Understanding iBeacon - Apple Support. iBeacon. iBeacon is the trademark[1] for an indoor positioning system[2][3][4] that Apple Inc. calls "a new class of low-powered, low-cost transmitters that can notify nearby iOS 7 or 8 devices of their presence.
"[5] The technology enables a smart phone or other device to perform actions when in close proximity to an iBeacon.[6] One application is to help smart phones determine their approximate location or context. With the help of an iBeacon, a smartphone's software can approximately find its relative location to an iBeacon in a store. iBeacons can help a phone show notifications of items nearby that are on sale, and it can enable payments at the point of sale (POS) where customers don’t need to remove their wallets or cards to make payments. iBeacon technology works using the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, also known as Bluetooth Smart.[7] An assortment of iBeacons from different vendors Functions[edit] Region monitoring[edit] Ranging[edit] iBeacon for Developers. iBeacon License Purpose Licensee would like to: (i) use certain Apple technology (the "Licensed Technology," as defined in Section 1 below) in Licensee products (the "Licensed Products," as defined in Section 1 below), and sell such products to Licensee's customers, under Licensee's brand, directly or indirectly through resellers and distributors; and/or (ii) use the Licensed Technology in Licensed Products for sale or distribution under the label or brand of a third party; and/or (iii) use Apple's proprietary iBeacon Wordmark and/or graphic designs (the "Badge") in connection with Licensee's products and/or to promote the operation of iBeacon Licensed Technology as incorporated in a Licensed Product.
Apple is willing to grant Licensee a limited license to use the Licensed Technology in certain Licensed Products and/or to use the Badge in connection with such Licensed Products, or as otherwise described herein, on the terms and conditions set forth in this Use License. Agreement 1. 2. 3. iBeacon Insider: Your Guide to iBeacon Technology. The only place to get your Bluetooth Beacons for iOS7 iBeacon. iBeacon Technology - PassKit. nRF51822 Bluetooth Smart Beacon Kit.
The nRF51822 Bluetooth® Smart Beacon Kit is a reference design that lets you explore the full range of development possibilities for beacons using Bluetooth Smart technology.
It consists of hardware, firmware and apps for both iOS and Android on Bluetooth 4.0 enabled smartphones. It is ultra-compact at 20 mm diameter and can run from CR1632 coin-cell batteries. The kit has two buttons which can be programmed to enable easy switching between modes and/or functionality, as well as an RGB LED which can be configured to indicate different events. Ten GPIO pins are available for expansion and the kit can be connected to an external programmer/debugger during development work.
The nRF51822 Bluetooth Smart Beacon Kit also supports complete Over-The-Air (OTA) Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) for all firmware on the nRF51822 chip. See Senior Application Engineer, Asbjørn Fossmark present the nRF51822 Bluetooth Smart Beacon Kit to help you get on designing with beacons. What you need to know about using Bluetooth beacons. 2015 will be the year of the beacon, as companies of all sorts begin deploying these Bluetooth nodes that (at a mininum) tell a smartphone precisely where it is so that an app can act on the specific location.
Apple's iBeacons protocol, quietly released last year as part of iOS 7, has created a cottage industry of beacon makers and test deployments in retail stores, stadiums, and more as companies explore how they might increase customer engagement, sales, and service through these devices. But the technology goes far beyond Apple's iBeacons, or at least it can. And its uses far surpass the one that has grabbed most of the media attention: tracking shoppers to provide tailored sales pitches and coupons at specific locations of stores. [ Welcome to the next tech revolution: Liquid computing. | Subscribe to InfoWorld's Consumerization of IT newsletter today. ] You can get similar information from GPS, but only in areas that have a clear view of the sky to receive satellite signals.