8 ms·

Fun With iBeacon

73 points by knowbody 12y ago

coreymgilmore 12y ago
Great to see some more public development around the iBeacon. Yesterday, Panic, showed us their project for a "punch clock" system: http://www.panic.com/blog/punchclock-fun-with-ibeacons/ http://www.panic.com/blog/punchclock-fun-with-ibeacons/ I am very excited to see where this development proceeds. The usefulness is somewhat like geofencing but for smaller areas and much more accurate since the range of the iBeacon is so small (vs GPS).
- keehun 12y ago
  It'd be cool if Panic could clarify a point made in this article which states that delay of detecting whether or not the device has left a region is around 10-15 minutes. Seems like a sizable chunk of time for a clock-in-out app.
  - caruana 12y ago
    The article was pointing out that was one of the cons to iBeacon with iOS 7.0 but seems to have been upgraded to a few seconds in iOS 7.1 ... maybe panic requires iOS 7.1?
  - jimiasty 12y ago
    Based on our experience at Estimote entering the region is triggering iOS action much faster than leaving the region and this is how it works for iOS at the moment (probably phone battery optimization). Entering region is super responsive (aprox. few seconds). Exit the region might take up to a minute+. If you are building smart alarm-clock it is much better to detect if you entered the bathroom or kitchen than detecting if you left bedroom.
chuck8088 12y ago
So, if I build something using iBeacon, what do I for android users, laugh?
- Ysx 12y ago
  iBeacon is an Apple-defined BLE protocol - there's no reason you can't use it on Android, and we build apps that do exactly that.
  - fuziontech 12y ago
    Estimote has an android API that is very similar to their iOS implementation. https://github.com/Estimote/Android-SDK https://github.com/Estimote/Android-SDK
- andreamazz 12y ago
  Hi, I'm the author of the blog post. We also developed an Android client using the Estimote open source SDK, we're planning to pubblish that on Github as well. Since iBeacon is just a fancy word for saying B4LE, Android devices that ship with Bluetooth 4 chips work just fine.
- MrQuincle 12y ago
  I am actually surprised that the Bluetooth consortium just lets Apple re-brand a very limited use of BLE. Namely sending an ID, not really such a feat... Let say it like this: If you buy a development kit from, say, Nordic, their example applications have more functionality. Especially that Apple is licensing this technology, https://developer.apple.com/ibeacon/ https://developer.apple.com/ibeacon/, is totally ridiculous! Moreover, they are patenting this kind of stuff: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2014/05/apple-granted-64-patents-today-covering-ibeacon-the-magic-trackpads-gimbal-press-gesture-mapping-much-more.html http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2014/05/apple-gr.... It's a sad world. I'm glad I've already demonstrable some code online: https://github.com/mrquincle/bluenet https://github.com/mrquincle/bluenet which dates from before these patents.
vinhboy 12y ago
Does Apple sell any transmitters?
- GuiA 12y ago
  Not at the moment.
Linell 12y ago
I recently read an article about a university using iBeacons to help fans navigate their way around stadiums, among other things. The possibilities for stuff like this are just really cool. http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/07/08/ole-miss-offering-new-system-sports-fans/#utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MBJ+E-Bulletin+%e2%80%94+Cruz+backs+runoff+investigation%3b+tea+party+group+calls+Cochran+%27scum%27&utm_content=Ole+Miss+offering+new+beacon+technology+for+sports+fans http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/07/08/ole-miss-offering-new-...
- jimiasty 12y ago
  We curate a list of applications and case studies of beacon deployments: https://community.estimote.com/hc/en-us/sections/200364446-Video-Use-Cases https://community.estimote.com/hc/en-us/sections/200364446-V... There is fun stuff from quadrocopter 3d positioning till contact-less payments.
razrunelord 12y ago
Does this only work from an iOS test device? Not from the simulator?
- andreamazz 12y ago
  Yes, you need a device to test this out. You can emualte a beacon with your Mac (there's a link to the app on the blog post) and that's about it.
- filleokus 12y ago
  No, Apple dropped BLE support from the simulator with iOS 7. It was really quite flaky and quite cumbersome to set up, so mostly I just used the device any ways.
- jimiasty 12y ago
  You can also simulate Estimote Beacons just by downloading the app from App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/estimote/id686915066?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/estimote/id686915066?mt=8 Tap "beacons" and hit "turn this device into an iBeacon". Works for any BLE-enabled iDevice which is iPhone4S+
localhost3000 12y ago
