Using Ultra-Wideband Technology to Display the Bible

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Using Ultra-Wideband Technology to Display the Bible [Copy link]

The Museum of the Bible (MotB) in Washington, D.C., brings the history, impact, and story of the Bible to life. Using cutting-edge technology, the MotB experience is unlike any other museum in the world. Its innovative “digital guide” has the following key features:

· Customized live commentary provides visitors with relevant knowledge while efficiently guiding them to exhibits, theaters and attractions at the best times based on their location and interests.

Natural and active navigation guides visitors to artifacts and exhibits and away from crowded areas.

· Visual enhancements such as videos, interactive 3D objects, and augmented reality can complement artifact and display areas.

· Features specifically for group leaders that allow them to pinpoint the location of family members or group members, create time limits, coordinate meal times, and communicate with group members throughout the trip.

The Challenging Environment of Wireless Technology

MotB is located in a converted warehouse near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, the building is a concrete and heavy steel structure, an environment that creates troublesome shadows and dead spots, making it challenging for all wireless technologies.

Another challenge is the high density of people in museums, especially when large tourist groups gather in certain locations. Such gatherings made the first generation of electronic guides very unreliable.

Choosing the right technology

To create the guide, the museum examined competing location technologies, from GPS to Bluetooth to Wi-Fi. These technologies were not considered because they did not provide the stable, precise positioning required for effective tours.

MotB selected the Ciholas solution, which uses UWB technology from Qorvo (formerly Decawave), which has proven to be both accurate and reliable in a variety of challenging environments.

What is Ultra-Wideband? A technology designed to enable precise positioning and secure communications

At the heart of all digital guides is a UWB transceiver subsystem based on the Qorvo DW1000 chip, which includes an integrated UWB antenna and a dedicated microprocessor to handle UWB communications and computations.

Additionally, an additional FM radio receiver enables ADA audio transmission, which can be tuned to the appropriate channel using UWB positioning. The tablet and other electronics are housed in a custom injection-molded plastic enclosure with an integrated handle and wristband holder.

On the infrastructure side, to address the museum's layout challenges, Ciholas installed nearly 600 UWB anchor points to cover the 43,000 square meters of floor space on seven floors.

All anchors are connected to servers in the museum's basement that run the UWB system. These servers manage the anchor network, perform anchor synchronization, perform positioning calculations, log system data and performance, and manage the digital guide update process.

Data analysis derived from the digital guide creates heat maps showing where visitors spend the most time.

position

To address the high density of visitors, Ciholas leveraged the flexibility of Qorvo UWB chips. Because each device needs to use its own location in the guide app, the digital guides can implement "navigation mode" positioning to reduce latency and network congestion, and improve reliability. Navigation mode works like an indoor GPS, coordinating with UWB signals emitted by anchor points. The guide uses this data to calculate its position 10 times per second, enough for even the fastest museum visitors. They also support an unlimited number of guide positioning in any given area, so even the largest groups can have a great experience.

The digital guide can also operate in "tracking mode." This allows a server to calculate the device's position and use it for analytics and other systems. A key component of the system is the positioning engine, known as VML. VML is particularly effective in the real world, where UWB signals can be partially or fully obscured, a common occurrence in museums. VML algorithms detect and mitigate these obstructions, limiting the impact of bad data on the output while achieving optimal performance.

Looking ahead

MotB's digital guide system already meets tourists' needs and offers opportunities for further development:

Digital analytics will enable museums to develop heat maps to better understand what visitors stop to see and how long they stay in different locations. Similarly, museums can identify where congestion occurs. This will enable museum directors to manage foot traffic, identify popular exhibits, detect problem areas, and notify visitors of upcoming events to continuously improve the visitor experience.

Data can also enable new guide features. By understanding where tourists are going and what their interests are, guides can create personalized itineraries for tourists. Even better, using real-time congestion data, guides can rearrange itineraries to create the best experience.

MotB proves that detailed and accurate location data can transform the way museums and other public places engage with visitors, so see it for yourself.

A view of Washington, D.C. from the sixth-floor glass gallery of the Museum of the Bible.

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In the future, we will use terminal products with indoor and outdoor positioning technology to find you.