3 ms·
Show HN: We built an AirTag-like network for sensors that talk to your servers
Hi, we’re Simon, Don and Dan, and we’re developing infrastructure for enabling Bluetooth devices that can communicate with your web backend (we’re calling it Blecon).
Think your own AirTags network, but for sensors talking to your servers.
We’ve got most of the underlying tech for the network infrastructure in place, and now have samples of a first manufacturer device that supports Blecon - a small rechargeable accelerometer tag.
Not much live yet, but we put a summary of this first device and how it works in the link (plus you’ll find some early developer docs for the network infrastructure itself).
TL;DR the tag logs timestamped motion and orientation events, and then sends the data using Blecon when phones come nearby. The data arrives at your specified network endpoint as JSON HTTP POSTs, so it is nice and flexible for integrating into any web infrastructure or framework you might be using.
The customer use case for this device is actually monitoring when and how long equipment is being used, but motion and orientation can be used to infer a lot of things. Interested in what ideas you have for services you could build with just this first accelerometer sensor?!
We’re still developing the network product, but interested in feedback, ideas, questions and use-cases. And if you are really interested we do have samples of this sensor so feel free to reach out if you have a service you’d like to try building with it!
- leros 4y agoI can see this being a lot more useful if it had positional tracking like air tags, but it's definitely still interesting for many applications like you suggested. I am curious how the data sending works. Can it transmit anywhere or does it need certain devices in range?
- mookstar 4y agoYep, location is very useful, and it does actually support that by default already :) Any data request a device sends appears on your networks "request" handler, and will also include location. See https://docs.blecon.net/cloud-reference/device-request-handler https://docs.blecon.net/cloud-reference/device-request-handl... There is also a "spotted" handler you can implement if you want which is called with a device's location when it is spotted, even if it is not sending any data. See https://docs.blecon.net/cloud-reference/spotted-event-handler https://docs.blecon.net/cloud-reference/spotted-event-handle... A device can transmit whenever an enabled phone is nearby. A phone is enabled by installing an basically headless app. There is no pairing/config etc, and the data is encrypted between device and server, so it can be any nearby enabled phone the device uses.
- bruceb 4y agoSo you attach this to something. It records the movements of that item via the small rechargeable accelerometer tag (how long does that charge last?) and that info is uploaded whenever a phone (or similar device) is near and sends that info to wherever it is supposed to go. Basically decoupling accelerometer tech from additional hardware. I am getting it?
- mookstar 4y agoI think you are getting it! You basically get a cloud connected motion logger, so you can write a web service that does/infers whatever with that info from any number of these devices attached to whatever. The reality is it can be any type of sensor that sends events to your http endpoint. This accelerometer/motion one just happens to be the first…