Real-time locating system

1 . A real-time locating system comprising:

(a) a composite map comprising a geospatial map of a facility and its surrounding environment having geographical indicators with global positioning information combined with a floorplan map of the facility, wherein the floorplan map is anchored to the geographical indicators of the geospatial map to align the floorplan map to real-world coordinates and form the composite map;

(b) a tag disposed in the facility, wherein the tag is configured to emit a tag signal encoding a tag identifier and battery status of the battery associated with the tag;

(c) a sensor disposed at a stationary position within the facility, wherein the sensor is configured to receive the tag signal and measure a signal strength of the tag signal upon receipt, wherein the sensor is configured to transmit the tag identifier, the battery status, and the signal strength of the tag signal as a stream of data;

(d) a provisioning application, wherein the provisioning application is configured to display at least a portion of the composite map, wherein the provisioning application is configured to accept a user input indicating a sensor location on the composite map;

(e) a location engine, wherein the location engine is configured to receive the stream of data and derive a location of the tag in the composite map based at least in part on the stream of data; and

(f) a user interface, wherein the user interface displays at least a portion of the composite map with a graphical indicator at the location to inform the user of the location of the tag in the facility, wherein the graphical indicator includes a confidence bubble configured to indicate to the user a real-time range of area of the location of the tag in the facility, wherein the confidence bubble is presented to the user on the composite map.

2 . The real-time locating system of claim 1 , wherein the tag signal is transmitted at a range, wherein the sensor includes a bandpass filter, wherein the bandpass filter rejects frequencies outside of the range of the tag signal.

3 . The real-time locating system of claim 1 , wherein the tag signal is a first tag signal, wherein the sensor is configured to:

(a) receive a second tag signal;

(b) determine if the first tag signal and the second tag signal are functionally identical; and

(c) upon determining the first tag signal and the second tag signal are functionally identical, refrain from transmitting the tag identifier, the battery status, and the signal strength of the second tag signal as the stream of data.

4 . The real-time locating system of claim 1 , wherein the tag signal is a first tag signal, wherein the sensor is configured to:

(a) receive a second tag signal and measure a signal strength of the second tag signal upon receipt;

(b) determine if the signal strength of the first tag signal and the signal strength of the second tag signal are functionally identical; and

(c) upon determining the signal strength of the first tag signal and the signal strength of the second tag signal are functionally identical, refrain from transmitting the tag identifier, the battery status, and the signal strength of the second tag signal as the stream of data.

5 . The real-time locating system of claim 1 , wherein the location engine derives the location via trilateration.

6 . The real-time locating system of claim 1 , wherein the tag signal is a uni-directional beacon signal.

7 . The real-time locating system of claim 6 , wherein the tag signal is a Bluetooth Low Energy advertising signal.

8 . The real-time locating system of claim 1 , wherein the provisioning application is configured to prompt the user to scan a sensor identifier indicia on the sensor prior to accepting the user input indicating the location of the sensor on the composite map.

9 . The real-time locating system of claim 1 , wherein the facility is associated with a facility network, wherein the sensor is configured to wirelessly transmit the stream of data to the location engine over the facility network.

10 . The real-time locating system of claim 9 , wherein the sensor is configured to wirelessly transmit the stream of data to the location engine over the facility network via a one-way communication.

11 . The real-time location system of claim 1 , wherein the user interface displays the confidence bubble around the location to inform the user of a generalized location of the tag in the facility, wherein the graphical indicator depicts a mobile crash cart.

12 . The real-time location system of claim 1 , wherein the location engine is configured to store the derived location in a location database, wherein the user interface is configured to retrieve the location from the location database prior to displaying the graphical indicator at the location on the composite map.

13 . A real-time locating system comprising:

(a) a location engine, wherein the location engine is configured to receive a stream of data via one-way communication over a facility network associated with a facility and provide a location within the facility based on the stream of data, wherein the location engine uses a composite map comprising a geospatial map of the facility and at least a portion of an exterior outdoor area in which it is located anchored to a floorplan map of the facility, the composite map including both a set of indoor layout information from the floorplan map and a set of geographical indicators with global positioning information from the geospatial map;

(b) a tag configured to emit a tag signal encoding a tag identifier and battery status, wherein the tag is disposed in a facility;

(c) a plurality of sensors disposed at stationary positions within the facility, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to each individually receive the tag signal and measure a signal strength of the tag signal upon receipt, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to each individually transmit the tag identifier, the battery status, and the signal strength of the tag signal to the location engine as the stream of data to thereby determine a location of the tag within the facility based on the collective streams of data from each sensor of the plurality of sensors; and

(d) a graphical display, wherein the graphical display depicts at least a portion of the facility, wherein an object is depicted at the location on the graphical display along with a depiction of a confidence bubble around the object on the graphical display, wherein the confidence bubble is configured to depict a generalized location of the object, and wherein the location is determined at least in part by using the set of indoor layout information and the set of geographical indicators provided by the composite map.

