iBeacon is an Apple concept that allows Bluetooth devices to send and capture information within short distances.
There will be a beacon device and a receiver (smartphone app) that can send hyper-contextual text on a micro-local scale.
When you posses a mobile device with this technology activated in it, you are continuously sending out information regarding your location and ID.
These beacons act like links to the outside world. An app uses these beacons to trigger events or call actions, like for example, allow the user to open locked doors, activate automation systems, receive notifications and so on.
The purpose of the broadcaster (a battery powered device) is to just send information, and the receiver will be an iOS app on a laptop or any mobile device and the information will be sent through a USB Bluetooth dongle and an Arduino kit.
The technology used by Beacons is known as BLE or Bluetooth Low Energy and is actually a wireless personal area network that transmits data over short distances.
Through the iBeacon technology, Apple has brought out a standard format for BLE Advertising and its four main parts are:
(1) UUID, known as Unique Identifier, for differentiating between different types of related beacons,
(2) Major, a 2 byte string for identifying the smaller subset of beacons among a larger one,
(3) Minor, another 2 byte string to identify the individual beacons and
(4) Tx Power, to determine the distance from the transmitter to the receiver.
Now, that the introduction is given, let’s get into the use cases of iBeacon technology:
1. Korean Railways
Look at the innovative use of iBeacon on Korean trains.
As soon as a pregnant lady gets into the train, she gets a seat. The campaign was actually started under the name “Pink Light”, owning to the low birthrate of women in Korea. So to ensure that the women stay safe, the railways decided to make their journey comfortable and safe by providing them with a seat as soon as they enter.
How do they do it?By providing pregnant women with small beacons that they can wear on their handbags. This beacon would then transmit a flashlight signaling that the lady is on a train.
The beacon will also alert other people on the train that a pregnant lady is on board and that she needs a vacant seat. Passengers seated on the courtesy seat would have to give up their seats. The beacon would keep flashing until the lady is seated.
2. Allrecipes
Allrecipes is a digital food brand, and they have an app that gives you exciting food tips and cooking ideas.
Through the Allrecipes Dinner Spinner app, you can come up with customized recipes if you ever run out of recipes. They aim to take the burden off your shoulders, giving you ideas on how to limit your grocery bill as well.
**How do they do it?**All you need to do is download the Spinner app, and as soon as you enter the store, the beacon within the app will be activated through the Bluetooth in your device. It would then give recipe suggestions based on the grocery available at a particular store.
3. Philips Museum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, National Slate Museum, Wales, Brooklyn Museum, New York
iBeacons play a major role in every industry. We are not discussing retail here because that’s an obvious one. Instead, let’s look at how museums utilize iBeacon technology in a big way. After all, they need to do a serious take on how to bring in more visitors and keep them engaged.
How do they do it?Museums can send interactive content on the artwork visitors are interested in. They do this by identifying the time a visitor dwells on a particular object and send him/her more information on it. Museums use iBeacon technology to give self-guided tours to visitors.
They can learn about the layout of the museum, the goods on display and a lot more through this technology. And they even go a step further, by issuing entry tickets to visitors so they don’t actually have to stand in queue to get one.
4. Hotels like Casino, Marriot & IHG
Hotels aim to deliver a tech-savvy experience to their customers. They transform guest experience by providing a number of excellent features to enable personalized services. If hotels launched apps to help guests reserve their rooms in the past, they now use iBeacons to act as their personal concierge.
How do they do it?The moment a guest approaches the front desk, the clerk can tap into the micro- location capabilities through the iBeacons and gather pertinent information regarding the new entrant. The guest is saved the task of giving all his details manually.
iBeacons play a major role in keyless entry into rooms, provide guided tours to the various amenities within the facility and send specifically targeted messages and alerts by watching their digital footprint.
5. Huge
Huge is a Digital Advertising company, headquartered in Brooklyn, that installed iBeacons to keep track of their interns’ projects. Many companies in the retail sector are already doing this. Apart from ethical employee tracking, you can also monitor payroll accuracy, labor code compliance, workplace issues and even budgeting.
**How do they do it?**Huge has a huge office and apart from monitoring the work of their interns through iBeacons, guidance is also provided to them regarding the physical layout of the workplace. This is all done through the iBeacons installed in their mobile devices.
Conclusion
iBeacon technology is already creating not ripples, but huge waves in the different verticals in various industries.
It aids in business growth, help gain deeper understanding of your customers, increase customer loyalty and even assist you in keeping track of your employees. The technology lets you focus on micro location and learn about the proximity of your customers.
And it is just the tip of the iceberg.
This factor is so evident in each of the use cases mentioned. If you have not yet incorporated this technology in your business, it is time to go ahead.