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Bluetooth-Based IoT Upgrades Asset Tracking on Construction Sites

Oct. 7, 2021

Bluetooth tag connects and tracks construction assets wirelessly, increasing productivity and reducing maintenance costs.

David Maliniak

Related To: Microwaves & RF

The Overview

Trackunit, a provider of fleet-management technology, has tapped Silicon Labs’ Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) modules for connectivity in its Trackunit Kin asset-tracking product. The product aims to help global construction companies better manage their tools with intelligent wireless technology.

Who Needs It and Why?

Construction is a highly complex art, and its practitioners seek to constantly improve productivity and cut costs in ways that don’t impact the quality of the end product. Part of that productivity boost comes through keeping accurate track of relatively small assets in large construction sites. Failure to do so can result in schedule delays and a ballooning budget. As in other industries, wireless connectivity through the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the dynamics and modes of operation in construction.

Under the Hood

Trackunit’s Kin product uses an easy-to-deploy, compact, and self-powered tag to bridge the gap between large machines and smaller accessories. Kin enables the entirety of a site inventory to be connected and tracked via Trackunit’s Iris secure, open, cloud-based productivity platform. In addition to tracking the assets, Kin also collects thorough data on those assets, allowing users to monitor and evaluate which equipment is under-utilized or needs to be reallocated.

Here’s where Silicon Labs’ EFR32BG22 Bluetooth 5.2 SoC modules fit in: They enable secure, wireless communication between the Kin tags and the Iris platform and meet the unique requirements of high-volume, battery-powered Bluetooth products while also bringing high energy efficiency to the table. With annual Bluetooth device shipments forecast to surpass six billion by 2025, Silicon Labs designed these modules to meet the fundamental need for secure connectivity and extremely low power consumption in the billions of Bluetooth-enabled IoT devices coming in the next couple years.

Kin uses Silicon Labs’ EFR32BG22 Bluetooth 5.2 SoC module. Additional Kin features include:

Find My Asset: Deploys the mobile app anywhere in the field to locate an asset
Lost Mode: Provides the ability to set an asset to ‘Lost’ and send a notification when the asset is found
Pairing: Tracks the utilization of machine attachments and tools
LED indicator: Identifies a specific asset by activating the LED light on the tag

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.