14 . The real-time locating system of claim 13 , wherein the tag transmits the tag signal to the plurality of sensors via one-way Bluetooth Low Energy communication.

15 . The real-time locating system of claim 13 , wherein the tag signal is transmitted at a range, wherein each sensor in the plurality of sensors includes a bandpass filter, wherein the bandpass filter rejects frequencies outside of the range of the tag signal.

16 . The real-time locating system of claim 13 , wherein the tag signal is a first tag signal, wherein each sensor in the plurality of sensors is configured to:

(a) receive a second tag signal;

(b) determine if the first tag signal and the second tag signal are functionally identical; and

(c) upon determining the first tag signal and the second tag signal are functionally identical, refrain from transmitting the tag identifier, the battery status, and the signal strength of the second tag signal as the stream of data.

17 . The real-time locating system of claim 13 , wherein the tag signal is a first tag signal, wherein each sensor in the plurality of sensors is configured to:

(a) receive a second tag signal and measure a signal strength of the second tag signal upon receipt;

(b) determine if the signal strength of the first tag signal and the signal strength of the second tag signal are functionally identical; and

(c) upon determining the signal strength of the first tag signal and the signal strength of the second tag signal are functionally identical, refrain from transmitting the tag identifier, the battery status, and the signal strength of the second tag signal as the stream of data.

18 . A method comprising:

(a) combining a floorplan map of a facility and a geospatial map related to the facility and its exterior environment into a composite map, wherein the composite map includes geospatial data;

(b) providing the composite map to a user via a provisioning application;

(c) selecting, by the user, a first selected area of the composite map, wherein the first selected area indicates relative placement of a first sensor within the facility;

(d) retrieving a first geospatial reference point associated with the first selected area from the composite map;

(e) associating the first geospatial reference point with the first sensor in a sensor location database;

(f) repeating steps (c) through (e) for a second selected area, a second sensor, and a second geospatial reference point; and

(g) using distance determinations of a tag from each of the first sensor and the second sensor to store a third geospatial reference point into the sensor location database, wherein the third geospatial reference point represents a location of the tag within the facility, wherein the geospatial reference point includes an illustrated confidence error of a generalized location of the tag within the facility.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

(a) prior to providing the composite map to the user via the provisioning application, prompting the user to input a sensor identifier indicia.

20 . A method of deploying and operating a real-time locating system within a facility, the method comprising:

(a) creating a composite map by combining a floorplan map of the facility with a geospatial map having geographical indicators with global positioning information, wherein the floorplan map is anchored to the geographical indicators of the geospatial map to align the floorplan map to real-world coordinates and form the composite map;

(b) scanning, via a provisioning application executing on a mobile computing device, a sensor identifier indicia disposed on an exterior surface of a housing of a sensor;

(c) displaying, via the provisioning application, at least a portion of the composite map and receiving a user input indicating a location of the sensor on the composite map, wherein the location corresponds to a physical location of the sensor within the facility;

(d) storing the location of the sensor in a sensor location database;

(e) communicating, from the provisioning application to the sensor over Bluetooth, network access credentials for authenticating the sensor with a facility network associated with the facility, thereby enabling the sensor to wirelessly communicate through a router over the facility network;

(f) receiving, at the sensor from a tag disposed in the facility, a first radio frequency tag signal encoding at least a tag identifier and a battery status of a battery associated with the tag;

(g) measuring, at the sensor, a signal strength of the first radio frequency tag signal;

(h) receiving, at the sensor from the tag, a second radio frequency tag signal, and determining at the sensor whether the first radio frequency tag signal and the second radio frequency tag signal are functionally identical, wherein functionally identical is determined based on whether the first radio frequency tag signal and the second radio frequency tag signal are within a given threshold of signal strength;

(i) upon determining the first radio frequency tag signal and the second radio frequency tag signal are functionally identical, refraining from transmitting data of the second radio frequency tag signal to a location engine;

(j) upon determining the first radio frequency tag signal and the second radio frequency tag signal are not functionally identical, transmitting from the sensor to the location engine via one-way communication over the facility network, the tag identifier, the battery status, and the signal strength of the second radio frequency tag signal;

(k) deriving, at the location engine, a location of the tag within the composite map based at least in part on the signal strength and the location of the sensor from the sensor location database; and

(l) displaying, on a user interface, at least a portion of the composite map with a graphical indicator at the derived location of the tag and an encirclement diagram around the graphical indicator indicating a generalized range of area of the location of the tag within the facility.

21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the one-way communication from the sensor to the location engine enables the sensor to operate on a guest network of the facility outside of a firewall of the facility.

22 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the first radio frequency tag signal and the second radio frequency tag signal are Bluetooth Low Energy advertising signals transmitted uni-directionally from the tag to the sensor, and wherein the sensor includes a bandpass filter configured to filter out signals outside of Bluetooth Low Energy advertising channels within a 2.4 GHz band.

23 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the sensor is powered by a standard wall outlet and plugged directly into a wall socket.

24 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the sensor further includes a mechanism for securing the sensor to the wall or the wall outlet.