Been doing some iBeacon dev and deployments for about 8 months. The estimote hardware is just outrageously expensive compared to what you can source from China with little effort. As in, 3-4x the cost. If you're just doing simple BTLE proximity I don't know why you'd need a $30 beacon (I guess they have some other sensors built into their beacon as well?)...if you're making a toy, fine, but if your intent is to deploy thousands (or even dozens, really) of beacons it just doesn't make any sense. I suspect in a year's time generic hardware will be had at < 1/10th the price of an estimote.
- roberthahn 12y ago
  One reason why people continue to use $30 beacons is marketing. The companies selling it for that much are clearly explaining what their tech is, and assures us that it works with iPhones. For a lot of us (myself included), this is new stuff. Unlike you, we wouldn't have a clue what part to search for, nor could we be sure that whatever we do get is guaranteed to work. I've looked around, and this article is the first I found that clearly connected iBeacon to BTLE. Even with that, I still have no idea what exactly I'd be looking for in a cheap iBeacon hotspot - would it be a BTLE chipset attached to an ARM? Do I need to install an OS? Should I look for something with an SD card? Those aren't stupid questions - they're the questions anyone would ask if they're not sure where to start. So those $30 beacons start looking like a pretty good value now. So you've been working on this for 8 months? Quit holding out on us and write something up! :) If the comments here are any indication, there's a need.
  - localhost3000 12y ago
    That's a valid point re marketing, education, support... I'll write something once we're a bit further along.
- jimiasty 12y ago
  Hi, this is Jakub, co-founder & ceo of Estimote. Yes, you are right - there are additional sensors into each Estimote Beacon like temperature & accelerometer. You can read more about them here: http://blog.estimote.com/post/87918401035/firmware-update-activating-accelerometer-temperature http://blog.estimote.com/post/87918401035/firmware-update-ac... The challenge with cheap, Chinese beacons is that beacon deployments in general are site-specific at the moment. They require configuration, enabling security, calibration, etc. We sell currently Dev Kits that consist of 3 beacons as well as free iOS & Android SDK, responsive support, 20K+ developers community portal, cloud-based fleet management tool and more. Each beacon is in fact tiny computer with ARM processor, flash memory and sensors. Thanks to our iOS app you can configure range of the beacon, optimize battery life and security. We update our firmware on monthly-basis so even if you bought beacons 6 months ago you can download the latest version over-the-air and enable sensors and new tech and there is more to come soon. We all agree that beacons will be everywhere in the future and deployed at scale. The fact is that beacons cost will be still tiny part of the budget dedicated to build the context-aware app. We have partnered with many companies like Knoll to build such apps (http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/17/estimote-knoll-partner-to-bring-ibeacons-into-office-space-planning/ http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/17/estimote-knoll-partner-to-b...) and believe the value is in the underlying software delivered together with high quality hardware.
templeos2 12y ago
retard-nigger
lnanek2 12y ago
For Android people, there's a very good library here: http://developer.radiusnetworks.com/ibeacon/android/index.html http://developer.radiusnetworks.com/ibeacon/android/index.ht... And here is an example of using it on Google Glass to trigger various experiences at Airport beacons like parking, security, and checkout that I wrote for a hackathon: https://github.com/lnanek/WearableTraveler https://github.com/lnanek/WearableTraveler Some of the American Airlines employees at the event mentioned installing hundreds of iBeacon in a terminal, so you can expect them to actually be out in the wild.
yresnob 12y ago
we use these primarily but have used others including estimote since 2013... https://www.gimbal.com/gimbal-proximity-beacons https://www.gimbal.com/gimbal-proximity-beacons less than 5 dollars each for series 10 and a security model that folks should seriously look into IMO...or u can use iBeacon configuration. Originally by Qualcomm so u know the hardware is solid.
bhowden 12y ago
Interesting discussion. If you're looking for a software platform that sits over your hardware you should check out Lighthouse: http://lighthousebeacon.com.au/ http://lighthousebeacon.com.au/ - allows you to control content delivery and includes advanced analytics.
sos100 12y ago
I think it's important (for everyone) to clarify that Beacon DevPacks (typically 3 Beacons, SDK, etc.) are different to Beacon Production Orders (I'd like 2000 beacons for my set of stores). Pricing for the former is generally around $20 or so per beacon, while the 1000's tend to drop off rapidly. Just my 2 cents. (Sean @localsocial)

