4 ms·

The biggest problem with Beacons is that the range is unpredictable. Without a better handle on proximity, many of the use cases I can immediately think of are

The biggest problem with Beacons is that the range is unpredictable. Without a better handle on proximity, many of the use cases I can immediately think of are of no greater benefit than GPS or WiFi nodes. It's a shame, because there are some amazing things you can do once you are able to start exchanging data based on passing a node by (< 3 meters)

venus 12y ago
Why is this being downvoted? It's exactly right. The distance to beacons is extremely unpredictable. Just holding the phone or a beacon in your hand slightly differently is often enough to make the estimated distance change by 10m. And yes, it's a huge barrier to usefulness.
- ivanca 12y ago
  It seems like a very easy problem to solve, why don't the beacons broadcast their locations? (latitude and longitude, then just subtract the GPS location)
  - alexeckermann 12y ago
    If the thing the beacon is attached to moves the co-ordinates would need to update and would not be of use because its just GPS. Static beacons are useful where GPS resolution isn't great (concrete canyons), in buildings/structures or an area where theres a high density of beacons that GPS can't resolve quickly or finely enough. A beacon represents a thing and not a fixed location. A beacon on a vehicle would say "hi I'm vehicle ABC123…" rather than trying to find that vehicle by 2D geospatial resolve from a GPS fix referencing a known database of last locations of vehicles.
alexeckermann 12y ago
This is entirely dependant on the beacon antenna design and its configuration. I have tested various beacons and have found that beacons using ceramic chip antennas do give these wild and unpredictable ranging values where as a trace antenna, especially the ones provided by TI, are exceptionally good once configured with correct TX power settings. Using Apple's devices as iBeacons are very accurate. I usually have an margin of error in the region of +/- 10cm at its worst. But the point of beacons is that they represent a physical thing. "A thing is here. Have its identifier" rather than using GPS or a-GPS to resolve a 2D coordinate that then needs geospatial querying to find an object "closest" to that reported position. No matter how good 2D coordinates are if the thing doesn't stay in one spot or if the accuracy is not great (indoors) then its just a guessing game.

venus 12y ago

Why is this being downvoted? It's exactly right. The distance to beacons is extremely unpredictable. Just holding the phone or a beacon in your hand slightly differently is often enough to make the estimated distance change by 10m. And yes, it's a huge barrier to usefulness.

ivanca 12y ago
It seems like a very easy problem to solve, why don't the beacons broadcast their locations? (latitude and longitude, then just subtract the GPS location)
- alexeckermann 12y ago
  If the thing the beacon is attached to moves the co-ordinates would need to update and would not be of use because its just GPS. Static beacons are useful where GPS resolution isn't great (concrete canyons), in buildings/structures or an area where theres a high density of beacons that GPS can't resolve quickly or finely enough. A beacon represents a thing and not a fixed location. A beacon on a vehicle would say "hi I'm vehicle ABC123…" rather than trying to find that vehicle by 2D geospatial resolve from a GPS fix referencing a known database of last locations of vehicles.

alexeckermann 12y ago

This is entirely dependant on the beacon antenna design and its configuration. I have tested various beacons and have found that beacons using ceramic chip antennas do give these wild and unpredictable ranging values where as a trace antenna, especially the ones provided by TI, are exceptionally good once configured with correct TX power settings. Using Apple's devices as iBeacons are very accurate. I usually have an margin of error in the region of +/- 10cm at its worst. But the point of beacons is that they represent a physical thing. "A thing is here. Have its identifier" rather than using GPS or a-GPS to resolve a 2D coordinate that then needs geospatial querying to find an object "closest" to that reported position. No matter how good 2D coordinates are if the thing doesn't stay in one spot or if the accuracy is not great (indoors) then its just a guessing game.