TECHNOLOGY

5G EDGE BASED CELLULAR LOCATION

The only viable approach to massive scalable IoT. The next generation of global location systems will be built from 5G, rather than a patchwork of alternative technologies. By requiring 300x less data than competing approaches, PHY Wireless hellaPHY technology is the only solution that can provide massive scaling for IoT with minimal network interaction, which means lower data usage, lower costs, and significantly improved use of operator spectrum.

TECHNOLOGY BUILT DIFFERENT

PHY Wireless’s technology is fundamentally different than any other cellular location technology:

  • Lower cost devices: Eliminates the need for GPS, Wi-Fi chips in a tracker for most applications.
  • Accuracy: Near GNSS outdoors / aisle level indoors (private LTE/5G deployments) can be achieved today for IoT and will improve as standards evolve. (10-40x better vs. current cellular)
  • Extended battery life: Works in sleep mode on wireless chips and provides several orders of magnitude improvement over alternatives. (70-100x better)
  • Spectrally efficient: Provides the lowest use of spectrum so operators can provide service without the need to add additional equipment or channels. (300x less data usage)
  • New applications due to unlimited positioning capability like geofencing and breadcrumbing.
  • Complete privacy: Position information generated on device – owned by the customer.
  • Simpler cost model: Cellular only - no alternative ecosystems pricing model needs, billed through the carrier.
  • Easily upgraded: software and firmware upgraded through Firmware Over-The-Air for performance improvement and analytics.
  • Standards compliant: Complies with a3GPP standards roadmap for the next 7 years – future-proofed.

LOCATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMING BUSINESS

Location matters now more than ever. It encompasses the ability of “things” to sense and communicate their geographic position, acting as an organizing principle for anything connected to the Internet. As a result, it is fast becoming a must-have element for most connected solutions to leverage the full value of the Internet of Things (IoT):

  • Fast, efficient position fixes, indoor and outdoor, using 4G/5G signals
  • On-device time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) hyperbolic location, optimized for challenging cellular RF environments (multipath)
  • Massive scaling for Massive IoT with minimal network interaction. Uses 300x less data than competing approaches
  • On-device calculations = privacy: end-user owns their location data
  • On-device calculations = power: location fixes in sleep mode, long battery life

TECHNICAL CHALLENGES

Location is fragmented, expensive, and power hungry:

  • Multiple distinct tracking systems
  • Power & data hungry, expensive etc.
  • Things - IoT designer’s challenge
  • People - E911 & accuracy indoors


THE SOLUTION

PHY Wireless hellaPHY: a GNSS-free location system using 5G signals.



INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

  • First edge computing geolocation technology
  • Leverage Cellular standards and 4G/5G networks, both public and private
  • Near GPS accuracy
  • Deep math-based algorithms - small software footprint
  • Software resides on wireless baseband chips
  • Over-The-Air upgrades for performance gains
  • Backed by nearly 50 patents issued and filed


The hellaPHY Advantage: Power / Performance / Privacy / Price

For a target battery life of >2 year: hellaPHY can deliver much more location information with 50% smaller battery.



hellaPHY 5G Massive Mobile IoT – in-Factory Simulation

  • Aisle-level accuracy in warehouses with in-factory 5G/LTE private network deployment
  • Seamless data/positioning from inside warehouse to outside macro network
  • A 3GPP carrier technology to disrupt RTLS (real-time location systems) using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
  • Allows the same low power, low cost tracker to locate from an aisle in the warehouse across the globe to a customer

Key Benefits

Chip Makers

Higher performance, less power, less cost

Added capabilities open new markets

Indoor positioning solution

Network Operators

Improved network coverage

Better utilization of spectrum

Lower CAPEX and OPEX

Meets e911 for wearables

End Users

Better coverage

Lower total cost of ownership

Longer battery life

IoT Tracking possible without GPS

TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

  • hellaPHY best in class cellular positioning for massive IoT
  • hellaPHY outperforms the other cellular location technologies on all metrics
    • Cost
    • Accuracy
    • Privacy
    • Scalability
    • Data usage
    • Spectral efficiency
  • hellaPHY outperforms GNSS
  • 5G edge-based cellular location product
  • hellaPHY software enables the lowest cost, lowest power, lowest data utilization indoor/outdoor location using the cellular network
  • The unique algorithms allow a wireless 5G device to detect standard signals from the network and calculation the device location locally on the device

Indoor/Outdoor Accuracy 400%

  • 50m median vs. 200 to 1km
  • < 3m for private networks
  • Improves for higher category devices -- <10m on macro network and <1m on private

Battery Life 1000%

  • hellaPHY requires limited network interaction
  • Designed for low power mode operation (PSM, eDRX…)

Max Processor Cycles <10% of Available Computing Capacity

  • Based on Arm™ Cortex M4 running @ 100 MHz
  • Average processor load is 6 Mcycles

Mobile Data Usage <0.3% of Competing Cellular Approaches

  • hellaPHY position computed on device.
  • Other techniques upload large amounts of measurement data to the cloud for position calculation

5G massive IoT location with advanced mobile edge computing for smart labels, pallets, tags, and tiles. Learn about more applications.