Distance Measurement Accuracy Problem

Archive
1

Hi I am working on a project on android to analyze my activity in a room, but what I am noticing is that the beacons are very consistently giving me distance readings that are much closer to the beacons than I actually am with very large fluctuations in that distance.

For example, I am sitting 6 meters from a beacon in an open room at this moment and am getting distance readings ranging from about 1-5 meters from the beacon with 2 meters being an approximate average reading over time. Is there something I can do to improve these readings so that at least the average reading is closer to my actual distance?

2

Hi Scott,

It is possible to increase the signal's reliability by increasing the broadcasting power and the advertising interval of a beacon. Keep in mind, however, that it will have an impact on the battery life. You can read more about it here: https://community.estimote.com/hc/en-us/articles/201538147-How-advertising-interval-and-broadcasting-power-affect-battery-life-

3

Battery life was not a concern, so we had already turned it up to the maximum broadcasting power with a 200ms advertising interval. The numbers I gave above were using those settings.

4

Hi Scott,

I'm afraid that there is not much more I can advice. The reason might be that Bluetooth stack for Android has no noise cancelling methods therefore can be less responsive then iOS, more details here: https://community.estimote.com/hc/en-us/articles/202028913-Why-beacons-are-less-responsive-on-Android-than-on-iOS

5

Hello. How come I could not open the broadcasting power configuration page? Thanks.