Slides from our one day Bluetooth beacon bootcamp. These slides were used for a MobileMonday University training course we ran in 2014 and inspired the book "Beacon Technology: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Beacosystem" - Part One - The Morning Show
13. 13
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Digital Physical Convergence
Input - Signal strength, status and identity … no connection
21. 21
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Momentum
• Balance between standards and innovation
• VC Money
• Unencumbered by Banks, Telcos
• Low cost
• Ubiquity …. Phones/OS/other devices
• Flexibility
− Distances
− Background processing
Why Bluetooth Beacons
Rather than RFID, NFC, VLC …
22. 22
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Applications
Blush – Enabling intuitive in store browsing – Hatch Labs Inc. - Gimbal
23. 23
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Tag manager associates beacons with
images, URLs and text
• Bubble browser promotes images/info
based on proximity
Applications
Bubbles + Bubble Tag Manager by Kinwa - Estimote
29. 29
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Maturity - Congratulations
You are visionaries and early adopters
You are here
Crossing the Chasm
chasmgroup.squarespace.com
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/0060517123
31. 31
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Smartphone ownership in 2014
http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/
Smartphone owners
Feature & no phones
Pew Internet Project research from May 2013 found that 91% of US adult
had a cell phone, while 56% have a smartphone.
74% of adult smartphone owners ages 18 and older say they use their
phone to get directions or other information based on their current location
32. 32
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• > 81% Gen Y, 73% of Gen X used
smartphones for shopping
• 45% of shoppers use their mobile for
mobile coupons, representing a 7 percent
increase from last year
Smartphone Usage
Shoppers use their Phones
The shopper survey was completed by 1,371 respondents without knowledge of Motorola Solutions’ sponsorship.
Gen Y shoppers represent people between the ages of 18 and 34.
Gen X shoppers represent people between the ages of 35 and 49.
Boomer shoppers represent people between the ages of 50 and 64.
Pre-Boomer shoppers represent people older than age 65.
http://newsroom.motorolasolutions.com/Press-Releases/Retailers-Technology-Investments-Leading-to-Better-In-Store-Experience-Shopper-Satisfaction-Up-23-
4870.aspx?utm_medium=PublicRelations%20&utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=2014_Q2_mpact&utm_term=survey&utm_
33. 33
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Smartphones are part of shopping
Phones more informative than shop assistants
Tradedoubler report
http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/retailers-lose-32pc-of-shoppers-to-in-store-mobile-use-tradedoubler
40. 40
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Lots of Bluetooth devices
… no …
http://www.bluetooth.com/Pages/SIG-Membership.aspx
Watch the full movie on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsgXsrxPmxs
• 9 Billion Bluetooth enabled devices shipped by 2013
• Total Bluetooth 4.0 devices will grow to 2.9 billion per year by 2016.
41. 41
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Ten of thousands of Bluetooth products
48,000+ Product models –20,000 SIG Members
http://www.bluetooth.com/Pages/Product-Directory.aspx
42. 42
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Invented by telecom vendor Ericsson in 1994
• Named after medieval King of Denmark Harald Bluetooth
• Nokia identified Bluetooth use-cases gaps 2001
• Nokia releases Wibree in October 2006
• Bluetooth SIG agreed to include Wibree in Bluetooth
• Bluetooth Smart formally adopted into the Bluetooth v4.0
core specification in June 2010
• iPhone 4S first Bluetooth Smart Ready device October 2011
History
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8915
720/Why-we-need-to-talk-about-history.html
43. 43
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Was IEEE 802.15.1
• Now managed by Bluetooth Special Interest Group
• 2.4 to 2.485 GHz
• 40 channels
• Frequency-hopping spread spectrum
• 4.0 – Additional low energy protocol for rapid connection and simple messages
over same spectrum
• Dual mode chipsets and single mode chipsets
Bluetooth 4.0 Standard
44. 44
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Health care profiles
• HTP — Medical temperature measurement devices
• GLP — Blood glucose monitors
• BLP — Blood pressure measurement
Sports and fitness profiles
• HRP — Heart rate measurement
• CSCP —Bicycle or exercise bike cadence and wheel speed
• RSCP — Running speed and cadence profile
• CPP — Cycling power profile.
