Find things easily – with BLE and RTLS
For greater safety, reduced resources and stable processes
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
BLE asset tracking simple, secure and scalable
Easily track assets in hospitals, factories and secure facilities, integrating with existing infrastructure.
Managing battery replacement across large-scale deployments with thousands of assets is a key operational consideration. Actual BLE beacon battery life depends on battery capacity, broadcast interval, and environmental conditions.
Typical Battery Lifespan Overview
- Standard Asset Beacons (CR2477 Coin Cell): 3 to 5 years at a standard 1–2 second broadcast ping rate.
- Industrial Long-Life Beacons (Li-SOCl2): Up to 8 to 10 years in continuous industrial operation.
- Smart Power-Saving Mode: Integrated motion sensors place beacons into sleep mode when assets are stationary, extending battery life by up to 40%.
Automated Battery Monitoring
The Safectory RTLS Dashboard automatically monitors voltage levels across all active tags. When capacity drops below a defined threshold (e.g., 15%), automated maintenance alerts are triggered. Read more about Bluetooth battery standards at the Bluetooth SIG Developer Portal.
When selecting an industrial location tracking system, B2B companies often compare BLE vs. RFID asset tracking. While both technologies track equipment, carrier assets, and tools, they differ fundamentally in operational mode, range, and infrastructure complexity.
How Does RFID Work in Asset Tracking?
Passive RFID tags (Radio-Frequency Identification) carry no internal battery. They remain dormant until energized by an RFID reader’s electromagnetic field. RFID is ideal for chokepoint detection, such as receiving gates, shipping docks, or designated transfer stations where assets must be logged at specific checkpoints.
How Does BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Work?
BLE beacons actively broadcast radio signals at regular intervals. Fixed anchor points or existing Wi-Fi access points (such as Aruba Wi-Fi 6 APs) receive these signals and calculate real-time positions. This enables facility-wide continuous tracking across large factory halls, warehouses, and outdoor yards with ranges up to 100 meters – without manual scans.
BLE vs. RFID Feature Comparison
- Tracking Mode: BLE provides continuous real-time indoor positioning. RFID provides discrete timestamped checkpoint scans.
- Coverage & Range: BLE covers up to 100 meters per access point. Passive RFID ranges from a few centimeters to 5–8 meters.
- Infrastructure Setup: Safectory BLE leverages pre-existing network access points (Zero-Calibration). RFID requires installing dedicated gate frames, readers, and antennas.
- Search Time & ROI: BLE eliminates search time for misplaced tools or container assets via live map visualization. RFID only indicates the last gate an asset passed.
- Hybrid Deployment: Modern smart factories frequently combine both: RFID for automated gate receiving and BLE for floor tracking.
When is BLE Better Than RFID?
When you need to track mobile assets continuously in dynamic environments (e.g., containers, pallets, or mobile equipment) without human intervention, BLE is the superior technology. Technical specifications can be reviewed in the official Bluetooth SIG Documentation.
When selecting a Real-Time Location System (RTLS), decision-makers frequently analyze BLE vs. UWB positioning. While Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) focuses on cost efficiency and leveraging existing Wi-Fi hardware, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) delivers sub-meter precision.
How Does UWB Differ From BLE?
Ultra-Wideband utilizes wide radio frequency spectrums to measure signal Time of Flight (ToF), achieving positioning accuracy of under 10–30 centimeters. However, UWB requires specialized, high-cost anchor hardware and consumes significantly more battery power on tracking tags.
How Does BLE Compare?
Modern BLE 5.1/5.2 with Angle of Arrival (AoA) delivers accuracy under 1 to 2 meters – perfectly suited for 95% of industrial B2B use cases, including container tracking, tool localization, and pallet management. BLE stands out with 60–70% lower hardware costs, tag battery life up to 10 years, and compatibility with Aruba access points.
BLE vs. UWB Decision Guide
- Precision: UWB for sub-meter autonomous guided vehicle (AGV) control (< 30 cm); BLE for room, zone, and shelf-level tracking (1–2 m).
- Infrastructure Cost: BLE utilizes existing access point infrastructure, drastically reducing deployment expense.
- Battery Life: BLE beacons last up to 10 years; UWB transponders require frequent recharging or battery replacement.
- Scalability: BLE easily scales across sprawling production facilities and outdoor yards. Review technical standards at IEEE Standards Association.
Before investing in an enterprise-wide RTLS rollout, engineering teams prefer evaluating performance in their own operational environment. The Asset Tracking Demo Kit provides a simple plug-and-play evaluation package.
