Independent Anchor Topology

LEAPS RTLS
1

Hi everyone,

I’m researching whether Leaps RTLS can support a specific use case. In this system, independent UWB anchors (ANs) are mounted on forklifts to detect roaming tags (TNs) worn by employees. Each anchor functions independently, performing Two-Way Ranging (TWR) with nearby tags. Forklifts can, but do not need to communicate with each other.

From what I’ve seen in the Leaps RTLS demos, there is typically at least one Anchor-Initiator (ANI) in the network. While that structure makes sense for many deployments, our use case does not require tag-to-tag ranging or anchor-to-anchor communication—we only need direct TWR between tags and individual anchors.

My Question:
Is it possible to configure an AN (Anchor) in Leaps RTLS to perform TWR with TNs (Tags) without requiring an ANI? If so, what are the key settings or considerations to make this work? I’m also open to use topologies or inverting the tags and anchors if that helps make the use case work.

The proximity demo gets use very close, but we don’t necessarily need the tags to range to one another, just to an anchor or tag on the forklift.

Any insights or experiences would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

2

I’ve been looking into leaps as well. They have a demo for infrastructureless distancing. Maybe scratches your itch?
https://docs.leapslabs.com/udk1/udk1-start/infrastructure-less-proximity-demo/

3

@stephane Thanks for your input. I currently have the devices configured to use a variant of that demo. The only downside is that the tags all range with one another in addition to the tag on the forklift. Ideally, I’d like to eliminate the TWR between the employee tags and just have TWR between the employee and the forklift. Just trying to figure out if that is possible within the RTLS toolbox.

4

Yes, I’m seeing you explicitly mentioned the proximity demo in your original post. I saw your post and thought I can help! Will let the real experts respond!

5

Hi Drew, Stephane,

Currently the Infrastructure-less proximity profile cannot do this.

  • The Tags would also measure between each others.
  • Technically it is possible to either modify or add an additional profile where this would be supported.
  • We do not have this in our roadmap at the moment but I think we can discuss this via email to see if it would be feasible to include in the future releases.

Cheers,
TDK