# Asset Tracking

> Every asset tracking problem reduces to a reader and a tag. Which of the two is fixed is the main design decision.

- **Page** - https://iotready.com/solutions/asset-tracking
- **Tagline** - Two components: something that moves, and something that anchors it.

Asset tracking needs two components: a moving one and an anchor. Either the
reader or the tag can be the anchor, and choosing correctly is most of the
design. QR, RFID, BLE, NFC, UWB and GPS all sit on the same platform, IoTReady
Engine, so the choice follows the asset in front of you.

## What are you tracking?

We start by naming the unit of traceability. A single high-value item, a
low-value carrier and a moving vehicle each call for a different technology,
and picking one leaves the others open for the next asset.

**Unit of traceability**

| Parameter              | Value                                                                          |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| A single asset         | A phone, a watch, an instrument - typically BLE, RFID or QR                    |
| A carrier              | A crate, pallet or box for smaller or lower-value items - typically RFID or QR |
| An indoor moving asset | A forklift, a trolley, a person - typically BLE or RFID                        |
| A vehicle              | Typically GPS and RFID together                                                |

## Pick the technology

No technology wins on every axis. Read distance, the environment and the tag
economics decide it.

- ![A printed QR code used to identify an asset](https://iotready.com/images/hero/asset-tracking-tag-qr.png)\
  [**QR**](https://iotready.com/hardware/family/qr) - Printed - no battery, no tag cost, no reader infrastructure
- ![A UHF RFID dipole inlay tag showing its chip and antenna traces](https://iotready.com/images/hero/asset-tracking-tag-rfid.png)\
  [**RFID**](https://iotready.com/hardware/family/rfid) - No battery - read in bulk, at range, without a line of sight
- ![A BLE beacon tag](https://iotready.com/images/hero/asset-tracking-tag-ble.png)\
  [**BLE**](https://iotready.com/hardware/family/ble) - Battery powered - continuous, real-time position
- ![A GPS tracking unit](https://iotready.com/images/hero/asset-tracking-tag-gps.png)\
  [**GPS**](https://iotready.com/hardware/family/gps) - Battery powered - unlimited range, outdoors

| Feature                              | QR                        | RFID                             | BLE                            | GPS                   |
| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | --------------------- |
| Range                                | ~1 m                      | ~10 m                            | ~100 m                         | Effectively unlimited |
| Simultaneous scanning                | Limited by operator speed | Up to 50 crates/second           | Continuous, per zone           | Continuous            |
| Dusty or metal-heavy environments    | Weak                      | Strong (may need special tags)   | Strong (may need special tags) | Strong                |
| Tag cost                             | Low                       | Medium                           | High                           | High                  |
| Tag battery life                     | None needed               | None needed                      | ~3 years                       | ~1 week               |
| Built-in sensors (temperature, etc.) | No                        | Sometimes, with special tags     | Yes                            | No                    |
| Anti-theft                           | No                        | No, without a workflow around it | Yes, in real time              | Yes                   |

## Match the technology to the asset

**Crates and pallets** - low value, high volume: QR if manual scanning is
acceptable; RFID once bulk scanning matters, up to 50 crates a second.

**Trolleys and scales** - higher value, fewer units: RFID where check-in and
check-out is enough; BLE once real-time indoor position earns the extra cost.

**Forklifts and AGVs**: BLE for 3-5 m indoor location, with an option for
built-in sensors to monitor utilisation alongside position.

**Distributed IT assets** - fewer than 50 units per site: QR if a manual audit
is acceptable; BLE once continuous monitoring justifies the gateway.

**Concentrated high-value inventory** - jewellery, electronics, over 50-100
units per site: RFID tags across form factors that do not interfere with the
customer experience, or BLE where real-time theft detection is essential.

Engine does not force a single answer across a site. A warehouse
commonly runs QR on cartons, RFID on pallets and BLE on the forklifts moving
them, and all three write to one record.

## In production

Razorpay runs point-of-sale device warehouse management on Engine: live
stock across the warehouse, factory, hubs, field service executives and end
customers, automated goods receipts and stock transfers with e-way bills in
SAP, quick physical inventory and verification for frequent audits, and asset
depreciation and maintenance schedules built in.

[BigBasket](https://iotready.com/case-studies/bigbasket-farm-to-fork.md) tracks five lakh crates a day
across eighteen activities, validated in under 300 ms, over a fleet of twenty
lakh crates and pallets in more than seven hundred warehouses and dark stores.
That covers the whole crate life cycle, procurement to write-off, with alerts
when crate levels at a site fall below threshold.

## Identity + Quantity + Context = Truth

- **Identity** - A QR code, RFID tag, BLE beacon or GPS unit on the asset, chosen to suit the unit of traceability.
- **Quantity** - Presence, dwell, zone, temperature and battery, sampled continuously rather than counted at the next audit.
- **Context** - Check-in and check-out where reconciliation is enough; real-time position where it earns its keep.

## Where it runs

- [Heavy Manufacturing](https://iotready.com/industries/heavy-manufacturing.md): Large parts, long cycles and expensive tooling, where knowing where a thing is matters as much as knowing how many there are.
- [Coldchain](https://iotready.com/industries/coldchain.md): The stock record and the temperature record belong together, because a reading you cannot tie to a pallet proves nothing.

## What captures it

- [QR & Barcode Scanner](https://iotready.com/hardware/qr-fixed.md): A fixed-mount, IP68 scanner that reads every common 1D and 2D code over one RS232 cable, built for washdown lines a handheld will not survive.
- [RFID Reader](https://iotready.com/hardware/rfid-fixed-gate.md): One UHF platform, ordered as Long Range for dock doors and gates or Short Range for point-of-sale and desks - the same read event either way.
- [BLE Gateway](https://iotready.com/hardware/ble-gateway.md): The anchor half of a real-time location system. Wall-mounted, wired for Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and able to raise a local alarm on its own.
- [BLE Asset Tag](https://iotready.com/hardware/ble-asset-tag.md): A bolt-on BLE beacon for pallets and equipment, with PHY Coded BLE 5.0 for long range and a lithium cell rated in years.
- [BLE Wristband Beacon](https://iotready.com/hardware/ble-beacon-wristband.md): A replaceable-band wristband beacon with an SOS button, IP67 sealing and a 16-month battery, for staff, contractor and patient presence tracking.
- [GPS Tracker](https://iotready.com/hardware/gps-tracker.md): A battery-powered GPS unit for vehicles and outdoor assets that never come within range of a fixed reader.