73 points by knowbody 12y ago

Great to see some more public development around the iBeacon. Yesterday, Panic, showed us their project for a "punch clock" system: http://www.panic.com/blog/punchclock-fun-with-ibeacons/ http://www.panic.com/blog/punchclock-fun-with-ibeacons/ I am very excited to see where this development proceeds. The usefulness is somewhat like geofencing but for smaller areas and much more accurate since the range of the iBeacon is so small (vs GPS).

keehun 12y ago
It'd be cool if Panic could clarify a point made in this article which states that delay of detecting whether or not the device has left a region is around 10-15 minutes. Seems like a sizable chunk of time for a clock-in-out app.
- caruana 12y ago
  The article was pointing out that was one of the cons to iBeacon with iOS 7.0 but seems to have been upgraded to a few seconds in iOS 7.1 ... maybe panic requires iOS 7.1?
- jimiasty 12y ago
  Based on our experience at Estimote entering the region is triggering iOS action much faster than leaving the region and this is how it works for iOS at the moment (probably phone battery optimization). Entering region is super responsive (aprox. few seconds). Exit the region might take up to a minute+. If you are building smart alarm-clock it is much better to detect if you entered the bathroom or kitchen than detecting if you left bedroom.

chuck8088 12y ago

So, if I build something using iBeacon, what do I for android users, laugh?

Ysx 12y ago
iBeacon is an Apple-defined BLE protocol - there's no reason you can't use it on Android, and we build apps that do exactly that.
- fuziontech 12y ago
  Estimote has an android API that is very similar to their iOS implementation. https://github.com/Estimote/Android-SDK https://github.com/Estimote/Android-SDK
andreamazz 12y ago
Hi, I'm the author of the blog post. We also developed an Android client using the Estimote open source SDK, we're planning to pubblish that on Github as well. Since iBeacon is just a fancy word for saying B4LE, Android devices that ship with Bluetooth 4 chips work just fine.
MrQuincle 12y ago
I am actually surprised that the Bluetooth consortium just lets Apple re-brand a very limited use of BLE. Namely sending an ID, not really such a feat... Let say it like this: If you buy a development kit from, say, Nordic, their example applications have more functionality. Especially that Apple is licensing this technology, https://developer.apple.com/ibeacon/ https://developer.apple.com/ibeacon/, is totally ridiculous! Moreover, they are patenting this kind of stuff: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2014/05/apple-granted-64-patents-today-covering-ibeacon-the-magic-trackpads-gimbal-press-gesture-mapping-much-more.html http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2014/05/apple-gr.... It's a sad world. I'm glad I've already demonstrable some code online: https://github.com/mrquincle/bluenet https://github.com/mrquincle/bluenet which dates from before these patents.

vinhboy 12y ago

Does Apple sell any transmitters?

GuiA 12y ago
Not at the moment.

Linell 12y ago

I recently read an article about a university using iBeacons to help fans navigate their way around stadiums, among other things. The possibilities for stuff like this are just really cool. http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/07/08/ole-miss-offering-new-system-sports-fans/#utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MBJ+E-Bulletin+%e2%80%94+Cruz+backs+runoff+investigation%3b+tea+party+group+calls+Cochran+%27scum%27&utm_content=Ole+Miss+offering+new+beacon+technology+for+sports+fans http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/07/08/ole-miss-offering-new-...

jimiasty 12y ago
We curate a list of applications and case studies of beacon deployments: https://community.estimote.com/hc/en-us/sections/200364446-Video-Use-Cases https://community.estimote.com/hc/en-us/sections/200364446-V... There is fun stuff from quadrocopter 3d positioning till contact-less payments.

razrunelord 12y ago

Does this only work from an iOS test device? Not from the simulator?

andreamazz 12y ago
Yes, you need a device to test this out. You can emualte a beacon with your Mac (there's a link to the app on the blog post) and that's about it.
filleokus 12y ago
No, Apple dropped BLE support from the simulator with iOS 7. It was really quite flaky and quite cumbersome to set up, so mostly I just used the device any ways.
jimiasty 12y ago
You can also simulate Estimote Beacons just by downloading the app from App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/estimote/id686915066?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/estimote/id686915066?mt=8 Tap "beacons" and hit "turn this device into an iBeacon". Works for any BLE-enabled iDevice which is iPhone4S+

localhost3000 12y ago

Been doing some iBeacon dev and deployments for about 8 months. The estimote hardware is just outrageously expensive compared to what you can source from China with little effort. As in, 3-4x the cost. If you're just doing simple BTLE proximity I don't know why you'd need a $30 beacon (I guess they have some other sensors built into their beacon as well?)...if you're making a toy, fine, but if your intent is to deploy thousands (or even dozens, really) of beacons it just doesn't make any sense. I suspect in a year's time generic hardware will be had at < 1/10th the price of an estimote.

