Frequently Asked Questions

Squawk Technologies uses Bluetooth 5.1 Angle of Arrival (AoA) technology to provide real-time indoor positioning of tagged assets, equipment and personnel. Fixed AoA locating infrastructure receives Bluetooth signals transmitted by Squawk tags. By analysing the angle at which the radio signal arrives at multiple antennas, the system calculates the position of the transmitting tag within the monitored environment. This allows organisations to move beyond simply knowing whether an asset is present and instead understand where it is, where it has moved and how long it has remained within specific operational areas.

Squawk AoA is designed to provide sub-metre positioning accuracy when deployed within a correctly engineered environment. Actual performance depends on factors including anchor positioning and installation height, building geometry, metal structures and machinery, RF reflections and obstructions, required coverage area, tag positioning, and infrastructure density. Squawk evaluates these factors during system design to determine the appropriate infrastructure configuration for the required application.

Traditional Bluetooth tracking commonly uses Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) to estimate the proximity of a tag to a receiver. This can provide useful room-level or zone-level information but is generally less suitable where precise positioning is required. Bluetooth 5.1 AoA uses an antenna array to determine the direction from which the Bluetooth signal was received. Combining this information across the locating infrastructure allows the platform to calculate a substantially more precise position. This makes AoA suitable for applications including manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, logistics, pharmaceutical and healthcare environments where accurate asset location is important.

Yes. Squawk AoA continuously receives location information from transmitting tags and updates their position within the RTLS platform. The required update frequency can be configured depending on the application. For example, a rapidly moving production asset may require more frequent positioning updates than equipment that normally remains stationary. The configuration can therefore balance location responsiveness, network traffic and tag battery consumption.

Yes. The architecture is designed to support large numbers of tagged assets. The system can be scaled from an individual production area or proof-of-concept deployment through to multiple departments, buildings or operational sites. The final architecture is determined by factors including the required number of tags, location update frequency, coverage area and customer infrastructure.

Squawk AoA can be applied to a wide variety of trackable items, including production components, tools, work-in-progress, containers, trolleys, pallets, medical equipment, pharmaceutical assets, aerospace tooling, automotive components, machinery, returnable transport items, and personnel using wearable tags. Different tag formats can be selected depending on the physical asset and operational requirement.

Yes. Wearable Bluetooth tags can be used within the same RTLS infrastructure to provide positioning of authorised personnel, visitors or contractors. This can support applications such as personnel location, restricted-area monitoring, zone entry and exit events, dwell-time measurement, worker-to-asset interaction analysis, and safety workflows. For example, an organisation could determine how long an engineer was present within a particular production area or how long they were associated with a particular piece of equipment.

Geozoning allows virtual operational areas to be created within the Squawk RTLS platform. These could represent areas such as assembly, inspection, quality control, quarantine, dispatch, tool storage, restricted access, maintenance, and work-in-progress areas. Business rules can then be associated with those zones. The system can detect when a tracked item enters, exits or remains within a defined zone and use that event to trigger workflows or alerts.

Yes. Geozone rules can automatically identify when an asset enters an incorrect, restricted or unexpected area. The resulting event can be used to generate a digital alert within the RTLS platform or can be passed to other systems through integration. With compatible Squawk tags, a digital event can also be converted into a physical alert on the asset itself, such as an audible buzzer or flashing LED.

Yes, compatible Squawk tags can provide physical notification functionality. For example, when an asset enters an incorrect geozone, the RTLS software can generate an event that causes the tag to flash an LED and/or generate an audible alert. This means the RTLS system does more than highlight a problem on a computer screen — it can communicate directly with the physical asset or operator within the working environment.

Yes. This is one of the key functions of the Squawk Picker Tag. A user can first locate the asset digitally through the RTLS software and then send a manual ping command to the tag. The selected tag can then flash and produce an audible beep, making it significantly easier for an operator to identify the exact physical item amongst many similar assets. This provides the connection between digital asset visibility and physical asset retrieval.

Yes. Because the RTLS platform records zone entry and exit events, it can calculate the dwell time of an asset within an operational area. This can help organisations identify excessive waiting time, production bottlenecks, work-in-progress accumulation, long inspection periods, asset inactivity, process delays, and equipment utilisation. Historical information can subsequently be analysed to improve operational processes.

Yes. Location data can be stored and analysed to provide historical visibility of asset movement. Instead of simply asking where an asset is now, an organisation can also investigate where it has been, how long it was there, which zones it moved through, and how long each stage of the process took. This allows RTLS information to support both real-time operations and longer-term process optimisation.

