Bluetooth positioning and tracking

Denmark's largest zoological gardens, the Aalborg Zoo was one of the first to implement a Bluetooth positioning and tracking technology. The special "Bluetags" given to visitors are specially body tags pinned to children, which allow parents to position and track the movement of their child within the Zoo -- and greatly prevents lost children. The method of detecting the position of a "Bluetag" is based on a simple concept of Bluetooth zones, whereby a short range receiver installed at a known location detects a signal of a Bluetooth tag and reports the presence of a Bluetooth tag in the nearest location. For example, a Bluetooth receiver installed near the lion cage detects the Bluetag and reports the presence of the tag (identified by Bluetooth MAC address) as being near the lion cage. When the child moves to the tiger cage the short range receiver located near tiger cage reports the presence of a Bluetag device, within its short 10m proximity, and allows the positioning system to inform security about the new position of a child within the Zoo. Additionally, it also allows one to track a child's movements, for example, from the lion cage to the tiger cage. The data can be later used to draw a map of the movement inside the Zoo within a 10 meter accuracy range, and then inform Zoo staff about the length of stay at each location. In addition to the safety factor, this also provides statistics to management on which animals or parts of the Zoo's facilities are the most popular among children. Overall, this solution is an example of a beneficial use of the Bluetooth technology, which in this case helps to ensures the safety of the children visiting the Zoo. Yet, as one might anticipate, this beneficial idea of using Bluetooth in positioning and tracking can also have a dark side.


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