• LNP — Location and navigation profile.
Proximity sensing
• FMP — Find Me Profile — allows one device to issue an alert on a second misplaced device
• PXP — Proximity Profile — allows a proximity monitor to detect whether a proximity reporter is within a close range
Alerts and time profiles
• The phone alert status profile and alert notification profile allow a client device to receive notifications such as incoming call alerts from
another device
• The time profile allows current time and time zone information on a client device to be set from a server device, such as between a
wristwatch and a mobile phone's network time
Bluetooth 4.0
Profiles
45. 45
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Bluetooth Smart
Smart Ready hubs talk to everything Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.0 aka Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) aka Bluetooth Smart
http://www.bluetooth.com
47. 47
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
iBeacon Logo on signage at a venue obtain an iBeacon logo license
https://developer.apple.com/ibeacon/
apply for a license to use the iBeacon logo
iBeacon
48. 48
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Set (or not) within beacon configuration
utilities
• First standardized by Open Software
Foundation
• UUIDs can be generated by using the
uuidgen command line utility in OS X
Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID)
Identifies the iBeacon maker or application
49. 49
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
iBeacon Identification
Example: D9B9EC1F-3925-43D0-80A9-1E39D4CEA95C Major 3 Minor 10
50. 50
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Spoofing
− Mapped UUIDs + Major / Minor numbers can be replayed
− Scavenger hunts from your desk
− Offers and incentives misappropriated
Loss of opportunity for analytics
Loss of control of user experience
Loss of value creation
iBeacon is unsecured
https://svpply.com/item/1306210/Creepy_Blank_Female_Mask__Scary
51. 51
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• RSSI = Received Signal Strength Indicator
• an abbreviation for the power ratio decibels
(dB) of the measured power referenced to
one milliwatt (mW).
• 1 watt = 1000 mW
• 0 dBm corresponds to a power of 1 milliwatt
RSSI
Power of the radio signal
-30dBm = Awesome
-60dBm = Good
-80dBm = Meh
-90dBm = Bad
52. 52
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Not a linear relationship
• Environment matters
Distance Vs RSSI
http://www.nten.org/articles/2014/science-experiment-a-semi-technical-lowdown-on-working-with-ibeacons
53. 53
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Phone, beacon, OSs
are all factors
• Triangulation helps but
doesn’t come out of the
box
Distance Vs RSSI
http://www.nten.org/articles/2014/science-experiment-a-semi-technical-lowdown-on-working-with-ibeacons
54. 54
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Timing of TX v sample ,
frequency hopping and
environmental factors result in
fluctuations
• Smoothing / averaging helps
− Introduces delay
• Background processing is less
accurate
Distance v RSSI
Signal fluctuation
www.nten.org/articles/2014/science-experiment-a-semi-technical-lowdown-on-working-with-ibeacons
Rolling average of 3 seconds
58. 58
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Support of Bluetooth Smart hardware with proximity profile
• Support for wearables
• Balance
− Battery use with responsiveness
− RSSI fidelity with smoothing
− Privacy management with opportunity
− Scheduling and exhuming background and killed processes with resources
− Notifications with user experience
Role of the Mobile OS
64. 64
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Signal strength
• Frequency of broadcast
• Battery size
• Beacon efficiency
Battery Life
Beacon battery life - considerations
Phone battery life may suffer
65. 65
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Rotating MAC address
• Indoor mapping / wayfinding
− https://mapsconnect.apple.com for venues interested in mapping
− Floor location
• Relevant apps on the lock screen based on proximity
− Interaction within notifications
• Opt-in for background location tracking
iOS 8
Coming this Fall
66. 66
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• filter on advertising packet attributes - service UUID and service
data
• duplicate in a battery efficient way the IOS capabilities of
CLBeaconRegion
• key attribute of IOS’s support for beacons.
