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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