Real-time locating system market to reach usd 23.8 billion by 2026

Global real-time locating system market is expected to grow from USD 4.12 Billion in 2018 to USD 23.8 Billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 24.5% during the forecast period from 2018-2026. The North America region is dominating the market owing to high technological awareness coupled with the growing trend in the adoption of real-time locating systems in government applications and several other industries.

Prominent companies in the industry include are Stanley Healthcare Solutions (AeroScout, Inc.), Zebra Technologies Corp., Versus Technology, Inc., Axcess International, Inc., SAVI Technology among others. Leaders are providing better opportunities and continuously focused on new product developments and venture capital investments to capture market share. For instance, in October 2017, Smartbow GmbH and Nanotron Technologies GmbH announced that they are entering into an exclusive supply agreement for nanoLOC location chips. The product delivered by nanotron is used in both the Smartbow ear tag and the nanotron-provided receiver.

Offering segment is divided into segments such as hardware, services, and software. The hardware market for the real-time locating system is dominating the market and valued around USD 2.10 Billion in 2018. Hardware for RTLS consist of specialized receivers or readers that pick up signals from both smart devices and from beacon tags attached to assets. Each beacon tag transmits a unique ID in real time, allowing a user to access location information at any time from an application or web browser. 

The technology segment includes RFID, Wi-Fi, UWB, BLE, Infrared (IR), Ultrasound, GPS and Others. The UWB segment is dominating the market with the highest share of 27.20% in 2018. The UWB technology can support locating a large number of objects down to the range of few centimetres. The declining prices of UWB tags are likely to boost the demand for UWB technology-based RTLS solutions from various verticals such as manufacturing, transportation, and logistics in the coming years. UWB technology is expected to surpass the market for all other RTLS technologies 

 The vertical segment is classified into healthcare, manufacturing & automotive, retail, transportation & logistics, government & defense, education, oil & gas, mining, sports & entertainment, and others. The healthcare segment is dominating the market and valued around USD 1.05 Billion in 2018. 

Increase in the proliferation of RTLS technology is expected to enable patients to search nearby labs and hospitals as per their convenience, thereby driving the real-time locations systems market growth. Also, the rapid adoption of Wi-Fi and WLAN networks in hospitals and public places is expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period. The application segment includes inventory/asset management, personnel/staff management, access control/security, environmental monitoring, yard, dock, fleet, & warehouse, supply chain management & operational automation/visibility and others. 

The fleet segment is dominating the market with the highest share of 30.10% in 2018. Fleet-tracking systems enable an enterprise for tracking the vehicles location and its speed, optimizing the routes, scheduling the jobs, for navigational purposes, and further analyzing the driver efficiency.

Increasing return on investment is a major factor driving the market. In addition, supportive government policies for the promotion of RTLS solutions further stimulates the demand. However, issues related to data security and privacy may obstruct the growth of market. Nevertheless, adoption of hybrid RTLS solution may boost the market in forthcoming years