Introduction on iBeacons

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iBeacons


About iBeacons

• Beacons are small, cheap physical devices that you can place around some

location to represent the things you want to read distance from.

• iBeacon is Apple’s version of the Bluetooth-based beacon concept, which allows Bluetooth devices to broadcast and receive tiny information within short distances.

• In simplistic words, it consists of two parts: a broadcaster (beacon device) and a receiver (smartphone app).

• The broadcaster is always saying “I am here, and my name is…”, while the receiver detects these “beacons” and do whatever it wants, based on how close or far it is from them



• UUID: B9407F30-F5F8-466E-AFF9-25556B57FE6D• Major ID: 1• Minor ID: 2

Technicality

• The UUID is an unique identifier. For example, if Star Bazar decides to deploy beacon sensors inside its store and make an app that can tell the user once they arrive at a specific store.

• Inside the stores, they would place beacon devices and configure each of them to use a different “minor” value.

• The observer is an iOS or Android app, while the broadcaster/transmitter can be one of the popular beacon devices available on the market, a USB Bluetooth dongle, a computer with Bluetooth Low Energy-compatible adapter, an iPad or an iPhone.


BLE?

• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a new Bluetooth “flavor” offered within the Bluetooth 4.0 standard.

• Nokia invented it with in 2006 with name of "Wibree".

• Nokia decided to transfer its low power technology to BSIG (Bluetooth Special Interest Group).

• Then its commercial name was renamed as • "Bluethooth Smart"

• Major difference between the common Bluetooth protocol and BLE is that minimum energy is required for two devices to broadcast or detect BLE transmissions


FAQ

• What is a beacon?

• Did Apple invent beacons?

• How can I send “beacons”?

• If beacons don’t provide precise location information, what’s the point?

• So beacons only send “I am here” messages?

• Can I use beacons to determine indoor location?

• Which smartphones and tablets support it?


Its Use

• Resource Tracking

• ClassRoom and Education

• Museum

• Zoo

• Retail Shopping

• Automation


Where can I buy beacon devices?

• Estimote (Stand-alone sensor) http://estimote.com

• MacBeacon (MacOS) http://www.radiusnetworks.com/macbeacon-app.html

• StickNFind (Stand-alone sensor) http://www.sticknfind.com

• Gimbal (Stand-alone sensor with portal/analytics) http://www.gimbal.com


Any Questions?

Thank you