I would like to work on a project in order to track personal items such as keys, wallets, bags and also dogs or cats.
I am looking to purchase the Ultimate GPS but I am not sure if it is suitable for my project. There are several GPS versions available and I am not sure which one to pick.
I will describe briefly what I am trying to achieve.
Case Scenario:
Tracker(GPS) will be permanently fitted in the wallet.
If the wallet went missing, the owner can search it via a mobile app that we will develop.
The mobile app will show the latest location of the wallet which is the last logged data available from the satellite.
Since GPS may or may not work indoors, the mobile app will only show the latest location where it receives the last data from the satellite.
We do not need a precise location. It suffice if it points to which house or building the wallet is in.
For example if the owner tracks the wallet via the mobile app, the mobile app will show that his wallet is in a police station.
It would be nice if it can locate indoors but its more than sufficient if it points to which building it is in.
Also, I have another problem figuring out how will the GPS send the logged data to the mobile app?.
So the GPS module will only receive data from the satellite and outputs a long list of information which can be utilized
to pinpoint a location. But the GPS module is in the wallet and after receiving these data in the wallet, how can
these data be passed to the mobile app. The mobile app requires these data from the GPS module in the wallet in order
to show its last location.
So I have 2 questions
1. Which GPS module is recommended for the above case scenario?
2. How can the data received by the GPS module in the wallet be passed to the mobile app?
Thanks in advance
Best regards,
Waji
Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
- Franklin97355
- Posts: 23940
- Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:33 pm
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
The GPS module does not transmit information it only receives it. you would need another device to send the location data and some place to store that for the app to access. It can be done but it isn't an easy task.
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88154
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
As Franklin says, it would require a bit of software development to put it all together. But a good place to start would be combining one of the Feather WiFi or RF modules with a GPS wing. The GPS module would receive the location information and you could re-broadcast that over WiFi, or to another RF receiver.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3133
https://www.adafruit.com/category/830?q=feather%20rf&
https://www.adafruit.com/category/871?q=feather%20wifi&
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3133
https://www.adafruit.com/category/830?q=feather%20rf&
https://www.adafruit.com/category/871?q=feather%20wifi&
- waji
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:51 pm
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
Thank you very much for the reply and for the explanation.
The explanation really helps.
Since its a bit complicated, I've decided to narrow down the project scope.
So I have decided to get the tracking range to within 1km or 2km.
A simple solution I came up is to add a buzzer to the wallet so that if the
distance between the wallet and the mobile phone goes beyond a specific limit for example 30 metre,
the buzzer on the wallet will be activated. The mobile phone will also produce a siren kinda sound to alert the user.
So if my understanding is correct, I would need 2 main components in order to make this work which are
1. Adafruit Ultimate GPS FeatherWing
2. Adafruit Feather 32u4 RFM95 LoRa Radio - 868 or 915 MHz
or
Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz
- and also an optional wire antenna to boost the reception
I read that the LoRa Radio can achieve approximately 2KM in open areas with a wire antenna.
So, Im guessing with interference it would be nice to achieve 1KM but 500m-700m should be good enough.
Using the LoRa Radio however begs another question, since it only allows small data packet transmission,
can it be used to transmit the strings of data from the GPS module to the mobile phone directly?. Im wondering
if the data produced by the GPS are considered small?. If its too big, I can loosen up a bit by sending the location data
every 15 seconds instead of every second?
Thanks in advance
The explanation really helps.
Since its a bit complicated, I've decided to narrow down the project scope.
So I have decided to get the tracking range to within 1km or 2km.
A simple solution I came up is to add a buzzer to the wallet so that if the
distance between the wallet and the mobile phone goes beyond a specific limit for example 30 metre,
the buzzer on the wallet will be activated. The mobile phone will also produce a siren kinda sound to alert the user.
So if my understanding is correct, I would need 2 main components in order to make this work which are
1. Adafruit Ultimate GPS FeatherWing
2. Adafruit Feather 32u4 RFM95 LoRa Radio - 868 or 915 MHz
or
Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz
- and also an optional wire antenna to boost the reception
I read that the LoRa Radio can achieve approximately 2KM in open areas with a wire antenna.
So, Im guessing with interference it would be nice to achieve 1KM but 500m-700m should be good enough.
Using the LoRa Radio however begs another question, since it only allows small data packet transmission,
can it be used to transmit the strings of data from the GPS module to the mobile phone directly?. Im wondering
if the data produced by the GPS are considered small?. If its too big, I can loosen up a bit by sending the location data
every 15 seconds instead of every second?
Thanks in advance
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88154
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
If you go with the LoRa, you will also need a second Feather LoRa to act as the receiver for your phone.
The full GPS output stream is probably too much for the LoRa to handle. But given the distances you are working with, you could slow down the transmission rate to every 10 or 15 seconds. You could also filter the extraneous data and just transmit the essential coordinates.
