What is an iBeacon used for?

What is an iBeacon used for?

iBeacon is a small-scale network device that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and acts as a transmitter to detect and track smartphones.

What are beacons tags?

This acts as a Beacon, but adds two way communication between the tag and the smartphone. This can be used in a number of ways. The main use for a tag is to locate an item. The tag, powered by a small coin cell, can be attached to an item, whether keys, a wallet, luggage or even a pet.

How do I identify an iBeacon?

To identify each iBeacon, an iBeacon is identified using three numbers: Proximity UUID (16-bytes), Major (2 bytes), and Minor (2 bytes) (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Three numbers are used to identify an iBeacon . The assignment of these three numbers is totally up to the implementers.

What is iBeacon and beacon?

iBeacon is just a Bluetooth protocol whereas beacon is a common name for a device that transmits iBeacon or Eddystone protocols. iBeacon does not collect any data – it is a protocol received by mobile apps that can with a user consent track certain information.

Does iBeacon still work?

iBeacon technology is still in its infancy. One well-reported software quirk exists on 4.2 and 4.3 Android systems whereby the system’s bluetooth stack crashes when presented with many iBeacons.

How accurate is iBeacon?

The positioning accuracy of the iBeacon-based method is RMSE 2.75 m. When the smartphone is held steadily, the fusion positioning tests result in RMSE of 2.39 and 2.22 m for the two routes. In addition, the other tests with orientation noises can still result in RMSE of 3.48 and 3.66 m.

What is the difference between a beacon and an RFID tag?

Beacons, Bluetooth tags or BLE tags are similar to active RFID tags. They have inbuilt batteries which provide them with long read-ranges. The most unique difference between BLE and RFID is that beacons work on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology which is highly energy-efficient.

What is Bluetooth beacon technology?

A beacon is a small Bluetooth radio transmitter, powered by batteries. Beacons are similar to a lighthouse in functionality. These small hardware devices incessantly transmit Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals. The Bluetooth enabled smartphones are capable of scanning and displaying these signals.

What is iBeacon UUID?

The UUID is the unique number generated for a specific Bluetooth Beacon and is able to be programmed to identify manufacturer, application or owner).

How do I connect to iBeacon?

Step-by-step: How to connect the iBeacon Open the Driversnote app. Go to Settings in the app menu. Tap on iBeacons. Select your iBeacon (If there is more than one in the area, you can identify yours using the 4-digit code on its side)

What is the range of a Bluetooth beacon?

Most Bluetooth beacons can reliably transmit up to approximately 30 meters without any physical obstructions. A typical operating range is around 2 to 5 meters, depending on the transmit power. The higher the range, the higher the battery consumption.

How big is the radius of a beacon?

The first level of blocks will give the Beacon the minimum range of 20 blocks. Each additional complete level will increase the range by 10 blocks, with a maximum range of 50 blocks.