• efficiently scan in the background for beacons and show
a notification or trigger something in an app
Android support
Coming in L - Lollipop – developer release
67. 67
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Support since
iPhone 4S
2012
iOS 6
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Mid 2013
Basic driver support
Version you really want
7.1.2 L release 4.5
June 2014
Efficient management of
Bluetooth triggers
Mobile Operating System Support
Average phone replacement rate in the US – 2 years
72. 72
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• BLE at 2.4 GHz is subject to attenuation
− Walls, doors, water/people
• Implications
− Variations in visibility and trigger points
• Mitigation
− Site survey, calibration, placement, power
Signal Absorption
73. 73
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Signal Bounce
Unexpected results can be avoided with care – closer triggers and site surveys
75. 75
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Signal shape
Shielding Options
Trigger based
on tap or
Near-er
Additional
shielding
Use the
properties of
the dispenser
People make
great shields
76. 76
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
+
• Maximize coverage
• Minimize interference
• Mitigate tampering
-
• Lack of signal fidelity
• Cost of installation, maintenance
Application
Beacon to confirm presence e.g. gas station
canopy
Location Location
Height has its advantages and disadvantages
20 foot ceiling
5 feet 5 feet
20.6 feet
77. 77
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Display an interface that highlights
information about nearby beacons
• Let the user choose the item that would be
most relevant to them
Dealing with ambiguity
When its not clear which beacon to act on
82. 82
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Non-iBeacon Architecture
Beacon with cloud service
Beacon with cloud
based resolution
?
83. 83
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Beacon Architecture
Crowd sourcing find my …
Beacon with cloud
based resolution
? ?
85. 85
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Criteria for beacon vendor selection
IMDb: The Maltese Falcon (1941)
http://www.imdb.com/rg/em_share/title_web/title/tt0033870?ref=ext_shr_eml_tt
• Power: Battery
• Antenna design, power, frequency
controls
• Embedded software
• Management tools
• Packaging options
• Value added services and software
• Ecosystem: openness and adoption
of proprietary APIs
• Network strategy
• Corporate viability
• Reliability
• Relationship with OS vendors
• Support
• Responsiveness
• Costs and revenue
86. 86
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Beacon vendors
A small subset of the beacons available
PayPal
Apple
Gimbal EstimoteShopKick
Swirl ByteLight Radius Networks
87.
88. 88
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Beacon Vendors
Dolphin Ultrasonic Stick-n-Find
Sonic Notify Tile
inMarket Kontakt
GPShoper GeLo
89. 89
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• WiFi and Bluetooth SMART
• Modes: iBeacon, battery save or Mpact mode
• Presence, Zone and Position using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart to
pinpoint the exact location of customer devices in relation to the
merchandise they are looking at.
− Bluetooth Smart beacons, which transmit radio signals to smart
phones/tablets, can operate in various modes including Apple’s
iBeacon®.
− Apple® iOS and Android® client software development kits (SDK) for
integration into loyalty applications for shopper smart phones/tablets.
− An installation application and cloud-based server software with floor
plan views, shopper traffic flow insight with analytics and Bluetooth
Smart beacon management capabilities.
Beacons - Motorola Solutions
MPact
90. 90
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Location
− Development and support – Poland, BD / deployment - New York and Bay Area, local executive in San Diego
Pricing:
− $99 developer pack of 3 beacons / sticker beacons pack of 10 - volume pricing available
Pros
− Agile first mover – First to 20,000 developer milestone
− Elegant industrial design and user interface
− Started with open iOS only iBeacon SDK, now offer proprietary API with many additional features
− Private access, accelerometer, temperature
− Work with multiple ad networks
Cons
− Have lagged in terms of back-end and network features
− Quality issues
Customers:
− Virgin Airlines, Air New Zealand, Air France, Harrods, Google, Los Angeles, Tesco, M&S ….
