1. Building for a World of Beacons
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April 7, 2014

2. Building for a World of Beacons
2
Platform that connects three things: user
experiences, content and beacons.
Leading independent site focused
exclusively on beacons.
Who and Why

3. Building for a World of Beacons
3 Who and Why
We’re beacon ‘agnostic’.
We’re looking for smart people.
We’re collaborating with organizations in
Canada, Australia, US and Europe.

4. Traveling Up the Stack

5. Building for a World of Beacons
5 Agenda
Beacons 101 - and some myths
Beacon Hardware
The Future (and opportunities)
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6. Beacon 101
(and some myths)

8. I ONCE WAS BLIND

9. Building for a World of Beacons
9 Beacon 101
But Now I See

10. iBeacon 101:
The gateway drug for
the Internet of
Everything

11. Because Proximity Matters
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I’m here!
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Oh, hi!
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12. Building for a World of Beacons
12 Beacon 101
Ah! So that’s an iBeacon!

13. Building for a World of Beacons
13 Beacon 101
Yeah, not so fast.
All iBeacons are BLE beacons.
All BLE beacons are beacons.
Not all beacons are BLE.
Not all BLE are beacons.

14. Building for a World of Beacons
14
Powering a new era of wearable, contextual and
sensor-based computing.

15. Building for a World of Beacons
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What is it? The server contains a
number of attributes, and
the GATT Profile defines
how to use the Attribute
Protocol to discover, read,
write and obtain indications.
These features support a
service-based architecture.
The services are used as
defined in the profile
specifications. GATT
enables you to expose
service and characteristics
defined in the profile
specification.

16. Building for a World of Beacons
16

17. Building for a World of Beacons
17

18. Building for a World of Beacons
18 iBeacon 101
Which brings us back to Apple:
Trademark
Non-paired specification
Advertising interval

19. Building for a World of Beacons
19 iBeacon 101

20. Bonus Slide 1:
Bold Prediction
While beacons work with Android,
Google/Samsung et al will also launch
a very different ‘flavor’ of beacon.

21. Building for a World of Beacons
21
Imagine a beacon on a car in a dealership. Your phone “hears” the beacon and
then calculates how close it is. As you approach the car, different pieces of
content are displayed based on proximity to the vehicle.
Example: A Car Dealership
When you approach the car, your app
automatically changes and displays its
price, features and other information.
iBeacon
iBeacon 101

22. Building for a World of Beacons
22
A single beacon can trigger multiple interactions. A message when you arrive at
the dealer; a video as you approach the car; a “request assistance” button when
you stand next to it.
Example: A Car Dealership
Interaction #3
Interaction #2
Interaction #1
iBeacon
iBeacon 101

23. Building for a World of Beacons
23
WHAT IF? You add other ‘stuff’?
iBeacon 101
Temperature
WiFi
Accelerometers
Connected devices
Google Glass
Wearables
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24. The Hardware

25. Building for a World of Beacons
25 Hardware

26. Building for a World of Beacons
26 Hardware

27. Building for a World of Beacons
27 Hardware
02 # Number of bytes that follow in first AD structure
01 # Flags AD type
1A # Flags value 0x1A = 000011010
bit 0 (OFF) LE Limited Discoverable Mode
bit 1 (ON) LE General Discoverable Mode
bit 2 (OFF) BR/EDR Not Supported
bit 3 (ON) Simultaneous LE and BR/EDR to Same Device
Capable (controller)
bit 4 (ON) Simultaneous LE and BR/EDR to Same Device
Capable (Host)
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
e2 c5 6d b5 df fb 48 d2 b0 60 d0 f5 a7 10 96 e0 # iBeacon
proximity uuid
00 00 # major
00 00 # minor
c5 # The 2's complement of the calibrated Tx Power

28. Building for a World of Beacons
28 Hardware
But it’s the FIRMWARE (oh, and battery)
that counts
Battery conservation/sleep mode/timers
Advertising interval
TX Power
Security wrapper (if any)
Firmware updates
Tuning functions
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29. Building for a World of Beacons
29 Hardware
NO, it’s the INSTALLATION that counts
RF Interference
Signal Range
Variability over time
Fleet management
Beacon assignment
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30. Building for a World of Beacons
30 Hardware
NO, it’s the SECURITY that counts
Hacking the Firmware
Beacon Spoofing
Duplicate UUIDs
Beacon Hijacking
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31. Bonus Slide 2:
Bold Prediction
The security layer will be the prime driver of
hub/node deployments in the months to come.

32. Building for a World of Beacons
32 Hardware
NO, it’s USER ACCEPTANCE that counts

33. Building for a World of Beacons
33 Hardware
NO, it’s USER DOWNLOADS that count

34. Building for a World of Beacons
34 iBeacon Myths
Which brings us to SOME MYTHS

35. Building for a World of Beacons
35 iBeacon Myths
I need to send someone around to
LOAD CONTENT
onto my beacons

36. Building for a World of Beacons
36 iBeacon Myths
Beacons
TRACK PEOPLE
and are really just surveillance devices.

37. Building for a World of Beacons
37 iBeacon Myths
Beacons
TRIANGULATE
location.

38. Building for a World of Beacons
38 iBeacon Myths
No one ever turns
BLUETOOTH ON

39. Building for a World of Beacons
39 iBeacon Myths
No one will want to be
SPAMMED
with all these messages they’ll get.

40. Sure. So the question is - what
value will you bring to users?

41. Building for a World of Beacons
41 iBeacon 101

42. Building for a World of Beacons
42 iBeacon Case Studies
Who’s Using Beacons?

43. Building for a World of Beacons
43 iBeacon Case Studies
Beacons Aren’t Just For Coupons: For Tulips Too!

44. Building for a World of Beacons
44 iBeacon Case Studies
Beacons Aren’t Just For Coupons: Museums…
And simulating a minefield at the UN…

45. What Will We Do With
Beacons Next?

46. Building for a World of Beacons
46 What Next?

47. Building for a World of Beacons
47 What Next?

48. Building for a World of Beacons
48 What Next?

49. Building for a World of Beacons
49 What Next?

50. Building for a World of Beacons
50
Where will
YOU
go with Bluetooth LE beacons?
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What Next?

51. Doug Thompson
CEO
doug@dot-3.net
Twitter: @dusanwriter
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www.dot-3.net
www.beekn.net
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Paul Ransom
Director | UK
paul@dot-3.net
416-479-3459
m 07970 470040
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