These are the slides for a talk I gave at the Bluetooth Developers Meetup on 25 June in London, UK. A quick iBeacon technology overview and an overview of Blue Sense Networks' hardware and software offerings.
Transcript of Apple iBeacon Technology Overview by Blue Sense Networks
Apple iBeacon Technology Overview
Apple iBeacon Any BLE enabled device can act as an iBeacon
iBeacon is a custom advertising packet for BLE devices that exposes
several numbers: UUID, Major and Minor Passive technology no
connection neededApple WWDC - June 2013
iBeacon Advertisement Packet Structure iBeacon Preamble 02 #
Number of bytes that follow in first AD structure 01 # Flags AD
type 06 # Flags value 1A # Number of bytes that follow in second
(and last) AD structure FF # Manufacturer specific data AD type 4C
00 # Company identifier code (0x004C == Apple) 02 # Byte 0 of
iBeacon advertisement indicator 15 # Byte 1 of iBeacon
advertisement indicator
Distance Estimation Estimation based on RSSI TxPower field is
used to judge distance Very unreliable Distance estimates change
when conditions change (ambient temperature, number of people etc.)
Beacon calibration on location is imperative
Additional Requirements 100ms advertisement rate Calibration
must be performed on installation Devices should not be connectable
iBeacon is an Apple trademark - self certification available
through the MFi programme
iOS Support iBeacon is supported natively in iOS 7+ as part of
CoreLocation iOS devices can both detect iBeacons and act as
iBeacons Apps can subscribe to receive background notifications
Apps receive notifications even if they are closed and completely
shut down iBeacon notifications persist even after device
restart
Android Support No official Android support Very few BLE
enabled devices out there No peripheral profile in Android - device
cant act as iBeacon Problems with BLE stack implementation - very
unstable, sometimes WiFi and BLE are in conflict 3rd party
libraries used to get similar functionality as in iOS - Radius
Networks open source library available on GitHub
Windows Support
BlueBar Beacon Fully CE, FCC, IC, Japan and South Korea
certified iOS and Android (4.3+) compatible Fully configurable -
all iBeacon parameters, signal strength and advertisement frequency
Runs on a single CR2450 battery up to 2 years of service Available
now on our website we ship worldwide
Configuration Utility App + BlueBar SDK Allows over the air
configuration of BlueBar beacons Available in the AppStore for iOS
and on Google Play for Android Open-source on GitHub to allow
custom branding and integration into existing solutions
ProximitySense.com Beacon management and deployment control
Proximity Campaign management Analytics Currently in Private Beta
for select customers
Kontext Events discovery People and Conversations nearby,
powered by iBeacons Offers and promotions nearby Launched at
RE.WORK Berlin in June Available on GetKontext.com for iOS and
Android
Demo App Source code available for both iOS and Android on
Full stack iBeacon Solutions Provider BlueSenseNetworks.com
@BlueSenseNet @VladPetroff