Beacons

iBeacons

“iBeacons” is the name Apple chose for a particular technology that allows Mobile Apps to know how close they are to tiny, low-cost, wireless transmitters called “hardware iBeacons” (or just “iBeacons”).

It’s important to note that iBeacons technology isn’t an Apple’s monopoly: all recent Android devices already support it too. 

Why?

Enable utilizing contextual Intelligence algorithms

  • Location / Proximity
  • Motion
  • Social
  • Behavioral
  • Transaction history
  • Environmental

What

Merely a trigger for a smart phone app based on proximity / motion / temprature

The Technology

Characteristics - Base

  • Proximity based (not location)
  • Range: standard 70m , long range : 450m
  • Intent can be assessed
  • Reports on 3 Ranges:
    • Immediate: < 0.5m
    • Near: < 2m
    • Far: < 30m
    • (unknown)

Characteristics - Hardware

  • Bluetooth Low Energy / BT 4.0 / BT Smart
    • Low Power , Inexpensive, Small, Adjustable Range
    • No need to pair with mobile device
  • Power
    • Coin Cell Batteries: 3 types
    • AA Batteries
    • USB
    • Electricity
  • Chipsets
    • Texas Instruments
    • Nordic Semiconductors

Characteristics - Firmware

  • Beacon Attributes:
    • Transmit Power (TX power) - Distance
    • Advertising Interval (AI) - Responsiveness
    • -> Lifespan (LS)
  •  Beacons Management Platform (Aislelabs, Meraki, ...)

TX

AI

LS

  • Optimized: TX = -12dBmW ; AI = 645ms

Characteristics - More

  • Sending advertising packets:
    • UDID - Serial Number
    • Major - Area the beacon is at
    • Minor - Specific point within the area
  • WEBAPP? - iBeacon can be utilized within web-app (ionic + cordova)

Beacons specifications

Beacons siblings Technologies

  • NFC - Near Field Communication
  • RFID
  • QR Codes
  • GPS

Technology Pitfalls

  • Business related:
    • Large deployments - monitoring & configuration issue
    • Security - stealing beacons, cloning beacons identities
    • Imprecise - 10%-15% inaccuracy
    • Collisions / Interference (2.4GHz)
  • Consumer related:

Best Practices

  • Evolve as we speak
  • Deployment is time-consuming
    • Interference means thorough testing is a must
    • Deployment always takes more than expected...
  • Beacons management function over time is required
  • ...

Accurate Mapping

  • A software solution provided by Estimote (currently only for IOS):

Lower cost start

No Development by using Passbook (Fosbury)

Players - Hardware

Manufacturers

  • Kontakt.io:
    • BTE beacon
    • Cloud beacon (BTE, WiFi, remote control)
    • Tough beacon (outdoor)
  • Estimote
    • Standard
    • Stickers (Temperature and Accelerometer)
  • Minew ($1-8)
  • Gimbal
    • Indoor, low battery life - series 10 ($5)
    • Outdoor, long battery life - series 21 ($30)

Manufacturers - Cont

  • Radius Network (Samsung support, AltBeacon)
  • Passkit - GemTot
    • USB beacon supporting AltBeacon and iBeacon
  • SmartBeacon - Providing CMS!

Some More...

Comparison

 Attributes

  • Longer lifespan:
    • Kontakt , SmartBeacon
    • Estimote - battery irreplaceable
  • Supported Platforms
    • Kontakt not supporting Android (to be checked)?
  • CMS provided
    • SmartBeacon (most rich)
    • Gimbal
    • Kontakt

Players - Software

Existing SaaS Platforms

  • InMarket (Mobile to Mortar , M2M)
    Notifications, offers and more from advertisers within the M2M platform
    inMarket runs the world’s largest mobile shopper marketing platform, and has built the world’s largest network of beacon-enhanced shopping apps.
  • Aislelabs
    Cloud infrastructure to personalize
    and deliver real-time messages.
  • Gimbal (hardware + software)
    enables you to deliver the content, offers, and information your customers want, when and where it matters

Existing SaaS Platforms

Applications

Retail

  • Personalized experience - Presenting information related to specific item 
    Usually luxury merchandise.
  • In-Store Advertisement - Pushing notifications, offers and ads
  • POS - make payments without reaching your wallet (From Wikipedia, PayPal)
  • Social - Most favored shops, locations, etc
  • ​Analytics - Consumers behavior analysis and recommendations

Audience Interaction

  • Exhibitions
    • Attendee - Audio / Video / Textual pitch, auto materials collection, 
    • Presenter - Acquiring leads email / identity easily, Allow serving more leads concurrently, Lower costs
    • Producer - Analytics, hit maps, most popular presenters, etc
  • Museums 
    • Intensify the experience by using real time audio / video on phone OR on screen

Audience Interaction

  • Shows and Events
    • Crowd participation
  • Stadiums
    • Bets
    • Polls
  • Galleries
    • ​Chat

Airports

Hotels

Use Cases

Opportunities and Threats

Maturity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB2ZbfT4JOE

Related Technologies

  • Opportunities:
    • Watches
    • Glasses

Starting point for IoT - Internet of things

Possible Cooperations

  • Partnership with large beacons vendor (preferably with no SaaS platform):
    • Estimote (as Zikit state they have)
    • Kontakt
    • Gimbal
    • ...
  • Customers:
    • Ramat Hanadiv
    • Roi Regev
  • Glasses - Imagine, Theia

More...

Additional Materials

  • http://beekn.net/
  • Video:
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDWf1QbqToQ
    • 7 Habits of Highly Effective iBeacon Campaigns
    • How iBeacons will Change the Travel Industry
    • http://beekn.net/guide-to-ibeacons/
    • http://ibeacons.guru/

IoT Technologies

  • Beacons
  • NFC
  • ... TBC

NFC Materials

  • http://don.github.io/slides/2014-04-07-apachecon-nfc
  •  

Finally...

 

ibeacon.org.il

beacon.org.il

Beacons

By dofinity

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