The Challenge
Our client, one of our biggest, approached us with an exciting opportunity: enhancing the safety of children in schools and kindergartens. The goal was to create an application that could accurately track the position of kids inside educational institutions. The kids would wear BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) devices similar to smartwatches that communicate with BLE beacons installed on the ceilings of classrooms. The application needed to display the floor plan of the schools, showing the exact locations of kids in real-time and sending notifications if a child leaves the school premises.
The primary challenge was ensuring seamless communication between the beacons and the devices and accurately determining the child's location based on the distance from the nearest beacon. This was crucial to guaranteeing the system's reliability and effectiveness. In the beginning, we focused solely on trying to tackle this problem in the best possible way.
The Solution Proposal
We proposed a comprehensive solution to address these challenges, including the discovery and development phases. The idea was to:
- Conduct a thorough discovery phase using two beacons and three devices to understand the communication dynamics and pinpoint focus areas.
- Develop a proof of concept to validate our approach and refine the tracking algorithm.
- Implement a user-friendly application interface that displays the school's floor plan and children's real-time locations.
- Integrate a reliable notification system to alert if a child leaves the school premises.
The Approach
Discovery Phase
We kicked off the project with an in-depth discovery phase. Using two beacons and three devices, our team conducted extensive testing to understand how the devices interacted with the beacons. This phase was crucial in identifying the key factors affecting communication and location accuracy.
Our technical team, comprising the project manager and tech lead, worked together to analyze the client's data and develop a proof of concept while communicating the findings with the client. This allowed us to determine the best strategies for overcoming the communication challenges and refining our tracking algorithm.
Development Phase
With insights gained from the discovery phase, we moved into the development phase. Our team was composed of:
- Project Manager
- Back End Developer / Tech Lead
- Front End Developer
We utilized the following technologies:
- BLE Technology uses MQTT queues for communication between devices and beacons
- Custom-built tracking algorithm for accurate location determination\
- Java Spring Boot for backend services
- React.js for a custom, user-friendly interface
The development process was organized into agile sprints, allowing us to build and test the application features iteratively. We focused on creating an accurate and reliable tracking system, a detailed floor plan interface, and an efficient notification system.
The Conclusion
After three months of dedicated work, the application was ready for pilot testing. The application successfully tracks the positions of children within the school premises, providing real-time updates on a floor plan and sending notifications if a child leaves the designated area.
The discovery phase proved crucial for this success, and we estimate that its findings decreased the development time by around 30%.
Our client is currently piloting the project, with plans to expand and enhance the solution based on feedback and performance. We are optimistic that our work will set a new standard in child safety in Switzerland, ensuring a safer environment for children and peace of mind for parents and educators.
If you're interested in learning more about this project or exploring similar solutions, feel free to contact us at office@marbleit.rs.
