby reducing labor costs due to increased productivity.
Accurate Delivery Tracking
When it comes to delivery services such as couriers or meal delivery companies having detailed records about where packages were dropped off at any given moment helps ensure customer satisfaction with timely deliveries.
Smarter Logistics Management
With improved visibility over goods both indoors and outdoors (i.e., warehouses vs retail stores), businesses can make better decisions on inventory replenishment cycles; optimize daily routes taken by drivers/employees/etc., while also helping reduce fuel consumption costs.
Efficient Maintenance Scheduling
Automating maintenance scheduling based upon conditions recorded during inspections ensures that important service checks don’t slip through the cracks – saving time and money spent responding to late failures.
Valuable Insights into Consumer Behavior
Last but not least outdoor positioning enables companies to collect valuable insights into consumer behavior – allowing them to gather data on footfall metrics & hotspots enabling adjustments and improvements made based upon real-time analytics gathered from various locations around town and beyond.
New Voice experience in Outdoor Positioning
We have more than 30 years experience in security infrastructure projects as we have done more than 7000 different projects around the world. We have lately finished a big project in Zürich where we combined indoor and outdoor positioning for a hospital which requires the highest level of accuracy at all times.
To achieve that we installed more than 1500 beacons in multiple buildings and outside areas, so the hospital administration can always react fast if something is wrong with their patients and personnel.
Read more: EPI success story
Combined with lone worker protection, outdoor positioning assures the best positioning in hazardous situations, so the help can come fast. Outdoor positioning can be a very efficient tool in dangerous situations for any company which have people working outside at any time of their work.
