Code #2: Knowing the Beauty of Beacons
If you are in IT field and you didn’t hear about Beacons, then it’s okay, because Beacons don’t say anything they just emit radio signals which can be detected by devices that you have currently in your hand. But jokes apart, if you didn’t know What, Why, When and How about Beacons, then here is the ultimate guide to convey its complete past, present and future.
Let’s bring the real world entities in the ground to guide you more clearly about the potential of the Beacons:
Starting off with an example :
Okay, Let’s imagine that you are in a grocery store nearby and roaming around to buy some product that your Mom has asked you to come up with.
Now you don’t know much about pulses and vegetables that your mother has written in the list. But what if, you bring out your mobile device from your pocket and start getting detailed information about each pulse and each vegetable available in the mall by just going nearby that pulses and vegetable section.
But wait, what is that thing which provides you all this secret information about the products in the mall? This is the Beauty of Beacons we are talking about in this article.
Q.1. What are Beacons?
According to Estimote:
They are mostly tiny, low power computers attached to walls or objects in the physical world. Using proximity technologies they detect human presence and behavior and trigger pre-programmed actions delivering contextual and personalized experiences.
Q.2. How do they work?
And once again the Estimote has delivered the perfect explanation:
1. Each beacon has a Bluetooth® Low Energy Transmitter. It broadcasts tiny radio signals over the air containing unique, location-specific data.
2. Modern smartphones continuously scan for these signals. If they enter their range an associated app responds with the desired action.
3. For example, it can fetch content that is tied to a user’s profile or micro-location. Apps can also push to the cloud user data or statistics.
4. Personalized content is displayed as a notification or directly in the app. Nearby screens can also respond with relevant information.
Q.3. From where did they came into existence?
iBeacon is merely a protocol that lets Bluetooth devices transmit tiny bits of data. Then Google entered the scene. In 2015, Google came out with Eddystone, their iBeacon alternative. Since then, iBeacon and Eddystone have ruled the proximity market. Now, the technology is continuing to grow with higher capabilities, better hardware, and more diverse solutions.
Q.4. How many ways they can be used?
Beacons can be used for:
- Tracking: One of the beacon’s more practical use cases is something many of us would never have guessed. In manufacturing and transport, managers need to know precisely where goods are at any given time. By attaching beacons, they can always have that information. They can even see the information from previous days or weeks.
- Navigation: Creating accurate “GPS for indoor navigation” is a famous beacon use case. What Google Maps does for the outdoors, beacons can do for the indoors. They can tell you where you are and where you’re going in a museum, festival, or train station.
- Interaction: Beacons can make reactions automated and trigger events. When you enter a room, the projector starts. It sends notifications or acts as a loyalty card. If you make a purchase at your local cafe, beacons help the app register that you were there. On your tenth entry, you get a free latte — excellent!
- Security: Whether it’s making sure patients don’t go in the wrong wing or alerting factory workers to dangerous changes, beacons can automatically send notifications (either to app users or property owners) about a safety issue. Beacons can also be paired with Geo-fencing to add an extra layer to data security.
- Analysis: Data is one of the most significant tools at a company’s disposal. Beacons help generate data on where customers are going or where common problems occur on an assembly line. The online platform can store information on which beacons are being triggered and how users are interacting with them.
Sometimes some curious guys out of you want to just drill into the particular thing they are interested in.
So here are the various sources where you can know much more about this beautiful piece of innovation called Beacons:
www.ibeacon.com/what-is-ibeacon-a-guide-to-beacons/
www.pointrlabs.com/blog/beacons-everything-you-need-to-know/
That’s all about Beacons from our side. Please let us know if you have any doubt about Beacons and its nature. We are more than curious to know your take on this and what else you can offer using Beacons.
KUDOS TO EVERGREEN RADIO SIGNALS
