A crash course in iBeacon technology
Transcript of A crash course in iBeacon technology
A crash course in iBeacon technology
Tyson Bradford Mobile Lead at Klyp
Who is Klyp?
What do we know about iBeacons?
• Working with iBeacons since June 2014
• Delivered Australia’s largest iBeacon roll-out (70+ retail stores)
• 4x Klyp iBeacon apps in App Store and Google Play
What are iBeacons?
• Small devices that emit a bluetooth signal
• This signal can be received by smartphones
• Allows smartphones to gain micro-location context awareness
• Opens the door for many new innovative apps
What are iBeacons?
• Come in various shapes and sizes
• iBeacon protocol developed by Apple
• Released with iOS 7 September 2013
What are iBeacons?
Semantics & Confusion
• “iBeacon” is Apple TM
• Refers to the software protocol
• Entire technology now referred to
as “iBeacons” or “beacons”
• Apple does NOT manufacture
iBeacon hardware
Beacon hardware
Estimote
• Most popular amongst developers
• Polish company
• $35/beacon
Beacon hardware
BlueCats
• Australian company
• Replaceable AA batteries
• $30/beacon
Beacon hardware
Other popular devices
• Gimbal (by Qualcomm)
• Kontact.io
• White label (Alibaba)
How do iBeacons work?What's under the hood?
Bluetooth Low Energy
• Underlying technology of iBeacons
• Bluetooth variant with ultra-low power consumption
• Also known as “Bluetooth Smart”, “Bluetooth LE” and “BLE”
• Merged into main Bluetooth standards in v4.0
BLE with iBeacon
• iBeacon acts as a BLE protocol
• Particular packet message format
• What do these packets look like?
BLE with iBeacon
• Estimote default settings:
ProximityUUID = B9407F30-F5F8-466E-AFF9-25556B57FE6D
MajorID = 1
MinorID = 1
• Why not just have a single ID?
Store Location San Francisco Paris London
UUID D9B9EC1F-3925-43D0-80A9-1E39D4CEA95C
Major 1 2 3
Minor
Clothing 10 10 10
Housewares 20 20 20
Automotive 30 30 30
Apps
• Beacons are purely broadcasters
• Apps are the bridge between beacon and smartphone
• All logic is handled by the smartphone using apps
• No app = no action
Minimum specifications
Apple
• iOS 7.0+
• iPhone 4S, iPad 3rd Gen, iPad Mini, iPod Touch 5th Gen
• Macs with OS X Mavericks + BLE
• Bluetooth enabled
• Custom app (or Passbook)
• Location services enabled
Minimum specifications
Android
• Android 4.3+
• BLE compatible device
• Bluetooth enabled
• Custom App
• No official support for iBeacons*
• BLE still unstable*
Beacons vs. GPS
• Power consumption
• Indoor accuracy
How do apps interact with iBeacons?
What information can apps use?
Region monitoring
• App can subscribe to pings
• Ping sent from OS when region is entered or exited
• This can occur whilst app is closed
• App can then perform an action
Region monitoring
Region monitoring
Region monitoring
Ranging
• Receive approximate distances between device and beacons
• Polling occurs at 1Hz
• Distance calculated using RSSI
• Only available while app is in foreground
Shortcomings
• Crude distance calculations: ±50%
• Very sensitive to environment
• Limited maximum range
• High barrier to opt-in
iBeacons at workHow are they being used today?
Micro-location
Micro-location
• Provide location specific information
• Notifications for passive use
• Custom in screen displays for active use
Micro-location
Marketing
• Special offers
• Limited time discounts
Micro-location
Shopkick
Micro-location
Informational
• Galleries
• Museums
• Exhibitions
• Zoos
• Retail
Micro-location
The Rubens House
Business intelligence
Bringing web-like analytics to the physical world
Entering iBeacon area
Time in store
Customer movement
Purchase
Business intelligence
• Not only useful for marketers
• Improve user experience based on findings
Wayfinding
Wayfinding
Meridian and MLB.com Ballpark
Wayfinding
Limitations
• Trilateration is difficult with noisy signals
• Discreet grid system more robust
• Calibration required
Electronic leashing
Electronic leashing
• Make use of the “exit” notification
• Become aware when you are separated from a beacon
Electronic leashing
Nivea Sun Kids
Electronic locks
Electronic locks
Bitlock
Electronic locks
UniKey's Kevo
Security
• iBeacon IDs are easy to sniff
• Other apps can use your IDs
• Other beacons can pretend to be yours
• Some beacon suppliers provide option for rotating IDs
• Avoid using default IDs that are shipped with beacons
Case studiesSome of Klyp’s iBeacon work
NightOwl Convenience
NightOwl Convenience
Challenges
• Live store notification messages
• Installation
• Battery life
NightOwl Convenience
Outcomes
• 35,000 app downloads in 3 months
• Top 10 in "Food and Drink" category
• 55,000 beacon interactions in first 12 weeks
Find My Things
Find My Things
Challenges
• Hardware selection
• Range filtering (low-pass)
Future of iBeacon
Predictions
• IoT will have strong links to iBeacon and BLE
• Improved range reliability
• Android support
Final noteProvide value to users/customers
Any questions?Come and see me afterwards for a Find My Things beacon