The full GPS output stream is probably too much for the LoRa to handle. But given the distances you are working with, you could slow down the transmission rate to every 10 or 15 seconds. You could also filter the extraneous data and just transmit the essential coordinates.
- waji
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:51 pm
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
Ohh. I didn't realize the LoRa needs another LoRa to communicate.
I thought its possible for the LoRa to send data directly to the mobile phone.
So, if I were to go with LoRa, I will need a second Feather LoRa in order to receive the data from the first Feather LoRa.
This means that I will need to add a Bluetooth module to the second Feather LoRa in order to send the data from the
second Feather LoRa to the mobile phone. Is this correct?.
Thanks in advance :)
I thought its possible for the LoRa to send data directly to the mobile phone.
So, if I were to go with LoRa, I will need a second Feather LoRa in order to receive the data from the first Feather LoRa.
This means that I will need to add a Bluetooth module to the second Feather LoRa in order to send the data from the
second Feather LoRa to the mobile phone. Is this correct?.
Thanks in advance :)
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88154
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
Yes.. Bluetooth would work. You could probably also tether it via USB, but I don't have any examples of that to point you to.
- waji
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:51 pm
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
yeah USB is another nice option but I would like to have it wireless so probably Bluetooth is the best way so far.
I will be doing a bit more researching and then I will proceed to purchase those components.
Thank you very much. I really appreciate your guidance and explanation :D
I will be doing a bit more researching and then I will proceed to purchase those components.
Thank you very much. I really appreciate your guidance and explanation :D
- waji
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:51 pm
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
Hi,
After doing more readings and before I make the purchase,
I have some questions regarding LoRa.
1. How many years does it take for "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz" before its battery runs out?
2. Is "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz" for example raw or what protocol does it uses?. LoraWAN?.
3. Can the "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz" communicate with PyCom LoPy?.
4. Can 3 separate devices of "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz" send data to a single "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz"?
(meaning many-to-one relationship)
5. How does a LoRa feather communicate to another LoRa feather?.
Does it need to specify a Device ID, for example:-
LoRa Feather A
Device ID : L1
Recipient Device ID : L2
Data : "Hello"
LoRa Feather B
Device ID : L2
Recipient Device ID : L1
Data : "World"
6. I need GPS, LoRa and Bluetooth LE functions.
if its GPS and LoRa only then as suggested, I can go with GPS featherwing paired with LoRa feather but
whats the best pick that has all 3 considering that it has to be smallest and cheapest possible?.
Thank you soo much :D
After doing more readings and before I make the purchase,
I have some questions regarding LoRa.
1. How many years does it take for "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz" before its battery runs out?
2. Is "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz" for example raw or what protocol does it uses?. LoraWAN?.
3. Can the "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz" communicate with PyCom LoPy?.
4. Can 3 separate devices of "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz" send data to a single "Adafruit Feather M0 with RFM95 LoRa Radio - 900MHz"?
(meaning many-to-one relationship)
5. How does a LoRa feather communicate to another LoRa feather?.
Does it need to specify a Device ID, for example:-
LoRa Feather A
Device ID : L1
Recipient Device ID : L2
Data : "Hello"
LoRa Feather B
Device ID : L2
Recipient Device ID : L1
Data : "World"
6. I need GPS, LoRa and Bluetooth LE functions.
if its GPS and LoRa only then as suggested, I can go with GPS featherwing paired with LoRa feather but
whats the best pick that has all 3 considering that it has to be smallest and cheapest possible?.
Thank you soo much :D
- adafruit_support_bill
- Posts: 88154
- Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
Run-time will depend on the battery you choose and the code you write. As you would expect, power draw will be higher when transmitting. And the M0 has a variety of power-management features that can be used to optimize battery life.
With multiple RFM95 modules within range, it is possible to communicate between any two via device address. For more details on the RadioHead library and its capabilities, see: http://www.airspayce.com/mikem/arduino/RadioHead/
Since we do not have a Feather/Bluefruit wing, the best combination is probably the
Feather M0 Bluefruit: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2995
GPS Wing: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3133
LoRa Wing: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3231
With multiple RFM95 modules within range, it is possible to communicate between any two via device address. For more details on the RadioHead library and its capabilities, see: http://www.airspayce.com/mikem/arduino/RadioHead/
Since we do not have a Feather/Bluefruit wing, the best combination is probably the
Feather M0 Bluefruit: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2995
GPS Wing: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3133
LoRa Wing: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3231
- waji
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:51 pm
Re: Suitable GPS for both indoors & outdoor?
Thank you very much.
I have decided on the parts but still waiting for items listed below to be in stock :D
1. https://www.adafruit.com/product/3231
2. https://www.adafruit.com/product/2995
Thank you very much
I have decided on the parts but still waiting for items listed below to be in stock :D
1. https://www.adafruit.com/product/3231
2. https://www.adafruit.com/product/2995
Thank you very much
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.