When explaining BLE beacons, many people use the analogy of a lighthouse. Like a lighthouse, beacons emit a light (or a signal) that passing ships (smart devices) can see and respond to.
Just as the light from the lighthouse doesn't steer the ships to safety, the signal from the beacon doesn't control or influence the device. The signal isn’t aware of the device and the signal would be transmitted whether the device was present or not, so what the signal achieves is entirely dependent on the response of the device and its user.
This is important to understand as more sceptical minds could be wary of this as an invasive technology that could access your phone and steal your data. This is not possible (at least not yet) as the beacons don't connect to the internet and don’t connect to your device, they are just a sign that only your device can see, that can trigger certain responses from apps and other functions.
What are beacons for?
There are lots of potential uses for beacons but most adopters of this technology are primarily drawn to its customer relationship management potential.
Retail is a particular arena where beacon technology is an exciting prospect. The tech has been tailored for this application by tech giant Apple with its iBeacon protocol. iBeacon allows mobile apps to respond to applicable beacons with BLE advertising packages. The packages can then be tailored by the app to better suit a customer's preferences, encouraging a sale.
A coffee shop, for example, could set up a beacon outside its premises that sends a signal that triggers a notification on nearby customers' devices. The notification might even include a coupon for their favourite beverage or offer them some free cake to encourage them to enter the shop. A beacon could also be installed inside the shop, so, once the customer enters, they are given the opportunity to place and pay for their order via their smart device to avoid queuing. Finally, a beacon could be set up for customers exiting the store, providing them with a thank you notification or discount for the next time they visit.
Beacons can allow retail, hospitality and entertainment outlets offer their customers brand new levels of personalised service.
Why should electricians care about beacons?
The promotional benefits of beacons for a variety of businesses are clear but there are other applications that could turn the head of the forward-thinking electrician.
Energy efficiency will continue to be a major concern for your commercial clients. There are many ways they can upgrade their systems to achieve their sustainability goals but the most appealing option will be to upgrade to solutions that allow them to track their performance and, as a bonus, potentially offer other commercial and operational benefits as well.
Beacons by themselves are useful but it is their integration with other technologies and systems that make them particularly interesting in the built environment.
A high-profile example of this happening is with luminaires in the lighting industry with Gooee.
The Florida-based tech company designs hardware that can be built into luminaires to help businesses harness the cloud to optimise performance. Sensors and interface modules work together to create an ecosystem that provides real-time performance analytics of lighting products, energy consumption and beacon management.
Lighting systems integrated with beacon technology can provide benefits in many applications. In an office, for example, beacons can help indicate how different areas are being used throughout a working day, prompting feedback on office layout allowing managers to optimise energy usage.
There’s also the potential for asset management in warehouse applications. Not only can energy usage be optimised, but so can the use of space. Stock can be tagged with sensors which respond to the beacons in the luminaires which in turn, can help track the stock’s movement through a facility until it is sold or distributed.
The opportunity
Beacon integration with lighting is growing. At LUX Live in 2016, Gooee presented Feilo Sylvania, Aurora Lighting and John Cullen Lighting with development packs so they can start fitting the technology within their luminaires. With building managers looking for opportunities to better analyse and monitor the performance and efficiency of their buildings, these beacon-enhanced products should provide a great opportunity for contractors to deliver lighting systems that go beyond illumination.