Introduction
Beacons are small wireless devices that broadcast signals using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), or Bluetooth SMART technology. Mobile apps on compatible devices are able to listen for signals from beacons placed in the physical world and then trigger an experience via the app.
Beacon enabled apps are notified when the device enters or exits the range of a beacon, and are also able to monitor the distance from the beacon as it changes, often referred to as 'ranging'.
Bluetooth Low Energy
BLE or Bluetooth Smart is an intelligent and power friendly version of Bluetooth wireless technology and exchanges data over short distances using radio transmissions. The power of BLE is in its ability to work with an app on a smartphone, tablet or any other compatible mobile device.
The Beacon System
The Beacon system from Apple can be broken down into two parts:
• A piece of hardware – the “Beacon”, which constantly broadcasts a Bluetooth Low Energy signal. This transmits a unique identifier (UUID) and two further identifiers; major and minor (unsigned 16 bit integer values), which can be used to identify the beacon.
• Application Programmable Interface (API) - An API to search for beacons with a certain UUID and optionally a specific major and minor value. iBeacon adds the possibility for the developer to subscribe to beacons like you would subscribe to geolocations. This enables the app to get notifications (whether the app is currently running or not) when the user gets within range of a specific beacon.
Importance
• High degree of accuracy
• Low impact on battery life
• Low cost of entry
• No Internet connection required
Security
Some of the most common beacon security myths:
• Beacons are transmitting personal data:
Beacons don’t transmit any personal data. In fact, beacons don’t receive any data at all.
• Beacons are tracking my location:
Beacons can’t track your location. The only thing they can do is let your mobile device know that you’re nearby.
Compatibility
Beacons work with both Android and iOS. They were initially introduced in iOS7 and are compatible with every Android version > 4.3
This puts beacon functionality in 300 million + devices.
Conclusion
Beacons transmit a low energy signal from a device with a radius of 0-50 meters to broadcast static pieces of data within short distances.
In a nutshell, our basic requirements for an operational beacon are:
1. Beacon enabled mobile app
2. Network of deployed beacons
3. Bluetooth switched on and relevant permissions
Without a doubt, the Beacon is a useful convergence device that can be given a shot at, which is for sure a revolution in technology
2. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
2
3. INTRODUCTION
3
Beacons are small devices that broadcast a Bluetooth Smart radio
signal to trigger alerts or messages on consumers phones.
Instead of using satellites to triangulate your position in the world as
GPS does, beacons transmit a low energy signal from a device with a
radius of 0-30 meters to provide unprecedented location services that
can accurately measure positioning down to inches.
4. INTRODUCTION(cont.)
4
Mobile apps on compatible devices are able to listen for signals from
beacons placed in the physical world and then trigger an experience via
the app.
Beacon enabled apps are notified when the device enters or exits the
range of a beacon, and are also able to monitor the distance from the
beacon as it changes, often referred to as 'ranging'.This is in contrast to
GPS, which uses latitude and longitude to define a devices location.
5. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
5
6. MOTIVATION
6
Imagine a world where you
are greeted when you
arrive, assisted exactly
when you need help and
receive offers or rewards
based on your actions.
This new technology has
arrived to help you
accomplish just that for the
customers.
Source: code.google.com/eddystone
7. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
7
8. WORKING &
ARCHITECTURE
8
Almost all the logic behind a beacon
deployment is through a supporting
software on the devices(e.g. Beacon aware
apps on the smartphones).
The only role of the beacon is to notify the
smartphone of its existence at the physical
location.
Source: beaconateddystone.org
9. Bluetooth Low Energy
9
BLE or Bluetooth Smart is an intelligent and power friendly version of Bluetooth wireless
technology and exchanges data over short distances using radio transmissions.The power of
BLE is in its ability to work with an app on a smartphone, tablet or any other compatible mobile
device.The technology itself is simple, secure and featured in billions of devices ranging from
mobile phones and computers to medical devices and home entertainment products. It is
intended to replace the cables that connect devices, while maintaining high levels of security.
It is highly likely that BLE will be one of the key technologies behind the growth of the network
of physical objects that can exchange data via the existing Internet infrastructure.
10. Beacons are small wireless devices that broadcast signals using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), or Bluetooth
SMART technology. Mobile apps on compatible devices are able to listen for signals from beacons placed
in the physical world and then trigger an experience via the app. By experiences we mean things like
sending a notification, coupon, video, form, URL or other forms of media that are relevant to a person's
exact location.
