Exact Floor Position

Exact floor position is the high-precision location band. In plant language it means the reported place is on the mark, not merely near it. Typical figures are sub-meter (~3 ft), often about 10–30 cm (4–12 in) where line of sight holds. Plants use it when a few metres (feet) of error would answer the wrong question: dock-face confirmation, a tight safety cell, proof that a vehicle sits inside a slot, or any rule where nearby is not enough.

It is not medium-precision location around 1–3 m (3–10 ft), the band that already settles most aisle, buffer, bay, fleet-load, and many no-go zone jobs. It is also not zone presence, which only answers wing, large hall section, or gate. A no-go zone is a restricted polygon with a rule. It does not automatically require exact floor position. Many no-go zones run at medium precision when aisle-scale presence is enough.

Industry indoor-positioning cost notes treat the step up to this band as denser anchors, more cabling, and higher spend per square metre (per square foot). Teams usually place UWB or tight AoA coverage on the marks that need it, and leave the rest of the roof on a medium-precision RTLS combination. The decision page is exact floor position only where the mark matters.

Key Components

Named mark - A dock face, slot, cell edge, or other floor object where near is not on.

Sub-meter accuracy target - A written requirement near ~3 ft or tighter, with a confidence level the site can test.

Dense local coverage - Anchors or locators sized for that bay or cell, not copied across every aisle.

Honest line-of-sight design - Steel, racking, and tag orientation still move the reading. Lab centimetre (inch) claims often fade on a real floor.

Shared map and history - Tight and medium-precision locations still land on one hall model and one spatially oriented dataset.

Applications in Manufacturing and Logistics

Dock teams use exact floor position to confirm a truck or load is at the face, not only in the dock wing. Safety and maintenance use it for tight cells where a medium-precision reading could still sit outside the restricted envelope. Some automated handoffs need the same proof before a process step starts. Everyday forklift tracking, empty-path review, and aisle search usually stay at medium precision. twinzo keeps both bands on the same twin so live internal logistics optimization and later correlation and causality analytics share one place-and-time record.

Benefits and Challenges

The benefit is matching spend to marks that actually fail without the tight band. The challenge is RFPs and slides that price exact floor position across a whole hall, including roofs at 100,000 m² (about 1.08 million ft²), when aisle decisions never use the extra centimetres (inches). Another failure mode is treating every no-go zone as a sub-meter project. Coverage, calibration, and multipath still have to hold on the marks you name.

Related Terms

Medium-precision location, zone presence, no-go zone, UWB, AoA, safety cell, and geofencing sit next to this term. Accuracy-band framing for logistics track is under zone presence vs medium-precision logistics track.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all no-go zones need exact floor position? No. Many no-go zones work at medium precision around 1–3 m (3–10 ft) when aisle-scale presence is enough.

Is exact floor position the same as UWB? No. Exact floor position names the decision band. UWB is one common radio that can deliver it. AoA and other builds can also target tight marks.

Should we cover the whole hall at sub-meter? Usually no. Put the dense band on the marks that need it. Leave aisle and fleet work on medium precision so ROI within six months stays honest.

How does this differ from zone presence? Zone presence answers which wing or gate. Exact floor position answers whether the asset is on a named mark.