Features Of Enterprise-Grade iBeacons

A lot has already been written on iBeacon technology; therefore, this post assumes a working knowledge of the iBeacon framework.

We think a good iBeacon experience begins with great iBeacon hardware. Several deployments of iBeacon technology today are portable and battery-powered.

We think these beacons are great for pilot deployments, but may result in poor experiences and unwanted headaches if used in larger scale enterprise deployments.

So, here are three things to consider for enterprise-grade beacon deployments: (1) permanent power supply; (2) antenna transmit power; and (3) remote management.

(1) Permanent Power Supply & Advertising Frequency

Beacons generally have only one packet format: advertising. The advertising packets broadcast data to mobile devices like iPhones and iPads. Such packets are broadcast blindly over the air by the beacon without any knowledge of the presence of mobile devices.

Broadcasts are sent at a fixed rate defined by the advertising interval (frequency), which ranges from 20 ms to 10.24 s.

The shorter the interval, the higher the frequency at which advertising packets are broadcast, leading to a higher probability of those packets being received by a mobile device and a more fluid user experience.

But higher amounts of packets transmitted also translate to higher power consumption. Yes, the batteries will die faster. Imagine the trouble of having to replace 100os of beacon batteries every few months.

In short, when thinking about iBeacon advertising intervals, lower is better. SmarterSockets can be adjusted to broadcast anywhere from .3ms to 6s resulting in the best end user experience possible without worrying about dead batteries.

(2) Transmit Power

Beacon transmit power (typically measured in dBm) generally is configurable over a certain range (usually from -30 and +0dBm), but the higher the transmit power (better range), the more demands are placed on the battery, reducing the usable lifetime of the battery cells.

Some battery-powered beacons, however, generally include “power savings” mode in an effort to reduce the range and save battery life without the transmission distance becoming a nuisance to the end user. This comes at a cost to the user experience: either reduced transmission range or lower advertising frequency.

Essentially, when thinking about beacon transmission power, higher is better. SmarterSockets are configurable from -19 dBM to +7dBM. (That’s a maximum range of about 100 meters.)

(3) Remote Management & WiFi

We think iBeacon operators should be able to update beacon firmware remotely — that is, from anywhere in the world with internet access.

In fact, this feature ought to be a basic task of any beacon management software. For this to happen, however, the beacon must include long-range network connectivity, e.g., WiFi. There are several additional benefits of integrating WiFi with beacons: to remotely turn beacons on/off; to alternate UUIDs; to monitor beacon status; and to trigger OTA firmware updates.

Most beacons today lack WiFi because it consumes too much power. A battery-powered beacon with WiFi would perhaps only last a few days — and that’s assuming the beacon comes with an enormous battery.

In beacon world, beacons integrated with WiFi are your friend. SmarterSockets are integrated with WiFi and never need batteries.

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SmarterSocket.com