Beacon enabled apps are notified when the device enters or exits the range of a beacon, and are also able
to monitor the distance from the beacon as it changes, often referred to as 'ranging'.
The range of a beacon varies depending on the manufacturer, hardware settings and physical
surroundings, but can typically be configured anywhere from 0 to 30 meters, creating a wide range of use
cases.
Source: Ibeacon basics 1
http://lighthouse.io
10
Fig. 1: Ranging of Beacons
11. Source: Ibeacon and its biz model, http://gemtots.com
11
Fig. 2:Working of iBeacon
12. BEACON
AUI SERVER
User Registration
Login
PEM Encoded keys
Beacon Detection
Decrypt the received
message
UserValidation
PEM encoding
DATABASE
UUID
User Data
UUID
Encrypted
Message
12Fig. 3: BasicArchitecture of Beacons
13. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
13
14. IMPORTANCE
14
High degree of accuracy:
Beacon technology allows a mobile device to understand it's exact
position
Low impact on battery life:
Bluetooth technology is designed to have very low power
consumption, which means that beacon powered apps have
minimal impact on the devices battery life.
Low cost of entry:
Setting up and taking advantage of a beacon network is relatively
low cost when compared to other technologies such as Wi-Fi.
No Internet connection required:
Mobile apps can pick up beacon signals without an Internet
connection and store data locally on the device.
15. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
15
16. SECURITY
16
Signals that are broadcast using BLE are considered public, meaning
another mobile app can potentially use the signal for their own purposes.
But its not true.
Some of the most common beacon security myths:
Beacons are transmitting personal data:
Beacons don’t transmit any personal data. In fact, beacons don’t receive
any data at all.
Beacons are tracking my location:
Beacons can’t track your location.The only thing they can do is let your
mobile device know that you’re nearby.
17. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
17
18. COMPATIBILITY
18
Beacons work with both Android and iOS.They were initially
introduced in iOS7 and are
compatible with every Android version > 4.3
This puts beacon functionality in 300 million + devices!
Beacons are compatible with about one-third of active
smartphones globally and nearly all iPhones.
19. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
19
20. USERS
• American Airlines Major League Baseball
• Nivea Marriott
• Coca Cola Tesco
• VirginAirlines Hammerson
• Walgreens Levi's
• Orlando Magic Duane Reade
• Philips Apple
• Oscar Mayer And then some..
20
22. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
22
23. FUTURE SCOPE
• There will be about 4.5 million active beacons overall by the year 2018, with 3.5
million of these in use by retailers.
• Half of the top 100 retailers in the U.S. are testing beacons this year, and are
expected to have this new technology installed in one-third of their stores by the
end of 2015.
• Only 3% of retailers are currently able to identify customers walking in store, but
72% plan to do so within five years.
• Adoption of beacons led to 16.5 times more app usage in-store and 6.4 times
increase in app user retention.
23
24. Mobile Commerce initiatives to improve the customer experiences in stores
(North America, March 2015)
24
Use Mobile Marketing Identify Customers walking in Stores
28%
3%
63%
72%
Have Today Plan to in 5 years
Source: BI Intelligence Estimates
Graph no. 1
25. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
25
26. Conclusion
26
Beacons represent something in the world, rather than somewhere, giving you
greater flexibility and control.
Beacons transmit a low energy signal from a device with a radius of 0-30 meters
to provide unprecedented location services
In a nutshell, our basic requirements for an operational beacon are:
1.Beacon enabled mobile app
2.Network of deployed beacons
3.Bluetooth switched on and relevant permissions
As quoted by DougThompson, CEO of dot3,
“It’s not a chip. It’s not a technology. It’s a new way to experience the world”
27. • Introduction to Beacons
• Motivation
• How do they work?
• Importance
• Security
• Compatibility
• Who is using them?
• Future Scope
• Conclusion
• References
27
28. Introduction to Beacons
http://lighthouse.io/beginners-guide-to-beacons/introduction
Beacon Security and Privacy
http://lighthouse.io/beginners-guide-to-beacons/beacon-security-and-privacy/
Ibeacon Bible
http://meetingofideas.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/ibeacons-bible-1-0.pdf
Bluetooth Low Energy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_low_energy
Beacon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon
Qualcomm Beacon
http://www.qualcomm.com/solutions/gimbal/beacons
REFERENCES
28