What is Included in the Safectory Demo Kit?
- Pre-Configured BLE Beacons: Selection of industrial beacons ready to attach to sample assets.
- Mobile Gateway / Anchors: Pre-configured receivers for instant setup without touching corporate IT networks.
- Cloud Dashboard Access: Full access to the Safectory RTLS Dashboard featuring live map visualization and tracking analytics.
How Fast is Deployment?
Setup requires zero network integration or complex cabling (Zero-Calibration). Simply power on the hardware, attach beacons, and view live tracking data within 30 minutes.
Learn more
Looking for the best BLE-based RTLS that respects data privacy and doesn’t overload your IT stack?
Discover demos, use cases and technical details.
OUR SOLUTION TRACKS POSITIONS OF PERSONS AND GOODS
In a connected world, precise location data is the cornerstone of operational efficiency. Safectory provides highly scalable BLE Asset Tracking solutions that make your equipment, tools, and load carriers digitally visible. Whether in manufacturing, hospitals, or smart cities—our RTLS technology (Real-Time Locating System) transforms physical events into actionable business intelligence.
- Real-Time Inventory: Automated stocktaking without the need for manual scanning.
- Indoor Positioning: Sub-meter accuracy in complex architectural environments.
- Theft Protection: Advanced geofencing and instant alerts for unauthorized asset movement.
- Process Optimization: Identify bottlenecks with transparent material flow visualization.
Our products
- On premise or via cloud
- Device and data management
- Open data and REST/websocket API
- 3D Stereo Vision Sensor
- > 98 % Counting Accuracy
- Zone and Occupancy Analysis
- On-Board AI Accelerator
- > 99 % Plate Detection
- IP67 Weatherproof and PoE+
- Central Analytics Platform
- Live Dashboards and Reports
- GDPR-Compliant Processing
- Personal safety and duress tag
- Instant panic button alert
- Wristband and badge wearable
- GDPR-compliant room tracking
- Mioty Sub-GHz long-range tag
- Wireless tracking for vast sites
- For logistics and smart cities
- Multi-year battery lifespan
Why Safectory? The RTLS Disruptor
19 years of experience
Made in Germany
GDPR conform
own patents
own development
costeffective solution
>2.000 projects
in 12 countries
open source integration
Open and configurable solution
Zero-Calibration: Forget complex installations. Our secure and monitored BLE Infrastructure is ready for immediate use and requires no expensive on-site calibration.
On-Premise Sovereignty: Your data belongs to you. We provide full GDPR compliance through local data processing with no cloud requirement.
Made in Germany: Over 19 years of experience and proprietary patents guarantee peak quality and reliability across 2,000+ global projects.
Since the installation of Asset-Tracking Theft Protection from safectory GmbH, stock losses through thefts have declined by approx. 70-80%. The procurement of the system has paid off for us within the shortest time. The installation was uncomplicated; the collaboration with safectory GmbH is always professional and solution-oriented; we are highly satisfied with the solution and would always use it again.
managing associate, REWE Bornemann oHG
+2.000 projects realised since 2004
safectory is your reliable partner for Location Based Services
Our products can be evidentially used in the following environments
Shopping centre
Number of visitors
Filling level
Dwell time measurement
Access counting
Visitor distribution
Benchmarking / Coupling
Vehicle number plate recognition
Super markets
Number of visitors
Filling quantity
Dwell time measurement
Returners Movement analysis
Heat maps Alerting
Use of shopping carts
Train stations
Movement in way segments
Number of visitors
Daily numbers
Dwell time
Beacon monitoring
Airports
Beacon monitoring
Localisation of operating materials
Number of visitors
Dwell time
Return rates
Office building
Occupancy of meeting rooms
Filling levels
Useful life
Universities
Path analysis
Beacon monitoring
Analysis of the accesses used
Filling level
Localisation of clinical assets (wheelchairs, beds), patient tracking, and nurse call alerting. Discover our Hospital Asset Tracking solutions.
Patient localization, wander alarms, and nurse call button systems. Read more about our RTLS care tracking solutions.
Mines
Visitor counting
Localisation of operating materials
Localisation of visitors in emergency
Emergency call
Dead man’s switch
Plants
Localisation of operating materials
Localisation of tools
Localisation of pallets
Movement history of forklifts
Alarm upon leaving
Assignment to users
Construction sites
Localisation of tools
Alarm upon leaving
Assignment to users
