Real Time Location System (RTLS) Market Data and Trend Analysis

NTCysd data shows that the global motion RTLS market will reach $1.17 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $8.62 billion in 2029, with a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 33.02% over the next seven years.
North America is currently the world's largest RTLS market, with more than 50% of the market, followed by China and Europe, which together account for more than 30% of the market.

RTLS Market Analysis

The real-time positioning system (RTLS) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.1% during the forecast period. 500 billion devices are expected to be connected to the Internet by 2030. With the trend of IoT and wearable devices, enterprises can quickly do more, increase productivity, and provide insights for better user experience and engagement.

Real-time positioning systems help determine the current location of an object based on real-time information collected through wireless systems. It also helps to track the thing indoors. Due to the availability of indoor tracking, the healthcare sector is adopting this system which is expected to boost the growth of RTLS market in the healthcare vertical.

Moreover, to reduce the risk of workplace accidents, industries are opting to utilize RTLS. RTLS helps in obtaining the exact location of forklifts, vehicles, and operators at any given time. Based on the data collected, RTLS analyzes traffic conditions, enabling it to identify and eliminate accidents in the workplace, eliminating bottlenecks in the workflow and saving time and money.

RTLS can also be an effective way for hospitals to monitor their operations as insurance against potential lawsuits. Most hospitals have patient commitments (e.g., how often staff members check on patients and how often they receive medical care). These are particularly common among patients who are critically ill or have various mental illnesses. RTLS can serve as insurance against such lawsuits.

RTLS Industry Segmentation

Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) are used to automatically identify and track the location of objects or people in real time, usually within a building or other enclosed area. The increased ability to track in real time across different business processes has boosted the market share of RTLS. These systems provide higher productivity, accuracy and operational excellence. Moreover, the demand for RFID tags in the healthcare sector has been increasing in RTLS technology as RFID tags can be used in various forms such as tracking surgical tools to tracking patients and staff.

RTLS Market Trends

Figures from the World Health Organization show that the chances of a patient being harmed in healthcare due to medical errors are one in three. Most medical errors are attributed to adverse drug events, specimen misidentification, and incorrect blood transfusions, primarily due to misidentification of patients and medications. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that half of the medical errors caused by misidentification could have been prevented by the introduction of a comprehensive IT infrastructure.

Currently, hospitals are facing unprecedented challenges as pandemics continue to occur. Other serious challenges facing the healthcare sector are an aging population and staffing shortages, which are putting tremendous pressure on institutions, physicians, workers, patients and communities.

Many are looking for ways to cut costs and improve efficiency, but still provide the quality of care their patients need. According to WHO, the global shortage of healthcare workers could rise to more than 14 million by 2030, with clinicians expected to face increasing workloads.

In addition to financial challenges, there are safety challenges. In a busy hospital setting, there is no guarantee that every patient will be monitored at all times. This can lead to patients being unknowingly placed in dangerous situations.

Since the inception of RTLS, many industries have adopted the system and benefited from reduced waste of resources. RFID and Wi-Fi systems are by far the most used devices in RTLS. The demand from the health sector in this market is expected to grow as the industry aggressively adopts and moves towards Industry 4.0, connected devices, and IoT for manufacturing.

Asia Pacific to witness the fastest growth

The Asia Pacific market is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period due to the booming healthcare industry in the world's emerging economies, namely India and China, where the number of working population is increasing. Increasing adoption of Industry 4.0 and IoT in the manufacturing sector in Asia Pacific is driving the implementation of RTLS systems. Healthcare, transportation and logistics, industrial manufacturing, government and defense industries are all on the cusp of implementing RTLS based on radio technology.

According to Cisco Systems, in 2022, the Asia-Pacific region will use approximately 28.7% of the world's wearable 5G connections. Thus, the increase in demand for wearable devices is driving the growth of the real-time location system (RTLS) market.