NAO Bluelistener
NAO® BlueListener is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) gateway designed by Pole Star to detect, collect and transmit BLE signals within indoor location and RTLS infrastructures. It is a core hardware component of the NAO® Suite, enabling reliable signal acquisition from BLE tags, beacons and compatible devices.
BlueListener captures BLE advertising frames and forwards signal measurements to NAO® Cloud or NAO® Server, where location calculations are performed by the NAO® Track engine. By acting as the sensing layer of the RTLS architecture, NAO® BlueListener transforms indoor environments into precise, scalable and interoperable location infrastructures. The device is designed for deployment in complex and demanding environments such as hospitals, airports, industrial sites, ships and large public or technical buildings.
BLE signal detection and data transmission
NAO® BlueListener operates as a passive BLE scanner, continuously listening to Bluetooth advertising frames emitted by nearby devices. It supports standard BLE formats such as iBeacon™, Eddystone™ and Pole Star–compatible frames, ensuring broad interoperability with existing tags, beacons and mobile devices.
Detected BLE frames are transmitted in real time to the NAO® platform via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Signal data, including RSSI measurements, is then processed by NAO® Track to compute accurate indoor positions. This separation between signal capture and position calculation ensures scalability and consistency across deployments.
Native integration with the NAO Suite
NAO® BlueListener integrates natively with the full NAO® software ecosystem. It works seamlessly with NAO® Track for location computation, NAO® Viewer for real-time visualization and supervision, and NAO® Flow for journey analysis and flow optimization.
The device communicates using secure and standardized protocols, including MQTT, enabling real-time data streaming in both cloud-based and on-premise architectures. BlueListener can be deployed as a standalone sensing component or combined with other BlueListeners to extend coverage across large or multi-building sites.
Compatibility with existing network infrastructures
Designed to fit into existing IT environments, NAO® BlueListener is compatible with major enterprise network infrastructures, including BLE-enabled Wi-Fi environments from vendors such as Cisco, Aruba, Fortinet or Extreme Networks.
This interoperability allows organizations to leverage existing network investments, reduce deployment complexity and accelerate RTLS rollouts without introducing proprietary constraints. BlueListener complements existing infrastructure rather than replacing it, ensuring architectural flexibility.
Centralized supervision and diagnostics
Once deployed, NAO® BlueListeners are centrally supervised through NAO® Cloud or NAO® Server. Operational teams can monitor device status, signal quality and coverage consistency across the site.
Built-in diagnostic capabilities help identify radio issues, optimize BLE coverage and maintain long-term system performance. This centralized supervision simplifies operations and supports the continuous improvement of indoor location accuracy.
Security, reliability and continuous operation
NAO® BlueListener is built for 24/7 operation in critical environments. Its industrial-grade design ensures stable BLE signal reception even in areas with high radio density, electromagnetic interference or operational constraints.
All communications between BlueListeners and the NAO® platform are secured using encrypted channels (SSL/TLS) and authenticated access mechanisms. When used with NAO® Cloud or NAO® Server, the solution complies with GDPR requirements and supports secure device management.
The device supports over-the-air updates, allowing remote maintenance and software updates without service interruption.
A foundational component for large-scale RTLS deployments
NAO® BlueListener provides the reliable signal acquisition layer required for high-performance indoor location systems. By ensuring consistent, secure and scalable BLE data collection, it enables accurate real-time positioning, flow analysis and safety use cases across complex environments.
As part of the NAO® Suite, NAO® BlueListener plays a key role in delivering robust, industrial-grade RTLS solutions for mission-critical operations.
