Improved user experience through beacon technology
Matthias Eißing - 08/Jul/2020
Matthias Eißing - 08/Jul/2020
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Indoor navigation and location with beacons - a technology based on Bluetooth Low Energy.
With the help of GPS and mobile radio, location functions can be carried out outside of buildings. However, a different technology is required to enable location determination within buildings. This is based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The position of a mobile device is then determined using beacons, which are placed at relevant points in buildings, museums, storage and exhibition halls, etc.
Use cases
More and more companies are recognizing the potential and innovation opportunities of beacon technology. The possible uses are very diverse and often only become apparent at second glance. Some examples:
What are beacons and how do they work?
Beacon (German: signal station, beacon) is a technology based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmission principle. Beacons were originally thought of as a fixed or mobile radio station. Beacons enable energy-saving and automated communication between the transmitter, ie the beacons and the receiver, usually a mobile device such as a tablet or a smartphone. Depending on the position and application, location-specific content is displayed on the mobile device and services are offered. Beacons are available in different sizes, designs and from different manufacturers.
A beacon sends Bluetooth signals at regular intervals. From this perspective, any smartphone, tablet or smart watch - with customized software - can act as a beacon. Hardware designed specifically as beacons, however, is designed for sending BLE signals and cannot act as a receiver. They send a regular data stream, which is used by the receivers to carry out a location determination. The signals are sent in a very short time interval. A beacon builds up a signal region. If a mobile device is in the signal region, it can recognize it and evaluate the BLE signals. The signal generator is identified and the distances between transmitters and receivers in the room are measured. At least three beacons are necessary in order to be able to carry out the measurement exactly in a three-dimensional space. The distances between the units are measured, similar to GPS, according to the lateration principle (Image 1 ).
Image 1: The principle of indoor navigation using beacons.
In contrast to GPS, however, the data transmission is designed for short-range use. The following data is transmitted by a beacon via BLE:
The range of the signal of a sending beacon can be configured. A distinction is made between the following categories: Immidiate (less than 50 cm), Near (up to three meters), Far (more than ten meters) and Unknown . Powerful beacons can send signals with a range of up to 450 meters. Obstacles can shorten the range. The strength of the transmission power affects the lifespan of the battery. In typical applications, the energy lasts for an uninterrupted operation lasting several months.
Beacon technology with RAD Studio
In order to implement applications in practice, the use of individual software is usually indicated. With RAD Studio it is very easy to use the BLE technique for use in beacons. By using finished components, the developer does not have to worry about the use of the technology and the protocols. The components are configured in the development environment and are then immediately available in the program code. RAD Studio offers the components for working with beacon technology ( Image 2 ):
Image 2: The components TBeacon and TBeaconDevice encapsulate the entire complexity.
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Indoor navigation and location with beacons - a technology based on Bluetooth Low Energy.
With the help of GPS and mobile radio, location functions can be carried out outside of buildings. However, a different technology is required to enable location determination within buildings. This is based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The position of a mobile device is then determined using beacons, which are placed at relevant points in buildings, museums, storage and exhibition halls, etc.
Use cases
More and more companies are recognizing the potential and innovation opportunities of beacon technology. The possible uses are very diverse and often only become apparent at second glance. Some examples:
- Navigation : Beacons can help you navigate through buildings, for example in museums, train stations, airports, sports stadiums, etc. Beacons are placed at various locations in the building and send signals to mobile devices via Bluetooth. In this way, the position of the mobile devices can be continuously located and forwarded to the indoor navigation system. An app on the smartphone is required to interpret the signals. The number of beacons in the building depends on the area and the desired accuracy.
- Retail : Beacons enable retailers to get in touch with customers' smartphones. Offers, services and features can be sent directly to the customer's smartphone. By analyzing customer routes, products and offers can be optimally placed and customers in need of advice can be identified. Product information can be displayed in different departments in branches. An example: Other products that are of interest or fit can alternatively be offered to the customer if, for example, he is interested in a certain type of product.
- Mobile Payment: It is possible to enable users at the point of sale to make cashless payments with very little interaction.
- Logistics : By placing beacons along the supply and / or logistics chain, beacon technology can be meaningfully combined with other modern approaches such as RFID, Real Time Fleet Management etc. and thus optimize the processes of logistics.
- Barrier-free: If you can locate the position of customers or visitors, you can help them with targeted voice output and image instructions (for example on a separate monitor) in complex or heavily frequented places.
What are beacons and how do they work?
Beacon (German: signal station, beacon) is a technology based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmission principle. Beacons were originally thought of as a fixed or mobile radio station. Beacons enable energy-saving and automated communication between the transmitter, ie the beacons and the receiver, usually a mobile device such as a tablet or a smartphone. Depending on the position and application, location-specific content is displayed on the mobile device and services are offered. Beacons are available in different sizes, designs and from different manufacturers.
A beacon sends Bluetooth signals at regular intervals. From this perspective, any smartphone, tablet or smart watch - with customized software - can act as a beacon. Hardware designed specifically as beacons, however, is designed for sending BLE signals and cannot act as a receiver. They send a regular data stream, which is used by the receivers to carry out a location determination. The signals are sent in a very short time interval. A beacon builds up a signal region. If a mobile device is in the signal region, it can recognize it and evaluate the BLE signals. The signal generator is identified and the distances between transmitters and receivers in the room are measured. At least three beacons are necessary in order to be able to carry out the measurement exactly in a three-dimensional space. The distances between the units are measured, similar to GPS, according to the lateration principle (Image 1 ).
In contrast to GPS, however, the data transmission is designed for short-range use. The following data is transmitted by a beacon via BLE:
- Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) : An identifier of the beacon. Each beacon has its own UUID. It is a string of numbers and letters, which is 16 bytes in size. The UUID is used to ensure that unique information can be sent by several components in a distributed system.
- The major ID : This value has the function of defining the signal region and use cases. The major value is 2 bytes.
- The minor ID : The minor ID specifies a further sub-area in a major ID.
The range of the signal of a sending beacon can be configured. A distinction is made between the following categories: Immidiate (less than 50 cm), Near (up to three meters), Far (more than ten meters) and Unknown . Powerful beacons can send signals with a range of up to 450 meters. Obstacles can shorten the range. The strength of the transmission power affects the lifespan of the battery. In typical applications, the energy lasts for an uninterrupted operation lasting several months.
Beacon technology with RAD Studio
In order to implement applications in practice, the use of individual software is usually indicated. With RAD Studio it is very easy to use the BLE technique for use in beacons. By using finished components, the developer does not have to worry about the use of the technology and the protocols. The components are configured in the development environment and are then immediately available in the program code. RAD Studio offers the components for working with beacon technology ( Image 2 ):
Image 2: The components TBeacon and TBeaconDevice encapsulate the entire complexity.
- TBeacon : This monitors a list of the specified beacon regions and manages the information about the associated events of the beacons, among other things changes in the distance are detected.
- TBeaconDevice : This means that a BLE device can be used as a regular beacon. You can configure a TBeaconDevice component in an application that runs on a BLE device so that that device sends proximity data. The values for the approximation data can be specified in the following properties UUID , Major , Minor and TxPower .
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