roberthahn 12y ago
One reason why people continue to use $30 beacons is marketing. The companies selling it for that much are clearly explaining what their tech is, and assures us that it works with iPhones. For a lot of us (myself included), this is new stuff. Unlike you, we wouldn't have a clue what part to search for, nor could we be sure that whatever we do get is guaranteed to work. I've looked around, and this article is the first I found that clearly connected iBeacon to BTLE. Even with that, I still have no idea what exactly I'd be looking for in a cheap iBeacon hotspot - would it be a BTLE chipset attached to an ARM? Do I need to install an OS? Should I look for something with an SD card? Those aren't stupid questions - they're the questions anyone would ask if they're not sure where to start. So those $30 beacons start looking like a pretty good value now. So you've been working on this for 8 months? Quit holding out on us and write something up! :) If the comments here are any indication, there's a need.
- localhost3000 12y ago
  That's a valid point re marketing, education, support... I'll write something once we're a bit further along.
jimiasty 12y ago
Hi, this is Jakub, co-founder & ceo of Estimote. Yes, you are right - there are additional sensors into each Estimote Beacon like temperature & accelerometer. You can read more about them here: http://blog.estimote.com/post/87918401035/firmware-update-activating-accelerometer-temperature http://blog.estimote.com/post/87918401035/firmware-update-ac... The challenge with cheap, Chinese beacons is that beacon deployments in general are site-specific at the moment. They require configuration, enabling security, calibration, etc. We sell currently Dev Kits that consist of 3 beacons as well as free iOS & Android SDK, responsive support, 20K+ developers community portal, cloud-based fleet management tool and more. Each beacon is in fact tiny computer with ARM processor, flash memory and sensors. Thanks to our iOS app you can configure range of the beacon, optimize battery life and security. We update our firmware on monthly-basis so even if you bought beacons 6 months ago you can download the latest version over-the-air and enable sensors and new tech and there is more to come soon. We all agree that beacons will be everywhere in the future and deployed at scale. The fact is that beacons cost will be still tiny part of the budget dedicated to build the context-aware app. We have partnered with many companies like Knoll to build such apps (http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/17/estimote-knoll-partner-to-bring-ibeacons-into-office-space-planning/ http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/17/estimote-knoll-partner-to-b...) and believe the value is in the underlying software delivered together with high quality hardware.

templeos2 12y ago

retard-nigger

lnanek2 12y ago

For Android people, there's a very good library here: http://developer.radiusnetworks.com/ibeacon/android/index.html http://developer.radiusnetworks.com/ibeacon/android/index.ht... And here is an example of using it on Google Glass to trigger various experiences at Airport beacons like parking, security, and checkout that I wrote for a hackathon: https://github.com/lnanek/WearableTraveler https://github.com/lnanek/WearableTraveler Some of the American Airlines employees at the event mentioned installing hundreds of iBeacon in a terminal, so you can expect them to actually be out in the wild.

yresnob 12y ago

we use these primarily but have used others including estimote since 2013... https://www.gimbal.com/gimbal-proximity-beacons https://www.gimbal.com/gimbal-proximity-beacons less than 5 dollars each for series 10 and a security model that folks should seriously look into IMO...or u can use iBeacon configuration. Originally by Qualcomm so u know the hardware is solid.

bhowden 12y ago

Interesting discussion. If you're looking for a software platform that sits over your hardware you should check out Lighthouse: http://lighthousebeacon.com.au/ http://lighthousebeacon.com.au/ - allows you to control content delivery and includes advanced analytics.

sos100 12y ago

I think it's important (for everyone) to clarify that Beacon DevPacks (typically 3 Beacons, SDK, etc.) are different to Beacon Production Orders (I'd like 2000 beacons for my set of stores). Pricing for the former is generally around $20 or so per beacon, while the 1000's tend to drop off rapidly. Just my 2 cents. (Sean @localsocial)