Situm can be used with most Android & iOS smartphones. In this section, we will review what smartphone sensors Situm use, how the smartphone can be carried by the user and the minimum and recommended hardware requirements to have the best experience with Situm.
Operating System compatibility #
Android compatibility #
The following table contains the list of Android versions compatible with Situm.
| Version | Compatibility comments |
|---|---|
| Android 5, 6, 7, 8 | Not known compatibility issues. |
| Android 9 | We recommend using BLE beacons in combination with WiFi networks to achieve acceptable performance. Android 9 devices limit the capacity to scan WiFi signals (one scan per 30 seconds vs one scan per 1-6 seconds in previous and higher versions). This restriction is called “WiFi throttling”, and it significantly reduces the accuracy when using WiFi.Impedes the WiFi calibration of a building. |
| Android 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 | Android 10 introduced a developer option to deactivate the “WiFi Throttling”. This allows Situm to scan WiFi networks at a normal rate. This option can be turned on by any user. However, being a developer option it is unlikely that end-consumer users (e.g. users of a shopping mall app) activate it. On the contrary, corporate users (e.g. professional workers using a tracking app) are likely to activate it. The operation of Situm in other higher versions of Android is similar to Android 10. We recommend: For wayfinding apps: use BLE beacons like in Android 9. For tracking apps: you may use WiFi networks only (no BLE beacons required in general), but only if your users can deactivate the WiFi Throttling. |
iOS compatibility #
IOS by default does not scan WiFi every second so to calibrate it is necessary to use Android devices. For this reason the SMT App is not available in the IOS Store. If you wanted to test with it you would have to request it from support@situm.com, but you would need to have beacons in your building.
In addition, there is no IOS App for Tracking for the following reasons:
- IOS is not usually used in these environments due to its high cost.
- In tracking it is often not necessary to place beacons because it is not required the same accuracy as in WYF.
The following table contains the list of iOS versions compatible with Situm.
| Version | Compatibility comments |
|---|---|
| iOS 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 | Apple does not allow scanning for Wifi access points. Therefore, it is mandatory to use BLE beacons to achieve an acceptable positioning performance. |
Smartphone black list #
| Smartphone | Reason | Affects Wayfinding, Tracking or both |
|---|---|---|
| Nexus 5X | Compass issues: orientation may be inaccurate from time to time. | Affects both but the effects are not catastrophic. |
| Samsung S4 | Gyro issues: orientation may be inaccurate from time to time. | Affects both but the effects are not catastrophic. |
| Samsung A50 & A51 | The BLE scanning sensor of these models limits the number of BLE scans. | Only affects calibration, not positioning |
| Any Xiaomi model with MIUI | The MIUI personalization layer prevents continuous positioning in the background unless specific configurations are applied to the smartphone. | Only affects tracking use cases. Can be corrected by applying the mentioned configurations. |
| Any Huawei or Honor model | The EMUI personalization layer (under 8) prevents continuous positioning in the background. However, it is possible to use EMUI 8 if some device settings are changed (contact our Support Team for more information). | Only affects tracking use cases. Can be corrected by applying the mentioned configurations. |
| Any Meizu model | Compass issues: orientation may be inaccurate from time to time. | Affects both but the effects are not catastrophic. |
| Any Huawei (Android 10) | Only WiFi throttling can be disabled via ADB. | Only affects tracking use cases. |
Sensor requirements #
Sensors are pieces of hardware that allow you to perform certain functions on your device, such as connecting to the internet or BLE. But remember the following:
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| Wifi Sensor | The piece of hardware that allows network connections. |
| Mobile WiFi Connection Setting | The setting that we enter whenever we want to connect to a network with our mobile phone. |
| App WiFi Setting | Apps such as Situm Mapping Tool or Situm MRM use the sensor to search for networks and without actually connecting to them obtain information such as network name, UUID, power, etc. |
In order to compute the most accurate estimate, Situm fuses all the available sensor information that modern smartphones provide. Not all sensors are required: Situm is always able to make the most of the available information. The following table summarizes how Situm uses the smartphone sensors. You can check the sensors available on your smartphone in GSM Arena.
| Sensor | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| WiFi and/or BLE | WiFi Access Points (WiFi APs) signals can be received by all Android smartphones to provide accurate indoor positioning (after those signals have been mapped through the calibration step). Similar to WiFi APs, BLE beacons emit wireless signals (Bluetooth) that can be received by all modern smartphones (both Android and iOS). These signals can be captured during the calibration step and used to provide an accurate indoor location. | Android BLE & WiFi signals are totally complementary: Situm will work with either of them or with both at the same time. WiFi signals alone are usually enough to provide good positioning accuracy: chances are that you will not need to install any BLE beacon. In this case, BLE beacons are an optional complement for greater accuracy or to enable areas where no WiFi signal is available. iOS WiFi signal scanning is not allowed, therefore BLE beacons are required to provide indoor positioning. |
| GPS | This sensor provides an absolute location (latitude, longitude) within the whole Earth. Sadly, it is not accurate in indoor environments, but the information that it provides can be used outdoors to improve the geolocation estimation provided by Situm, or to provide proper geolocation anywhere in the world, even if Situm technology is not available. | Only if you want to achieve outdoor positioning. |
| Accelerometer | This sensor captures the acceleration that the smartphone experiences. At rest, the accelerometer is only subject to the Earth’s gravity, but when the smartphone moves there will be other forces at play. These forces can be measured in order to estimate how the user moves around the environment. | Yes, the accelerometer is always required. |
| Gyroscope | This sensor measures the angular velocity of the smartphone: that is, the rate at which the smartphone turns. The gyroscope can be used to update the device’s orientation. | Yes, the gyroscope is always required if the device does not have a compass. |
| Magnetometer/Compass | The magnetometer is the sensor that measures the direction and strength of the magnetic fields surrounding your smartphone. Typically, based on the magnetometer data the Earth’s magnetic field can be isolated, providing the device’s orientation with respect to the North. In this case, we typically call the magnetometer a compass. Compass information can be used to determine the device’s orientation, which may play a great deal in enhancing the location accuracy. Raw magnetometer information can also be used to measure the building’s magnetic fields (interferences caused by objects & currents) in order to enhance the location accuracy. | Yes, the compass is always required if the device does not have a Gyroscope. |
| Barometer | The barometer is a sensor that measures air pressure. Since the air pressure depends on the altitude, the barometer can help in estimating the floor where the user is in. | Not required, recommended to speed up floor transitions. |
Connectivity requirements #
Although Situm uses WiFi and BLE signals to pinpoint the user location, it does not need to connect to them in order to do this: Situm just detects the signal strength without needing to establish a network connection with WiFi APs or BLE beacons. Situm does, however, need to connect to Situm cloud to download the information required to perform the positioning (e.g. signal maps of the building) and to upload some kinds of data, such as the geolocations of the user computed by the smartphone.
We highly recommend using a mobile data network to provide such connectivity. Mobile data networks are usually stable and fast enough to perform all networking tasks required by Situm. Additionally, Situm has been optimized to have a small data consumption footprint. You may check the compatibility of your smartphone with the mobile network of any country here.
On the contrary, on Android phones, we do not recommend using Situm while you are connected to a WiFi network. This is because Situm will scan the WiFi signals while your phone may be communicating through WiFi. This may result in worse WiFi data quality, and therefore in an accuracy reduction. Anyway, if you really need to use Situm while connected to the WiFi network, Situm will still work but with reduced accuracy.
