Frequently asked questions

Ultra-wideband is a short-range radio technology that sends very short pulses over a bandwidth of 500 MHz or more. Because the pulses are so short, a receiver can time their arrival precisely and turn that time into distance. Read how UWB works.

An RTLS continuously works out where tagged people, vehicles and assets are inside a defined area. A Noccela system consists of base stations (UWB anchors), tags and the Noccela Location Intelligence Platform. What is RTLS?

High-Performance Ranging (HPR) is Noccela’s proprietary UWB positioning protocol. It combines the coverage and accuracy of two-way ranging with the tag capacity and battery life usually associated with TDoA systems. How HPR works.

Two-way ranging (TWR) measures distance with a message exchange between a tag and a base station, time difference of arrival (TDoA) compares when one tag message reaches several synchronised base stations, and angle of arrival (AoA) measures direction with antenna arrays. Each balances accuracy, battery life, capacity and infrastructure differently. Compare the methods.

Noccela devices use UWB channel 5, centred at 6.5 GHz, on the IEEE 802.15.4 physical layer. The approvals for each device are on the compliance page.

UWB transmits at a very low power density spread over a wide band, which is why regulators allow it licence-free alongside Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. No radio is entirely immune to interference, so a site survey checks the local radio environment. UWB and Bluetooth compared.

Noccela demonstrated positioning with UWB smartphones in 2023, but phone positioning is not offered as a product today. Tracking uses Noccela tags and badges. See the tags.

Accuracy is up to 10 cm. What you get on site depends on base-station geometry, line of sight, metal and the update rate, so specify and test it zone by zone. What affects UWB accuracy.

Coverage is up to 500 m² per base station. Racking, machinery and walls reduce it, so the real number of base stations comes from a plan of your floor. Estimate your base stations.

Indoors with clear line of sight, UWB ranges reach a few tens of metres, and obstacles shorten them. Because each position needs several base stations in view, spacing is set by geometry rather than by maximum range. UWB accuracy and range.

No, but accuracy is best with it. Signals pass through people, plasterboard and glass with a small delay, while metal and thick concrete block or reflect them. How obstacles affect UWB.

Capacity is 1,000 active tags at 1 Hz within radio range. Tags that are not moving sleep, thanks to the accelerometer, and do not use capacity, so a site can have many more tags in total. About HPR.

The update rate is configurable from 0.1 to 50 Hz. Higher rates suit fast vehicles and sports, while lower rates save battery on slow-moving assets. Choosing update rates.

Yes. The Sports Beacon is the base station for outdoor and demanding environments such as sports pitches, equestrian tracks and yards; rules for fixed outdoor UWB installations differ between countries. Sports Beacon.

Yes. Each floor is covered by its own base stations, because concrete floors block most UWB signals, and positions are reported per floor. Floors in the data model.

A technician measures the positions of two base stations; the rest measure their distances to each other and calibrate themselves. It replaces a manual survey of every base station. How automatic calibration works.

As a first estimate, take one base station per 200 m², multiply by 1.0 for warehouses, 1.2 for factories with metal structures or 1.68 for heavy machinery, and use at least 10. Open areas can need fewer, because coverage is up to 500 m² per base station. Try the estimator.

Beacon 3 is powered over Ethernet: one cable carries both power and data. For temporary or outdoor set-ups, the Extension Box runs a base station from a USB-C power bank and connects it over Wi-Fi. Beacon 3.

No. Base stations need no public IP, static IP or access to your private network. Network and security.

Most of the time goes into cabling and mounting, and automatic calibration removes the separate survey of every base station. For a single hall, a few weeks from planning to use is realistic. Planning a deployment.

Cabling and mounting can be done by your own electricians or an installation partner, following a base-station plan. Noccela’s services cover planning, project management, calibration, validation and handover. Services.

The system needs to know the new position. With automatic calibration the base stations can measure their distances to each other again, so the site does not need a new manual survey. Automatic calibration.

The ID Badge for people, the Smart Tag for tools, carts and pallets, the Industrial Tag for vehicles and machines, and the Andon Button, a location-aware call button. Compare the tags.

Typically several years, depending on utilisation and update rate. Tags sleep when they are not moving, so parked assets use very little energy. Smart Tag specifications.

Yes. It charges over USB-C or pogo pins in about 2.2 hours, and the Charging Dock charges 48 badges at once at a shift-change point. Charging Dock.

Its accelerometer puts it to sleep, and it wakes as soon as the asset moves. Sleeping tags save battery and do not use positioning capacity. Update rate and battery life.

