WiFi Tracing
Introduction
Supported in: SimplePack 3.0/4.0 Plus with a WiFi module, SimpleIndustry with a WiFi module
Please note that this is a very basic guide. There are tons of ways to do tracking and you need to define what you expect from the device to do very clearly and choose the right device with the right settings based on your expectations. For more information, read the Location tracking whitepaper.
Intended for: End users and integrators & platform providers to understand device behavior before direct implementation and fine-tuning (for those who want to integrate the device into their own platform, the API 6 firmware documentation is here.
Use case description: SimpleHW devices with a WiFi module can sniff for MAC addresses around the device - the device then sends them to you via a Sigfox message and you can use them for localization with much better precision than the regular Sigfox Atlas is capable of. To demonstrate this, we will use the WiFi mode Trace me WiFi* - this can be generally used for tracing the journey of lorries and any cargo imaginable. It's also the most commonly used WiFi-enabled mode. Messages are sent with up to 3 MAC addresses and those are then processed by Google localization services (on IO Frog). The precision is generally 3-50 meters, depending on how many MACs are around (precision is better in the city than in the country). The device first sends a Start of movement message when the accelerometer reports movement and while in move, sends a periodical message every 10 minutes (default) until movement is no longer detected. When no movement is detected for 10 minutes (default), a Stop of movement message is sent. Default time values can be adjusted.
Prerequisites
Before-you-start checklist (you should have everything on the list if you went through the first message guide):
✅ Hardware/devices ✅ Sigfox connectivity ✅ Sigfox coverage where you need it ✅ IO Frog platform account and access ✅ Correctly set-up callbacks in the Sigfox backend (if you're using your own connectivity) ✅ You're receiving messages from your devices ✅ Everything is fine!
Step-by-step setup guide
1. Go to the IO Frog platform and login with your account.
2. After you login, head over to your profile in the top right and make sure your Experience level is Expert, otherwise you will not be able to change device downlink - if necessary, increase your level and hit Update to save the changes.
3. Go to the All devices tab and click on device Setup.
4. In the downlink tab, set the mode to Trace me WiFi (0...0117 in the top bar), hit Update.
5. Press the button of your device for or 6+ seconds, this will trigger downlink with the new settings - the LED will keep blinking for about a minute. ???+ attention If you're working with the SimpleIndustry or the SimpleMeter, you need to either wait for the heartbeat that will request downlink (older prototypes) or you will use a magnet on the reed switch instead of pressing the button. The time of operation is the same (6s+ of magnet presence to trigger downlink, 2-4s to disarm device, 1s to arm).
| SimplePack 2.0 | SimplePack 3.0/4.0 Plus |
|---|---|
6. Once the LED stops blinking, you place the device where you need it: depends on what cargo you're monitoring, but generally the device should avoid direct contact with any metal objects (you can read more here).
7. Once placed, activate the device by pressing the button and try moving the cargo around to make sure you are receiving all three messages. There, all done!
Please note that Sigfox has a 90% delivery success rate. It's possible that the downlink will not be received by the device, the best way forward in this case is simply repeating the whole process from Step 4 onwards.
Suggestions
With every WiFi mode, you can change position display on the map by changing location source from Best available to GPS/WiFi, if you want to view WiFi localisations only (you can find this in General settings).
When you view the Tracing tab, you can tell the type of each localisation by the colour - Google WiFi (most messages from WiFi modes) are green.
Please note that in order to work, Google WiFi localisation services need at least two MAC addresses appended from the device. If your device sends none or only one, the message will be localised with the basic Sigfox Atlas.
If you're getting false or limited reports of usage, try playing around with accelerometer sensitivity settings (the higher the number, the less sensitive the sensor).
If you're losing a lot of messages, set up 3x alert repetition. This will better the performance of your device and you should lose less messages.
Public data sharing: IO Frog also supports public channels, where you can add multiple devices and display data from all of them at the same time, including their position on a world map. It's very cool and we highly suggest you take a look! Here's our coffee project and here's how to set a public channel up.
Last updated
