A few questions regarding the 'la' command

Hi,
I’ve browsed the forum and the API documentation, but there isn’t much information on the ‘la’ command - just some example outputs without much explanation.

I had a few questions about this command:

  1. Is there an equivalent function that we can use in the C API for the ‘la’ command? I found dwm_loc_get which is equivalent to ‘lec’, but nothing for the ‘la’ command. I need to be able to use it with the device in tag mode, not in anchor mode.

  2. What is the mechanism that the ‘la’ command uses? Is it only able to show the anchors that are in direct communication range of the tag or will it show all the anchors in the current network by communicating with far ones through other anchors?

  3. Is there a limit to the number of anchors that this command can show? Currently, I have 9 anchors in my network and the command is able to show all 9 reliably. When I add more to my network, would it be able to show me 20 anchors? Or 100?

  4. What exactly does the ‘map’ value mean? Is it an ID representing a sub-network of anchors within the current network? Or something else?

Regards,
Abhishek

Hi @abhishekd
let me help you here

ad 1)
there is equivalent API command is dwm_anchor_list_get but it works only for Anchors. Fot TN there is no equivalent API command. You can use the dwm_loc_get to get the list of nachrs that have been used for TWR - I believe that this is what you actually need.

ad 2)
for AN - it will show AN which are in range (max 30)
for TN - it will show AN which are/were used for TWR (so it could be a many, there is some limit but I cant recall the value like +30, I can find it in the case you need it)

ad 3)
for AN - the limit is the maximum seat numbers - 30
for TN - as above, min 30

ad 4)
please see the DWM1001 System Overview - chapter 5 SCALABILITY.
The map here is binary or between all seat numbers used by anchors nearby. The seat number here is represented as (1 << seat number). This helps AN to find free seat number.

Cheers
JK

Hi @leapslabs
Thanks for the response. I am actually looking for a way to get the status of all the anchors within the network. By status, I mean whether the anchor is powered on, responding and functioning properly.

What are the ways one can go about this? Originally, I was planning to do it by monitoring the output of the “la” command (the seens value) or the dwm_loc_get() method used on a tag that moves around the map, but is there a better way? Can we use a gateway to make this easier?

Regards,
Abhishek

Hi @abhishekd
you can monitor LA command but the gatway would me this a much easier - you just need to observe MQTT status topics.

Cheers
JK

Hi @leapslabs
Does the gateway also use UWB communication to get the list of anchors in the network? I am not able to see anchors that are farther away from the gateway. What is the approximate range of UWB communication in meters?

I also checked the gateway deployment guide: it says that multiple gateways are required for good coverage in larger networks. At what maximum distance can the gateways be placed to get coverage of all anchors in the least amount of gateways? Is there any way to have just one device which will be able to communicate with all the anchors in a network through intermediate anchors?

Regards,
Abhishek

Hi @abhishekd
I dont think that there is a la command on the bridge.

Re range)
It is complicated - typical range would be around 25m in NLOS environment.

Re amount of gateways) There is no clear answer to this. Each gateway can communicate only with nodes within its UWB range. But you can place there as many anchors as you want.

Re single gateway) No that is not supported. It is far more complex than it looks like.

Cheers
JK