The ID Badge is sealed to IP67 and the Industrial Tag to IP65. The Smart Tag and the Andon Button are made for indoor use. Industrial Tag.

Yes. The ID Badge has an RGB LED, an 84 dB buzzer and a button for calling assistance, and it receives configuration and firmware updates over the air. ID Badge.

The Smart Tag attaches with a pin, wire, magnet or double-sided tape, and the Industrial Tag with magnets, screws or tape. Smart Tag.

Yes, the Noccela Location Intelligence Platform is a cloud service by default. Sites whose IT or safety policy rules out cloud processing can run positioning on an on-premise server. Cloud or on-premise.

It runs the positioning on a computer in your own network, so location data can stay on site. On-premise server.

Users get roles in the platform, and applications authenticate with OAuth 2.0 client credentials. Hosting, access control and security practices are described on the cloud, on-premise and security page.

It can be, when it is necessary for a defined purpose such as safety, assessed in a data protection impact assessment and handled through employee consultation. In Finland, location data should not, as a rule, be used to monitor working hours. Privacy in safety use cases.

Yes. Badges can be mapped to roles rather than named people, and data retention can be kept short. Agree the set-up with your works council or co-operation body before go-live. Workplace safety.

For tracking employees, almost always: systematic monitoring of employees with a new technology meets the usual criteria for one. Do it before the pilot, not after. Data protection.

Through three APIs: the Realtime API streams live positions over WebSocket, the HTTP API serves history and configuration, and the Push API sends events such as zone entries to your HTTPS endpoint. Developer documentation.

With the OAuth 2.0 client-credentials flow: an application exchanges its client ID and secret for a short-lived access token. Authentication.

Yes. A JavaScript and TypeScript SDK on GitHub handles authentication, reconnection and stream subscriptions. SDK.

Yes. Zones and workflow rules turn positions into events, such as a pallet entering a zone or a button press, and the Push API delivers them to your endpoint for bookings or alerts. Push API.

Coordinates (x, y and z), the floor, a timestamp and an uncertainty estimate, together with tag status such as battery level and current zones. Data model.

Ask for developer access through the contact form and describe what you want to build. Request sandbox access.

No. Noccela is a warning, alerting and awareness system: badges, flashes and messages warn drivers and pedestrians in time to act, and slowing or stopping a machine is a safety function designed and validated by the machine manufacturer or integrator. Forklift pedestrian detection explained.

Noccela devices are radio equipment with the approvals listed on the compliance page. No Performance Level or SIL is claimed, because those ratings belong to machine safety functions under ISO 13849-1 or IEC 62061, not to warning devices. Compliance.

A vehicle’s tag and a person’s badge measure the distance between them with UWB, and when it drops below the configured limit the badge beeps and flashes. Peer-to-peer ranging works even where no base stations are installed. Workplace safety.

Yes. It can list who has reached a muster point and the last known zone of anyone missing, which supports evacuation roll-call. Mustering and evacuation.

A head count of one in a defined danger zone can send a message to a supervisor, and the badge button lets the wearer call for assistance. Konecranes Hyvinkää pilot.

Yes. The Mobile Anchor with Flash creates a geofence around itself, and when an ID Badge enters it, the flash and tone warn the people nearby. Mobile Anchor with Flash.

Zone and proximity events are available through the APIs, so an integrator can pass them to a vehicle controller or PLC. Any slowing or stopping is engineered and certified by the machine builder or integrator with safety-rated functions. Realtime API.

Noccela Oy is a Finnish company, founded in 2014, that designs UWB real-time location systems: base stations, tags, the Location Intelligence Platform and APIs. It is based in Kaarina, Finland. About Noccela.

It depends on the area, the number and type of tags, installation and integration. Compare systems by total cost of ownership per square metre over five years, and ask for an estimate for your floor plan. RTLS cost and ROI.

Yes. A pilot covers one area and one or two use cases for a few weeks, with success criteria agreed in advance. How a pilot works.

Yes. Systems are delivered together with system integrators, resellers and telecom partners such as DNA, which offers the service as DNA Täsmäpaikannus. Partners.

Public references include the Koskisen wood-processing plant, the DB Schenker logistics centre in Lieto and Harjun Oppimiskeskus, which tracks horses. Case studies.

Noccela hardware is built on UWB chips from Qorvo, Noccela’s UWB chip partner. Partners.

Existing customers can reach Noccela support by e-mail at support@noccela.com or through the support page. Support.

Book a demo and describe what you want to track and where; an engineer will show how it would work on your site. Book a demo.