What Is RTLS? Real-Time Location System — Definition, Technologies, and Applications

The acronym RTLS stands for Real-Time Location System. RTLS is often referred to as RTLS systems, which is incorrect, but convenient.

RTLS vs IPS vs LPS — What Is the Difference?

RTLS vs IPS vs LPS comparison diagram — Real-Time Location System, Indoor Positioning System, and Local Positioning System explained

RTLS is not limited to indoor environments – but in practice, it almost always refers to indoor positioning systems (IPS) or local positioning systems (LPS). That is because outdoors, GPS and RTK GPS already solve the positioning problem for most applications.

When a GPS signal is available and the sky is open, RTK GPS delivers centimeter-level accuracy and is the default choice for outdoor navigation. RTLS becomes the solution when GPS fails — inside buildings, underground, in tunnels, or in facilities where satellite signals are blocked or deliberately jammed.

Therefore, in practice, RTLS = IPS. If you are looking for a real-time location system, you are almost certainly looking for an indoor positioning system.

Why GPS and GNSS Are Not Considered RTLS

Although not limited to indoor positioning systems (IPS), when discussing RTLS, it usually refers to the various types of indoor positioning systems. Sometimes, they are also referred to as local positioning systems (LPS).

GPS is also a type of RTLS system, but GPS is part of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), which also include GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou.

Why RFID Is Not a True RTLS — And What It Is Instead

RFID vs RTLS comparison — RFID gives gate-level detection while RTLS provides real-time XYZ coordinates

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. Just as BLE, WiFi, LoRa, and ZigBee, which are not designed for positioning systems, can still be used for this localization and navigation, and RFID is not a positioning system but, with a particular stretch, can still be used for these purposes.

Of course, the stretch is serious. You don’t know the location of your mobile object, your mobile beacon, or your tag. You know whether the tag was registered within 0.1-1m from an RFID reader. Typically, 0.05-0.1m and only for some special readers, within 1m. But you don’t even know the distance. You only know yes or no. You don’t have the XYZ coordinates of your mobile beacon. You have only XYZ of your RFID reader.

Industrial Applications of RTLS — Warehouses, Manufacturing, Mining

Since we focus on industrial applications, we do not cover other areas in the article, such as retail, healthcare, hospitality, agriculture, and security. RTLSs are utilized in numerous industrial and non-industrial applications.

Should You Use RTLS for Pallet Tracking? Probably Not

Typically, when discussing RTLS, one refers to mobile assets, including forklifts, vehicles, personnel, robots, AGVs, and drones. Much less about palettes.

Palettes are semi-mobile. Yes, they are moved, but they don’t move. Palettes are on the borderline between RTLS and RFID, or other identification methods, such as QR/bar code identification assisted by mobile robots, drones, or personnel.

One of the significant problems in warehousing is misplaced palettes. But employing RTLS for that is a bit of an overshoot because:

  • Mobile beacons are expensive because they require a battery, electronics, and other components. Typically, tens of USD/EUR or more per mobile beacon (tag). To track forklift – fine. To increase the safety of people, it is okay. But to put it on thousands of palettes – too expensive, and still doesn’t solve many problems
  • RFIDs are better, but as discussed, they don’t provide location information. They report, “I am close to the reader.” One needs to know the location of the reader to see the location of the palette
  • RFIDs are far less expensive than mobile beacons for RTLS. But the reader must be mobile
  • A mobile reader can take various forms, including a person with an RFID reader and a robot/drone equipped with a reader. It can be a static RFID scanner embedded in gates. The RFID reads out when the palette or the object with the RFID passes through the gate
  • The same is valid for QR/bar code readers

RTLS Use Cases by Industry

How to Choose an RTLS — Accuracy, Latency, Cost, and Range Compared

The answer to the question of what real-time locating systems are sound will depend on what you are looking for: accuracy, low latency, price, range, ease of deployment, ease of operation

What Are RTLS Tags? Mobile Beacons Explained

RTLS tags on forklift, warehouse worker, and autonomous robot — mobile beacons enable real-time indoor tracking

RTLS tags or RTLS mobile beacons are wireless devices placed on mobile objects to track their location inside the coverage area of RTLS (for example, building, warehouse, factory, hospital, etc.). You don’t track a person – you track their RTLS tag/mobile beacon. You don’t track a forklift – you track its RTLS tag.

RTLS Tags vs RFID Tags — Key Differences

An RFID tag can be considered an RTLS tag, but a very primitive and rudimentary one. Typically, RTLS systems provide 2D (XY) or 3D (XYZ) coordinates of the RTLS tags. At the same time, the RFID tags provide gate-level coordinates only. An RFID system doesn’t offer real-time coordinates of an RFID tag until the tag is placed on an RFID reader or passes through an RFID portal. Therefore, calling the RFID system a real-time locating system is a big stretch.

RTLS Technology Comparison — Ultrasound, UWB, BLE, RFID

Study more about different types of RTLS and RTLS technologies:

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