Sure, GPS was a game-changer. But as stars were to ancient mariners, “beacons” are the true wayfinders of the Internet of Things. They’re the enabling tech behind “micro-location”, and they’re about to revolutionize location services all over again.
Topics
- What are “beacons”?
- Beacons vs. iBeacons
- Generic names vs. Apple branding
- Compatibility
- Cost
- Design
- Hardware and service providers
- GPS vs BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), and why you need both
- Micro-location applications (see “Use cases” section below for more)
- A way for retail to compete with Amazon?
- Geofencing
- Ultra-microlocation (!)
- Light (vs. RF) becaons
Links
- Mobiquity
- Estimote — Stylish beacons priced at 3 for $99
- Qualcomm’s Gimbal beacons
Use cases
While the use cases for this technology is pretty endless, here are just a few we touch on:
- Airports
- Shopping malls
- Retail
- Personalized shopping
- In-store contextual advertising
- Radically different checkout experience (“real-life one-click”)
- Augmented reality
- Casinos
- Museums and libraries
- Medicine (Proteus are pills that notify a patch that you’ve digested the pill)
- Sports and games
- Theme parks
- Within a car (!)
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