MeshCube Anchors installation guide

This document describes how to properly install Mesh Anchors to obtain best results in different environments.

General rules

The first thing is to install the Wirepas Gateway, that is the device that collects data from all the Anchors in the network and sends them to the software so that data are elaborated. The Gateway may be used as an Anchor too. In case of large installations (i.e. networks with more than 200/300 anchor nodes), more than one Gateway may be required. The best position to install the Gateway(s) is near the center of the network, to avoid long routes from peripheral nodes to the Gateway itself.

After that, the Mesh Anchors have to be installed. The Anchors can’t be placed far from each other since they won’t be able to hear each other and to connect. As a consequence the mesh network won’t form.

As rule of thumb, 10 to 15 m is the recommended inter-distance in indoor environment, depending on the required localization precision. When placing the Anchors the walls type, doors and other environment elements have to be considered since they could represent a constraint for the signal transmission.

It is highly recommended to have all the anchors installed in the same way: or on the ceiling or on the walls for better performance.

An important rule when installing the anchors, both on the ceiling or on the wall, is to maintain as much as possible the regularity of the installation to obtain best results in positioning. We suggest to install the anchors forming a regular grid, where the distance between the anchors depends on the expected accuracy of localization. Typically, the accuracy is 1/3 to 1/2 of the Anchors inter-distance d.

Anchor installation

In the following are described the general installation rules for each specific anchor type.

Indoor: Ultra Zero or Base Wirepas Anchor

Ultra Zero or Base Wirepas anchors are indicated for indoor installations, such as offices, hospitals, schools, etc. Ultra Zero Wirepas is battery-powered and works in low-power mode only, while Ultra Base Wirepas can be battery- or USB-powered and can work in low-power or low-latency mode. Ultra has directive antenna that, thanks to front-to-back ratio, improves floor detection in multi-floor environments or room detection in multi-room environment. We suggest to install Ultra anchors on the ceiling, for the ceilings 3-3.5 m high. In case of a more accurate room identification Ultra anchors can be installed on the walls at a maximum height of 2.5 m.

Indoor: Maxi Wirepas Anchor

Maxi Wirepas is a powerful anchor node for localization infrastructures without cabling. Maxi Wirepas is characterized by a long battery operating life with an easy installation options that make the anchor ready-to-be-used.

Outdoor: Forte+

Forte+ is provided in a IP67 enclosure, that makes it ideal for industrial and outdoor installations.

Thanks to the provided battery, Forte+ can work an average of 3 years (Access cycle 2s with low traffic load (<10%)) before a battery replacement is needed. It is suggested to install Forte+ anchors on the walls or on other vertical surfaces (columns, poles, etc). The maximum installation height corresponds to the maximum Tag height for better performances.

Brick

Brick is provided in a IP67 enclosure, that makes it ideal for industrial and outdoor installations. Thanks to the provided battery, Brick can work an average of 9 years(Access cycle 2s with low traffic load (<10%)) before a battery replacement is needed. It is suggested to install Brick anchors on the walls or on other vertical surfaces (columns, poles, etc). The maximum installation height corresponds to the maximum Tag height for better performances.

Anchor with sensors: Ultra Plus or Deluxe

Wirepas Ultra Plus and Deluxe are anchors equipped with environmental sensors. Wirepas Ultra Plus has temperature and humidity sensors, while Wirepas Ultra Deluxe has temperature, humidity, pressure and CO2 sensors. These anchors can be battery- or USB-powered and, because of the sensors, they have to be installed on the walls at a height of 2-2.5m, with the holes facing up and down.

Anchor with sensors: PIR

Wirepas PIR is an anchor provided with a PIR sensor, used for presence detection.

The PIR sensor has different installation options: on the ceiling, to detect the presence of people in the room, or on the wall, above a door or a gate to detect the entrance or exit of people. In both cases, the suggested installation height is 2.5 - 3 meters. Suggestion: avoid installing PIR sensors near temperature changing sources (air conditioners, radiators,..) to not to have false sensors signaling.

Advanced settings

When installing an Anchor the main parameters to set are Calibrated RSSI, Environmental Factor N and RSSI Offset. Calibrated RSSI is the median RSSI measured when the distance between anchor and tag is about 1 meter. N is a parameter that indicates the rate at which the RSSI decreases with the distance and depends on the environment. The higher the value of N, the higher is the signal attenuation. RSSI Offset can be used to adjust the Calibrated RSSI value, by adding or subtracting a RSSI value, if some tuning is needed. The default values are:

• Calibrated RSSI = -50 dBm

• N = 1.5

• RSSI Offset = 0 dB

These parameters can be set from the MeshCube Web page, in the section MeshCube → MeshIPS → Mesh Anchors → Settings. The parameters can be set for all the Anchors at the same time or for one anchor only.

Typical use cases

Below are proposed and described typical environments, where positioning can be the main concern, with a proposed Anchor installation model.

Office

As a first example, consider an office, having different rooms and a meeting room. A possible installation could be the one in Figure below, where there is one Wirepas Ultra anchor for room and 6 anchors in the meeting room. In addition a Wirepas Ultra Deluxe is placed in the meeting room to monitor the air quality. The PIR sensors were added at the entrance, to be informed that a visitor is arriving, and in the meeting room to check its real-time occupancy.

Warehouse

Another type of environment where we usually need positioning is the Warehouse. Suppose to store the goods on shelves and want to know where to find a given type of good. One possible solution is to associate to each shelf or good a Tag to easily find it. To locate these tags we can use Forte + or Brick Anchors installed on the shelves.