Real Time Location Systems (RTLS)

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

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Description:	Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) are wireless systems for identifying and tracking objects or people in or close to real time in a defined space (i.e., local, campus, wide area, regional, and global). The strategy uses fixed reference points that receive wireless signals from tags whose position is derived by measurements of the physical properties of the radio link. The method of location is typically through identification and location, generally employing one or more strategies, including: Time of Flight Ranging Systems; Amplitude Triangulation; Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA); Cellular Triangulation; Satellite Multilateration; and Angle of Arrival. The International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) has defined RTLS standards (ISO/IEC 24730) which at time of writing included the following parts: Part 1 - ISO/IEC 24730-1:2014: Application programming interface (API). Part 2 - ISO/IEC 24730-2:2006: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) 2.4 GHz AIP. ISO/IEC 24730-2 is comprised of a main document and two additional parts, ISO/IEC 24730-21 and ISO/IEC 24730-22, and defines a networked location system that provides X-Y coordinates and data telemetry. Part 21 - ISO/IEC 24730-21:2012: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) 2.4 GHz AIP - Transmitters operating with a single spread code and employing a DBPSK data encoding and BPSK spreading scheme. Part 22 - ISO/IEC 24730-22:2012: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) 2.4 GHz AIP - Transmitters operating with multiple spread codes and employing a QPSK data encoding and Walsh offset QPSK (WOQPSK) spreading scheme. Part 5 - ISO/IEC 24730-5:2010: Defines an AIP, which utilizes chirp spread spectrum (CSS) at frequencies from 2.4 GHz to 2.483 GHz. Part 61 - ISO/IEC 24730-61:2013: Low rate pulse repetition frequency Ultra Wide Band (UWB) air interface - Defines the physical layer (PHY) and tag management layer (TML) of an ultra wide band (UWB) AIP that supports one directional simplex communication readers and tags. Part 62 - ISO/IEC 24730-62:2013: High rate pulse repetition frequency Ultra Wide Band (UWB) air interface - Defines the AIP using a physical layer Ultra Wide Band (UWB) signaling mechanism (based on IEEE 802.15.4a UWB). ISO is a developer of voluntary International Standards through global consensus. Standards areas include food safety, computers, agriculture and healthcare.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v23.12
Decision Date:	12/27/2023 at 17:41:52 UTC
Aliases:	asset tracking; wireless
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Standards Body:	ISO

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Industry Standard, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
2006 (1, 2)
2010 (5)
2012 (21, 22)
2013 (61,62)
2014 (1)

Current Decision Matrix (12/26/2023)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

Release	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
<Past	CY2022				CY2023				CY2024				Future>
2006 (1, 2)	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved
2010 (5)	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved	Unapproved
2012 (21, 22)	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved
2013 (61,62)	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved
2014 (1)	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved
Note:	At the time of writing, version ISO/IEC 24730-1:2014 is the most current version.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
There are no references identified for this entry.

Standard Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Source	Name	Description
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)	ISO/IEC 24730: Part 1 - ISO/IEC 24730-1:2014	This link leads to the application programming interface (API) standard for RTLS.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)	ISO/IEC 24730: Part 2 - ISO/IEC 24730-2:2006	Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) 2.4 GHz air interface protocol standard for RTLS. ISO/IEC 24730-2:2006 also includes ISO/IEC 24730-21:2012 and ISO/IEC 24730-22:2012.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)	ISO/IEC 24730: Part 21 - ISO/IEC 24730-21:2012	Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) 2.4 GHz air interface protocol standard for RTLS.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)	ISO/IEC 24730: Part 22 - ISO/IEC 24730-22:2012	Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) 2.4 GHz air interface protocol standard for RTLS for transmitters operating with multiple spread codes and employing a QPSK data encoding and Walsh offset QPSK (WOQPSK) spreading scheme.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)	ISO/IEC 24730: Part 5 - ISO/IEC 24730-5:2010	Defines an air interface protocol standard for RTLS which utilizes chirp spread spectrum (CSS) at frequencies from 2.4 GHz to 2.483 GHz.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)	ISO/IEC 24730: Part 61 - ISO/IEC 24730-61:2013	Low rate pulse repetition frequency Ultra Wide Band (UWB) air interface standard for RTLS that defines the physical layer (PHY) and tag management layer (TML) of an ultra wide band (UWB) air interface protocol that supports one directional simplex communication readers and tags.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)	ISO/IEC 24730: Part 62 - ISO/IEC 24730-62:2013	High rate pulse repetition frequency Ultra Wide Band (UWB) air interface standard for RTLS that defines the air interface protocol using a physical layer Ultra Wide Band (UWB) signaling mechanism (based on IEEE 802.15.4a UWB).

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Systems Management Systems Management Tools	Asset Management
Network and Telecommunications Wireless and Mobile Networks	Wireless Networks
Network and Telecommunications Wireless and Mobile Networks	Short-range Wireless Networks

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Implemented By/Verified With:

No technologies have been identified with this standard.

Comparable Standards:

No comparable entries have been identified.

Associated Standards:

No standards have been associated with this standard.

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) may reduce operating costs through reductions in equipment loss and stolen items. The technology may improve services by improvements to work flow through awareness of locations of mobile equipment and bed availability.
The RTLS infrastructure may be used for environmental monitoring of temperature and humidity through the use of specialized tags. RTLS solutions may also be used to track hygiene practices of clinicians as they enter patient rooms.
At the time of writing, no National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) vulnerabilities had been reported and no VA Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) bulletins had been issued for the latest versions of this standard.
This is the accepted Industry Standard for this particular standard subject.

Adoption Risks

Privacy concerns may exist when RTLS is used to determine the location of people, particularly when used to track employees.

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (12/26/2023)

References

Standard Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Implemented By/Verified With:

Comparable Standards:

Associated Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (12/26/2023)

References

Standard Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Implemented By/Verified With:

Comparable Standards:

Associated Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

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