Beacon Vendors
Estimote
91. 91
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Location
− La Jolla
Pricing:
− Free developer pack of 3 beacons – S10s $5, S20s $10-$20
Pros
− Broad context features – Interest Sensing, GPS,, WiFi + BLE
− Built with the network in mind: conditional access, public network deployed in NYC
− Robust hardware, multiple antenna, hubs + big battery S20
− Work with multiple ad networks
Cons
− High overhead, thus aggressive revenue goals, difficult to do business with at time
− S20s hard to get
− Designed by engineers for engineers, Late on Android support
Customers:
− Apple, MLB, NFL, NHL, Sea World, SD Conference Center, Staples Ctr., DHHS,
SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival, LACMA, NY Metro, London City Airport
Beacon Vendors
Gimbal (ex-Qualcomm)
92. 92
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Detect beacons
• Update beacon software and
configuration
Gimbal Beacon Manager
Gimbal Inc.
93. 93
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Register your Beacon
− Go to www.gimbal.com - Developer
− Register as a developer
− Open your beacon
− Go to Proximity
− Click on Register beacon at a Gimbal Beacon
• Experiment with
− Measure the signal strength and temperature in My Beacons on the app
− Make the signal Red, Amber and Green
Gimbal Beacon Manager
Exercise
96. 96
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Inventory: type and location
• Battery monitoring
• Software version tracking
• Software update pushes
• Changing parameters: signal strength, frequency
• Health
• Approach
− Crowd sourcing monitoring
− Over The Air Updates Vs Physical Vs WiFi Hub
− Lack of integration with other management tools e.g. SNMP MIB
Beacon Management
Logical
97. 97
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Deployment
− Battery devices mitigate union issues
− USB/PLC powered devices becoming more
common
• Maintenance
− Consider physical maintenance, battery
replacement
− Be skeptical about battery lifetime claims
− Some beacons considered disposable
− Rapid evolution of hardware – Expense rather
than capitalize
Beacon Management
Physical
98. 98
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Analytics
iBeacon – The “analytics tool almost
completely devoid of … analytics”
“Where’s the beef?”
103. 103
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Computer vision is very
effective at tracking
movements in stores
• But it doesn’t distinguish
between staff and employees
• Giving a beacon to
employees and using hubs to
triangulate can make the
movement data more useful
Removing Employees from Machine Vision Analytics
Enriching data
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-retailers-track-shoppers-in-heat-maps-2014-1
https://www.prismskylabs.com
104. 104
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Type Description Example
Beacon Dashboard High level activity monitoring Gimbal Dashboard, QlickView
Campaign management tools Urban Airship
Retail Analytics Multi-technology – Vision, BLE,
WiFi
RetailNext, BrickTrends, Scopix,
Prism Skylabs
Specialist Beacon Analytics Works with third party hardware Lighthouse, Phunware
Ad network analytics Dashborads that show advertising
metrics
iAD, Adwords
General Purpose Analytics OLAP, data warehouse, data
mining tools
SAS, SAP/Business Objects,
MicroStrategy, EMC, Oracle, IBM
(Cognos, SPSS)
Types of Analytics Companies
Specialist tool providers
105. 105
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
Data ware housing
Ensure you have a strategy for mining the data
Facts
App registrations
Active users
Messages sent
Messages opened
App opens
Visits
Dwell time
Conversion
Time
Years
Place
Location name
Beacon
Geofence
Hierarchy of places
Hierarchy of
organizations
Proximity to the
above
People
Segmentation
Demographics
106. 106
Statler Consulting @stevestatler www.statlerconsulting.com
• Orientation & Market
• Core Concepts
− Standards
− The Operating System
− Signal and Placement
− Beacons
− Hands-on
− Analytics
• Networks
• Alternative Technologies
• Applications
• Strategy
Structure