RTLS Field Guide · Issue 003 · Spring 2026

A Comparative Study of Four Worker Collision-Avoidance Technologies

Worker
Safety.

How it actually works — and what it really costs, once the forklift meets the pedestrian in a live aisle.

Subject: Worker Collision Avoidance.

Technologies: Four.

Pages: 01 – 04.

Editor: LocaXion

Contents — Four Technologies, Compared

01 / BLE BLE Wearables Cheap RSSI proximity alerts; the signal drops the moment a worker turns their back. Year 1 / 10 trucks, 50 workers$10k – $25k
02 / UWB UWB Ranging Wearables Sub-meter radial distance — but racks and guardrails still trigger false alarms. Year 1 / 10 trucks, 50 workers$25k – $60k
03 / CAM Fixed AI Cameras Wearable-free. Protection stops at the edge of the camera’s field of view. Year 1 / partial coverage$50k – $95k
04 / SLAM Smart Forklifts (AI Vision + SLAM) The AI rides on the forklift — zero wearables, and protection moves with the hazard. Year 1 / 10 trucks, unlimited pedestrians$35k – $75k

Chapter One · The Lanyard

BLE Wearables.

2.4 GHz is absorbed by human bodies. A worker turning their back drops the signal, and the alarm drops with it.

§ 1.1 / How It Works

You equip forklifts with a Bluetooth receiver and require workers to wear Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags on their lanyards or hardhats. The forklift receiver uses RSSI (signal strength) to guess how close a worker is.1

If the signal is strong enough, it triggers a strobe light or buzzer in the cab.

§ 1.2 / Cost Breakdown — 10 Trucks, 50 Workers

Line item	Unit	Figure
Worker tags (BLE)	$30 – $60 each	$1,500 – $3,000
Forklift hardware	$400 – $800 / truck	$4,000 – $8,000
Installation	one-time	$2,000 – $5,000
Software	per year	$2,500 – $9,000
Year 1 total 10 trucks, 50 workers		$10,000 – $25,000

Figure 1.1

Signal degradation through the body.

Side elevation of a forklift receiver and a worker with a BLE lanyard. The 2.4 GHz arc degrades sharply where it must pass through the worker’s torso — the system reads a strong tag as if it were 30 ft away.

Chapter Two · The Bubble

UWB Ranging Wearables.

Sub-meter radial distance. Every worker must wear a tag every day. The racks still trigger false alarms.

§ 2.1 / How It Works

You place a UWB receiver on the forklift and distribute active UWB wearable tags to all workers. UWB is highly accurate, measuring exact radial distance via Time-of-Flight.2

If a tag gets within a predefined bubble around the forklift, the system triggers alarms or automatically governs the truck’s speed down to a crawl.

§ 2.2 / Cost Breakdown — 10 Trucks, 50 Workers

Line item	Unit	Figure
Worker tags	$100 – $200 each	$5,000 – $10,000
Forklift hardware & relays	$1k – $2.5k / truck	$10,000 – $25,000
Installation (vehicle interlocks)	one-time	$5,000 – $10,000
Software	per year	$5,000 – $15,000
Year 1 total 10 trucks, 50 workers		$25,000 – $60,000

Figure 2.1

Radial bubble ignores barriers.

Top-down plan view. A radial safety bubble around the forklift alarms on anything inside it — regardless of whether a rack column physically stands between the truck and the worker.

Chapter Three · The Ceiling Eye

Fixed AI Cameras.

Wearable-free. But the protection stops at the edge of the camera’s field of view.

§ 3.1 / How It Works

You mount smart AI cameras to the ceiling above major blind intersections or high-traffic walkways. The AI vision algorithms identify forklifts and pedestrians simultaneously.3

When the system detects a collision course, it triggers a projected warning light or audible alert at that location.

§ 3.2 / Cost Breakdown — 100k sq ft, Partial Coverage

Line item	Unit	Figure
Worker tags	wearable-free	$0
Fixed camera infrastructure	$1.5k – $2.5k each	$30,000 – $50,000
Installation labor (PoE cabling)	one-time	$10,000 – $25,000
Software / edge servers	per year	$10,000 – $20,000
Year 1 total partial coverage, 100,000 sq ft		$50,000 – $95,000

Figure 3.1

Fixed vision cones, fixed blind spots.

Top-down plan of a T-intersection. Two ceiling cameras cast overlapping cones of vision over the crossing; one forklift and one pedestrian sit inside and are detected. A second forklift has passed beyond the cone and is invisible to the system.

Chapter Four · The Ultimate Standard

Smart Forklifts (AI + SLAM).

The AI rides on the forklift. Zero wearables. Protection moves with the hazard, everywhere the truck drives.

§ 4.1 / How It Works

Instead of putting tags on workers or cameras on your ceiling, you put the AI directly onto the forklifts. A smart camera unit mounts to the forklift chassis and processes a 360-degree view.4

When a pedestrian enters the hazard zone, the forklift can automatically slow down or trigger an alert.

§ 4.2 / Cost Breakdown — 10 Trucks, Unlimited Pedestrians

Line item	Unit	Figure
Worker tags	wearable-free	$0
Forklift hardware (AI / SLAM unit)	$2.5k – $5k / truck	$25,000 – $50,000
Facility infrastructure	no ceiling wiring	$0
Software & analytics	per year	$10,000 – $25,000
Year 1 total 10 trucks, unlimited pedestrians		$35,000 – $75,000

Figure 4.1

Onboard AI, 360° perception.

Side view. A 360° perception ring travels with the forklift. A pedestrian in the near zone is flagged DANGER; a second worker beyond the ring is SAFE. No wearables, no ceiling infrastructure — the envelope rides on the truck.

Technology	Primary limitation	Worker tag cost	Year 1 total
BLE Wearables	High latency, bodies block signal	$30 – $60 (battery)	$10k – $25k
UWB Ranging Tags	Guardrail false alarms, missing tags	$100 – $200 (battery)	$25k – $60k
Fixed AI Cameras	Leaves blind spots, high wiring cost	$0 (wearable-free)	$50k – $95k
Smart Forklifts (AI / SLAM)	Higher upfront forklift hardware cost	$0 (wearable-free)	$35k – $75k

★ Smart Forklifts are highlighted because the cost is fixed to the forklifts. You gain 100% active coverage without forcing a single worker to wear a tag.

Colophon · Next Steps

Not sure which worker-safety tier fits your operation?

LocaXion guides worker-safety and collision-avoidance projects from first assessment through full deployment — without locking you into a single vendor or technology. Every recommendation is based on your facility, your mixed-traffic patterns, and the actual ROI math for your fleet.

Book an assessment → Visit locaxion.com

Footnotes

BLE operates on the 2.4 GHz band; RF attenuation through human tissue is typically 10 – 30 dB depending on orientation and tag position.
UWB Time-of-Flight typical accuracy is ±10 – 30 cm under line-of-sight conditions.
Fixed AI camera coverage depends on mount height and lens choice; typical effective detection radius is 10 – 20 m per camera at 3 – 5 m mount height.
“SLAM” — Simultaneous Localization and Mapping — is a family of algorithms that estimate pose and build a map from the same sensor stream.

WorkerSafety.

Which technology is right for you?

Not sure which worker-safety tier fits your operation?

Worker
Safety.