Yes. Historical location and dwell information can be represented through visual analytics such as movement patterns, zone occupancy and heatmaps. This can help identify areas where assets or personnel consistently spend excessive amounts of time and highlight potential congestion or inefficient process flow.

There is no fixed number because the infrastructure requirement depends on the customer's environment. Squawk would typically consider building dimensions, ceiling height, required accuracy, equipment and machinery, metal structures, shelving and racking, walls and partitions, required tracking zones, number of floors, and tag density. The infrastructure is then engineered around the required coverage and positioning performance rather than applying a generic anchor quantity.

Heavy machinery, metal structures and complex industrial environments can affect RF propagation through reflection, absorption and signal obstruction. For this reason, RTLS infrastructure should be designed specifically around the physical environment. Appropriate anchor positioning and infrastructure density can help compensate for challenging RF conditions and provide reliable location performance within industrial facilities.

The positioning mechanism itself is based on Bluetooth communication between the tags and the AoA locating infrastructure, rather than using Wi-Fi positioning. The wider system architecture and connectivity requirements depend on the customer's installation, network environment and hosting configuration.

Yes. One of the advantages of the Squawk RTLS architecture is that customers can start with a defined use case or operational area and subsequently expand. For example: Stage 1 — tool tracking within assembly; Stage 2 — work-in-progress tracking; Stage 3 — personnel tracking; Stage 4 — additional production buildings; Stage 5 — multiple operational sites. This allows the initial RTLS deployment to establish value before expanding the system across the organisation.

Yes. Squawk Technologies supports both Bluetooth 5.1 AoA and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) positioning technologies. Different applications can have different positioning requirements. AoA may be appropriate for one tracking application while UWB may be appropriate for another. This allows the RTLS architecture to be designed around the operational requirement rather than forcing every application to use the same positioning technology.

Yes. RTLS becomes particularly valuable when location information is integrated with wider operational systems. Location information, geozone events and asset status can be used by applications such as ERP, MES, WMS, CMMS, production management systems, asset management platforms, automation systems, and business intelligence platforms. Integration requirements would normally be reviewed with the customer during system design.

Yes. Squawk Technologies' RTLS portfolio can be used alongside Siemens Location Intelligence, allowing Squawk positioning hardware and tracking technologies to form part of a broader location intelligence architecture. This provides customers with a route for combining Squawk's Bluetooth AoA and UWB technology with wider industrial software, analytics and integration capabilities.

Yes. One of the major advantages of RTLS is that location can become an operational input rather than simply something displayed on a map. For example: a tag enters Zone A, the RTLS identifies the event, software generates a digital signal, an external system receives the event, and an operational action occurs. Potential actions could include changing an asset status, generating a notification, recording completion of a process, triggering a dashboard event, activating an audible or visual tag alert, or informing another software platform.

Battery life depends heavily on the individual tag design and its configuration. Key factors include transmission interval, location update frequency, LED usage, audible alert usage, movement detection, battery capacity, operating temperature, and application behaviour. Squawk can therefore configure the system around the customer's required balance between location responsiveness and battery life.

No. The tag should be selected according to the asset and use case. A tool, vehicle, pallet, person and small automotive component have very different requirements. Tag selection can therefore consider factors such as physical size, mounting method, battery requirement, environmental protection, audible alert requirement, visual indication, required update frequency, asset value, and operating environment. This allows the RTLS hardware to be matched to the application rather than using a single tag design for every asset.

A proof-of-concept deployment can be used to demonstrate RTLS performance within a customer's actual operating environment before a larger rollout. A successful proof of concept should normally have clearly defined criteria such as required positioning accuracy, defined coverage area, number of assets, location update frequency, geozone detection, alert functionality, software integration requirements, and the operational improvement being measured. The results can then be used to engineer the larger deployment.

The value of RTLS normally comes from the operational problems it eliminates rather than simply from knowing an asset's coordinates. Typical areas for measurement include time employees spend searching for assets, lost tooling, lost or misplaced inventory, production delays, work-in-progress levels, excessive dwell time, equipment utilisation, process bottlenecks, expediting costs, manual scanning requirements, and unplanned replacement of assets. By comparing these costs before and after implementation, organisations can establish a measurable business case for RTLS.

Squawk Technologies combines Bluetooth 5.1 Angle of Arrival, UWB positioning, specialist RTLS hardware, configurable tags, geozoning and software integration to provide more than a simple asset-location system. The objective is to convert real-time location information into operational intelligence and automated actions. From locating an individual tool with sub-metre positioning, through measuring dwell time and process flow, to generating a physical beep or flashing alert on a tag, Squawk RTLS connects an asset's digital location with activity in the physical environment.