[Steerpath] Beacon placement guide

In order for beacons to radiate evenly in a space, a few basic things should be taken into consideration.

General rules

• Try to place beacons evenly on large surfaces, roughly one every 8m (26ft).
• Ceiling mounting is highly recommended over wall mounting for best positioning performance.
• Installation height:

Ceilings:

• On metal surfaces: 3m (10ft) - 8m(26ft) is ideal. We have successfully tested up-to 12m (39ft)
• On non-metallic surface: 2.5 (8ft)-5m(17ft) is ideal. We have successfully tested up-to 8m (26ft).

Walls:

• Non-metallic surface: 2-3m (6.5-9 feet)
• Metallic surfaces not recommended, contact [e-mail] 
• Avoid placing beacons in corners.
• Avoid placing at the ends of wall segments

Ceiling mounting

Ceiling mounting is the recommended way of installation whenever it is possible. By placing the beacon on the ceiling there is less chance of humans or other dynamic sources getting in the beacon’s line of sight. This applies particularly to the shadow that the user themselves create while holding the phone. The ideal installation height is 2.5 (8ft)-5m(17ft) meters from ground level.

 

When placing the beacons on the ceiling, try to place them on areas where the ceiling is flat and no major construction or metallic objects are in the proximity. Ideal location for the beacon is the center of a room or in the middle of a corridor. Places where people typically walk under are good places for beacon placement.

Ceiling/Wall mounting in  an atrium

In atriums and big open spaces that have a clear line of sight to upper levels do not install beacons on the ceiling at the very top of the room.

On the 1st floor beacons can be placed on the walls or below the 1st floor on the ceiling if possible.

On the 2nd floor and upwards place beacons on the ceiling but try to avoid direct line of sight to the 1st floor or else you might encounter jumping between floors when using positioning.

Ceiling mounting with I-beams

Between beams, ideal for really low ceilings:

 

If beams are close to each other or ceiling is relatively high (4-5m and above) use I-beams for beacon mounting.

 

Don’t place in a way where a metallic object will obstruct the signal when people walk by.

 

Don’t put on metallic surfaces where the metal will obstruct the signal to the phone, i.e. people are walking on the other side of the metallic surface:

Beacon distribution

Here are some generic rules on how to decide where to place the beacons:

• Have beacons cover the area so that beacons are on average 8m (26ft). from each other.
• Place beacons to rooms where people are starting the navigation from
• Beacons should cover the whole area where indoor navigation is enabled. So have beacons also at the far ends of the map.

Wall mounting (not recommended)

Place above eye height but preferably not in the corner.

 

Place on large surfaces and evenly spread out across the building. Don’t place beacons in corners or at the ends of walls.

In the pictures below, not every good or bad spot is marked.

If the basic construction of the space uses columns or pillars, try to place beacons away from them. Don’t place beacons on metallic pillars or columns.

Where to start planning?

In order to achieve optimal positioning performance with minimal amount of beacons please follow the guidelines and rules of thumb described in this section.

1. Have one beacon every 8m (26ft). so that every 64m² (689 sqft) there's at least one beacon.
2. Place beacons first on the pathways. Particularly cover the most used corridors and rooms.
3. Please beacons on the perimeter of the building if you are planning to enable positioning outside of pathways and corridors.
4. Place a beacon at the bottom and top of stairs, escalators and elevators. This enables smooth and fast automatic floor switching.
5. Place the rest of the beacons to get a coverage of all the areas as mentioned in step 1.
   • Cover areas where people are likely to start navifgating from, such as reception, meeting room, cafeteria etc.

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