An introduction to Beacons
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Transcript of An introduction to Beacons
3
What?
A beacon is a transmitter at a known location, which
emits a continuous or periodic radio signal with limited
information content (for example its identification or
location).
How?
Any radio technology can be used to identify location but
the most relevant technologies from a mobile beacon
perspective are Wifi, Bluetooth and RFID.
Beacons indicate their presence so that enabled devices
can locate them. Each beacon is given a unique identifier.
When a user’s device enters the beacon area, all installed
apps subscribing to this unique identifier
are notified.
Depending on where the customers are in a store, and if they are
carrying an enabled device, they will be able to receive messages
from the closest beacon. For example, when browsing through a
specific section in a store, whether it be footwear or mp3 players,
the local beacon could share location-specific information on
special offers, interesting facts, targeted promotions and more.
As the customer moves to a different location, a new beacon
in the area will alert them to offers on products they are now in
proximity to. Using mobile beacon technology, customers can
be contacted and kept informed while in-store to enrich their
experience.
Mobile proximity marketing
20% OFF
OX18765
PH87134
No purchases on sales.
Capuccino at Starbucks.
Eyewear sections.
Sushi & Italian restaurants.
Restaurant offers.
Accessories sections.
Cinema sunday evening.
Leather bags.
HJ09624
Gardening stores.
Gourmet food
sections.
Tabaco.
Knowing a customer’s exact location means it is easier to
deliver information which is relevant to them at that precise
moment and context. However, micro-location user targeting
can go far beyond simple proximity marketing. By being able to
track a consumer’s behaviour, interests and location patterns
within a store or other business, we can obtain a clearer picture
of the individual. Not only do we know what they purchase, but
we know what interests them judging by how long they stay in
a section, and can identify the factors triggering a purchase.
The information collected can then be analysed for a truly
personalized, relevant and engaging conversation.
Micro-location & user targeting
30 mCheck in
With micro-location targeting, it is easier to offer users valuable
information on navigating large areas such as airports, stadiums
or shopping centers. For example, a person arriving at an airport
they are not familiar with could be guided through it via beacons.
A beacon at the entrance could welcome them and direct them
to their airline desk for check-in. Once at the check-in desks, a
new beacon could provide information on the best route through
airport security as well as gate information. Stores, restaurants
and other locations of interest would also be announced,
specifying relevant offers where available.
Indoor-mapping
Particularly interesting for museums and cities, a user could be
guided through the points of interest as well as providing further
information on their visit. With merely their mobile device enabled
to receive beacon communications, the user could forgo city
guidebooks and focus on exploring the city. Receiving valuable
and relevant information at key attractions as well as the best
routes to take within the city, would add an element of flexibility
and freedom to the user experience. Guided museum tours
would operate on a smaller scale in a similar fashion.
Mobile tour guides
PayPal’s Beacon is a Bluetooth Low Energy USB module for stores
and other businesses allowing consumers to pay hands-free. The
device sets up communication between points-of-sale and mobile
devices without the use for GPS, wireless or mobile networks.
The user has to install the PayPal app on their mobile device, set
up their preferences for automatic check-ins and approve being
charged for any goods they purchase or consume. Once the
customer enters their preferred business, a vibration notifies them
of their check-in as their photo appears on the merchant’s POS.
Confirmation of verbal payment would complete the transaction
with a receipt sent automatically by email.
Mobile hands-free payments
The most controversial but also the most common use case today
of Wifi beacons is using the data collected by the Wifi hotspots for
business intelligence. Without users giving permission, the owner
of the Wifi nodes can use it to answer questions like “how many
people walk by a given location each day”, ”what are the busiest
hours throughout the day/week”, “how long is the average person
spending inside the venue/location” and “where in a store/location
people spend most time”. This can be used for everything from
choosing locations and planning store layouts, to understanding
who the customers are and using those insights to come up with
new sales strategies. With user opt-in, the data becomes even
more accurate and valuable.
Tracking & business intelligence
PIXELATED
Wifi
Technology soon available with Wifi to
be used with all smartphones.
Relatively inexpensive.
Requires an installed app by user to
engage.
Investments in Wifi SW/HW to achieve
accuracy*
Wifi power consumption higher then
Bluetooth.
NFC/RFID
Great accuracy for use with payments
and product information.
Very low cost of RFID sensors/stickers
(0.01 USD).
Not supported by Apple.
20 cm (7.9 inch) range.
High battery consumption.
iBeacon/BLE
Based on Bluetooth Low Energy4.0 and
available on most new smartphones.
Energy consumption much lower then
Wifi.
Requires an app to be installed and
Bluetooth to be running.
Requires new technology/investments
and becomes complex to maintain
when you scale up.
Requires installation of beacons.
We’ve been comparing technologies for some time now and although we believe iBeacons has the potential to be great, we
don’t think there is a clear winner yet.
* Cisco, Navizon, Meridian, KAIST, WirelessWerx, GISi Indoors, Euclid ...
There are three basic approaches independent of the technology
(Wifi or BLE):
Device Based: This is the most common approach for outdoor
location (or to at least locate the building you’re in) as it can easily
be implemented without permission/support from the network.
Infrastructure based: This uses e.g. the existing Wifi
infrastructure (if supported) or dedicated Wifi or Bluetooth nodes.
Hybrid (Device and Infrastructure): Combines all available
location information (Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, sensors, etc)
The main technical approaches
15
All 3 technologies are cheap and easy to pilot so try them
out in one location and see what you think, how customers
respond, what the perceived value add is and how the
business case stacks up.
When Apple chose BLE as standard rather than NFC/
RFID, we predicted that the two winning technologies in
North America would be Wifi and BLE whereas NFC still
had a good chance in the rest of the world. NFC may still
play an important role in enterprise in North America as
companies control which devices are purchased.
A new kind of Wifi HW now exists that alters the transmitted
power, making it very difficult to measure and map a wifi
area for triangulation. This complicates the use of general
Wifi for a lot of the core uses described in this presentation.
In conclusion there is no one size fits all. The requirements
for indoor positioning and customer engagement need to
be assessed in each case before a recommendation can
be given. However, even if BLE beacons are the hottest
trend right now, Wifi can often fulfill the same requirements
cheaper and more easily.
16
Since Apple announced iBeacon, 100s of companies have positioned themselves as Beacon
and indoor location and marketing providers. Here are just a few relevant industry players:
BLE Beacons: Entimote, Qualcomm, Roximity and indoor.rs
Wifi positioning and tracking: Cisco, Ariba (Meridian), Navizon and Infsoft
Proprietary Wifi nodes: knock.io
Wifi location databases: Skyhook Wireless and AlterGeo
Suppliers of Beacons
web www.goldengekko.com email [email protected]
Fighting for a world full of mobile solutionssince 2005