7 things you probably didn’t know about iBeacons
Last year Apple announced iBeacons at the WWDC conference in June, and while most people know what it is, most have the wrong idea of what iBeacons can really do. You can also read the two earlier posts about iBeacons: part 1 and part 2 to learn more. My team and I decided to build an app and see what we can do and also what we cannot do. Here are some of our key findings:
Can they detect my exact location?
No they can’t. We were hoping we could use trilateration to determine the location but the distance that we get is not precise. Even while standing still we would get different distances.
Do iBeacons only work on iOS?
No. iBeacons work on any devices with bluetooth 4.0 and above. So it will work on Android, Windows Phone, and you can even use a Raspberry-pi as a beacon.
Are all iBeacons the same?
No, there are many different ones. Some use batteries, some you plug into the wall. They broadcast in different intervals and they are different sizes and shapes.
Are they intelligent?
Not really. All they do is broadcast their ID, plus a major and minor number. The app talking to the iBeacon has to do all the rest of the work.
Does everyone have bluetooth turn on?
No. It’s estimated that only 70% of people have it turned on.
Can iBeacons tell you to download an app?
No, they are not that smart. You will need to have an app installed in order to communicate with the iBeacon.
Do apps receive signals from the iBeacons right away?
No, response signals vary between one second and 15 minutes. On average it’s about 2 seconds, but it can take up to 15 minutes if the app is running in the background.
So what can they do? While they cannot tell you the exact location or distance, iBeacons can tell you if you are nearby. With that you can create apps that are aware of things around them whether you are outdoors or indoors. MasterCard and R/GA recently used iBeacons to bring information, deals, and prizes to the attendees of the Northside annual festival. Read more here: http://www.fastcocreate.com/3032050/mastercard-brings-ibeacons-to-brooklyns-northside-festival
iBeacons work great for sending information to the users at a festival or store, but if you want to constantly find the user’s location or give them multiple updates based on their location it will be a much bigger challenge and will be very imprecise.
Our demo app detects if you enter or leave a certain region and displays their name and whether they are entering or leaving the region. In the next post one of the developers will explain our app in more detail.
In the meantime, please enjoy our demo video.
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Originally published at www.confabulatory.net on August 26, 2014.
