RTLS System (Real-Time Locating System)
A Real-Time Location System (RTLS) prototype designed to track pallets within a large warehouse facility using wireless tracking tags. The system enables inventory visibility by associating each physical tag with descriptive metadata, allowing faster identification and retrieval of materials within the client’s operational space.
Project Overview
Understanding the Project
The Goal
Develop a warehouse tracking prototype capable of registering wireless tags in the system, associating them with pallet metadata, and providing near real-time location visibility to improve inventory management and item retrieval efficiency.
The Challenge
Designing and validating an indoor positioning system capable of delivering reliable location accuracy within a large warehouse environment. The system required calibration, signal optimization, and environmental testing to ensure stable tracking performance under real operational conditions.
My Role
Lead IoT & Systems Engineer responsible for RTLS architecture design, tag integration, signal calibration, backend data modeling, and on-site validation testing within the warehouse environment.
Role
Full-Stack & Embedded Systems Developer
Timeline
2021
Platform
Web · Embedded · IoT
Team
Cross-functional (Hardware + Software)
Screenshots
Visual Showcase
Web-based visualization of real-time device positions
RTLS hardware prototype (firmware developed by me)
What I Built
- Developed firmware for the microcontroller handling positioning logic and data transmission.
- Implemented a trilateration-based positioning algorithm.
- Built a backend API to receive positioning data from embedded devices.
- Designed and developed a web interface to visualize device positions in real time.
- Integrated wireless communication between anchors, tags, and the server.
- Collaborated with the hardware team responsible for PCB design.
Tech Stack
Embedded Systems
Frontend
Backend
Database
Architecture Design Decisions
These decisions were intentional to ensure the site feels professional, calm, and easy to navigate:
- Separated firmware logic from web visualization for modularity
- Real-time data flow optimized for low-latency position updates
- Web interface designed to clearly represent spatial positioning
- System structured to allow future commercial scalability
Results & Learnings
The prototype successfully demonstrated indoor tracking precision of up to 30 cm within the client’s warehouse facility in the United States. By enabling tag registration and metadata association, the system significantly improved inventory traceability and laid the foundation for a scalable real-time warehouse tracking solution. Further development phases were planned pending client continuation.