Gateway-Based Positioning
Gateway-based positioning with Golioth Location incures usage costs. See Golioth pricing for more information.
Devices that connect to Golioth via a gateway can obtain their position based on
the last known position of the gateway. When using the location
transformer in a Golioth
Pipeline, devices connecting via a gateway will automatically
have their gateway information forwarded to the transformer. Gateway information
will be used for location resolution as a fallback if no network information is
provided. The gateway location must have been stored on Golioth Location using
the location data destination to be
considered for resolution.
Gateway-based positioning is currently available to all projects with Golioth Location access. However, the use of gateways currently requires enrollment in the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) private access program.
Use Cases
Gateway-based positioning is particularly relevant in the following scenarios.
Devices without GNSS or Cellular / Wi-Fi Capabilities
Devices with GNSS capabilities can obtain their own position, whereas those with cellular or Wi-Fi support can leverage Golioth Location network-based positioning. For devices without any of these options, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices, leveraging a gateway for communication with Golioth will typically be required. In almost all cases, gateways will support one or more of the aforementioned capabilities, allowing location resolution and storage via Golioth Location. Devices connecting through the gateway are then able to use that information to obtain their position, which would not be possible otherwise.
Devices that Intermittently Connect via Gateways
Some devices do not require use of a gateway, but will use one to lower costs and maximize efficiency when available. This use case is especially common for devices that may be able to connect directly to Golioth using cellular, but will instead leverage a mobile application on a user's smartphone as a gateway when availale. In this scenario, the device has the option of scanning local cellular networks and streaming the network information through the gateway for network-based positioning, using gateway-based positioning, or using a combination of both.