Background: 

In an emergency, every second counts - especially if a casualty is lying unconscious in a large building. Thanks to modern dead man's apps such as the one from Uepaa, help can be provided quickly - provided the indoor positioning works precisely. What many people don't know: Too many BLE beacons may not improve the system, but may even jeopardize it. We explain why this is the case here.

‍1The technology behind it: BLE beacons and indoor positioning

BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacons are small transmitters that are installed in buildings. They regularly transmit a signal that is received by smartphones (e.g. with the Uepaa app). The signal strength (RSSI) can be used to determine approximately how far away a device is from the beacon - the principle: the weaker the signal, the further away the receiver.

‍2The influence of the environment: walls, people and materials

When planning a beacon installation, the environment is crucial:

• Wet construction (e.g. concrete walls with reinforcement) strongly attenuates the signal.
• Drywall (e.g. plaster walls) allows significantly more signal to pass through.
• Body shadowing is another critical point - if the smartphone is under the body of the casualty, for example, the signal is also heavily attenuated. The human body consists of ~70% water - and water efficiently blocks Bluetooth signals.

👉 These influences are not just theoretical - they can be explained physically. If you want to know more:

‍3Why "a lot helps a lot" does not apply here

A common misconception: the more beacons are installed, the more accurate the location will be. The reality is different. If several beacons are received at the same time - and from different floors or rooms - the signal image becomes confusing. This is particularly problematic:

• The smartphone may select the wrong beacon as the "strongest" signal.
• At critical moments, the position is incorrectly assigned - in the worst case to the wrong floor.
• This can cost valuable minutes - and in an emergency, it can put lives at risk.

‍4A real-life example: When 400 beacons are too much of a good thing

A customer had an external provider install over 400 beacons in a building - with the aim of perfect localization. The result? Signal overlaps in almost every room. In some zones, up to 10 beacons were received simultaneously - from different floors. The app could no longer determine a clear position. Confidence in the technology dwindled - although the fault lay not with the Uepaa app, but with the physically incorrect planning and installation. This was neither supported by Uepaa nor carried out by our trusted partner. The customer's frustration was understandable, of course.

5. the solution: professional planning instead of a flood of beacons

Our partner company hard&softWERK GmbH acts with a sense of proportion and professionalism:

• Site analysis: Where are walls, shadows and dead spots?
• Targeted illumination: Fewer, but specifically placed beacons with coordinated transmission power.
• Individual leveling: Each beacon is set so that it covers exactly the right range - no more, no less.

Conclusion: quality instead of quantity

Pinpoint positioning saves lives - but only if it is physically implemented correctly. More beacons do not automatically mean more accuracy. On the contrary: they can overload the system and, in the worst case, lead to mislocalization. That's why when it comes to indoor positioning with BLE beacons, less is more.

We work closely with our experienced partners hard&softWERK GmbH to ensure that everything works reliably - from technical planning to installation and integration into the app. The result: a tracking solution from a single source: fast, efficient and cost-effective. For maximum safety in an emergency - and confidence when it counts.

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