Titan Beacons are Bluetooth Low Energy ID beacons used for traceability of various movable objects such as trailers, containers, tractor attachments, equipment, tools, inventory, and more.
Titan Beacons are used with the TT6000 device and the WBD gateway accessory. Titan Beacons report data through the TT6000 device when within range (approx. 80 meters). The TT6000 subsequently transmits data via cellular transmission to the Portal.
Note: The TT6000 must be configured to a Titan Beacon to receive data.
Using Titan Beacons
You can trace a moveable object equipped with a Titan Beacon to the last location that it pinged from a TT6000 device. Beacon data can be viewed from the live map, map history, and reporting.
The Titan Beacon data reports three different types of events:
Enter Report: Beacon comes within the range of a vehicle equipped with the TT6000 and WBD gateway.
Exit Report: Beacons are no longer within the range of a vehicle equipped with the TT6000 and WBD gateway.
Timed Report: Beacon report occurs at the 30-minute interval (similar to a heartbeat) when a vehicle equipped with the TT6000 and WBD gateway is active (ignition on) and within range.
Viewing Beacon Comms
Reviewing Beacon Comms provides drill-down data about the Titan Beacon's whereabouts when it last reported via pinging a vehicle outfitted with a TT6000 and WBD Gateway.
To view Beacon Comms in the Portal, simply hover your mouse over the object outfitted with the Beacon, and the asset info window appears.
The critical data items to examine are as follows:
1 | Last Reported by | Identify the vehicle that was last within the Beacon's range. |
2 | Last Comms | Ascertain the last date/time the Beacon reported. |
3 | BTBeacon Event | The type of event last reported: enter, exit, or timed. |
From the data items above, you can understand which vehicle was last within range of the object's Beacon, the date and time the object last reported, and if the event reported indicates if the object is staying within range of the vehicle (timed), out of range of the vehicle (exit), or just came within range of the vehicle (enter).
Using Beacon Alerts
Beacon alerts send real-time notifications of triggered events via email and/or SMS. Alerts are an effective way to proactively trace objects/equipment, sending automated notifications of enter and exit events. This is especially helpful to notify a driver in real time via SMS alert that an object has been left behind via an exit alert triggered by a beacon outside of range.
There are four available Beacon alerts:
Beacon Enter Report: Alerts any time a beacon is identified as "new" from the TT6000/WBD, meaning the beacon previously did not exist in the list of nearby beacons (i.e. enters the proximity of the GPS device)
Beacon Exit Report: Alerts any time a beacon that was previously identified or existed within the list of nearby beacons for the TT6000/WBD is now no longer seen (i.e. exited the proximity of the GPS device)
Beacon Timed Report: Alerts every 30 minutes while a beacon remains in the range of the TT6000/WBD and the device is powered on (not asleep) (i.e. the beacon entered, and has not exited, therefore it will send a report every 30 minutes while in this state)
Beacon Report: Alerts on all of the three event reports above when triggered by an applicable event.
Note: Titan GPS SMS alerts are sent from (866) 311-4519. Titan GPS email alerts are sent from [email protected].
How to Configure a Beacon Alert
If you would like to configure a Beacon alert, please follow the instructions listed below.
In the Portal, click Alerts on the top navigation bar.
In the drop-down options, click Standard Alerts.
In the Standard Alerts window, click Create a new rule.
Select applicable assets for the alert by clicking the checkbox corresponding to the asset.
Scroll down in the alerts selection to the "TTBeaconID" section, and click the checkboxes corresponding to the alert types you would like to receive.
Enter the email(s) and/or 10-digit phone number(s) of alert recipients.
Click Save.
Use Case Example
Please read the below example to understand the benefits of Titan Beacons in a real-world application.
Example:
John from 123Gutters has outfitted his work ladder with a Titan Beacon. John's truck is equipped with the TT6000 and WBD gateway. John drives his truck to work premises to retrieve his ladder and upon entry into range of the beacon, an Enter event is triggered.
John takes his ladder in his truck on a 1-hour drive during which 2 Timed events are triggered (30 minutes apart). When John arrives at the specified work site, he unloads his ladder but then realizes dispatch has sent an updated work site. John gets back in his truck and drives to the new work site (unbeknownst to John, an Exit event was reported as his truck left the range of the beacon on his ladder). He finds that his ladder is missing and, in the confusion of the morning, he cannot remember if he even picked up his ladder from work premises.
Because 123Gutters has outfitted their equipment with Titan Beacons, John can call his office; where the office administrator can see the location of the Exit event and tells John that the ladder was last reported at the outdated work site saving John (and the company) time and money in locating the missing ladder.