In a very share-able article on Forbes, Greg Petro – President and CEO of First Insight – predicted that 2015 is the year that highlights beacon technology advancement – in how businesses employ the technology, and also in how customers embrace it. Up to 2015, beacon technology sales was valued at about $4 billion (€3.5 billion). Professionals and investors are having high hopes in this technology.
So, how is it really going? To give you a better overview of ongoing beacon developments, we present this list of 5 mind-blowing feats done (or soon will be) by companies and organizations from different industries in 2016.
Safeguarding Firefighters with Beacon Wearables
The danger of firefighting needs no further discussion, and most of us are already eternally grateful for all efforts of firefighters. In that light, the Department of Homeland Security has developed a cheap solution to ensure the safety of firefighters. The program is aiming at “small and volunteering fire departments in rural areas”, said Christen Lee – the program manager, since these departments can rarely afford expensive tracking technology.
The beacons will be added to the firefighting uniform. These beacons turn on when motion is detected, and send an alarm if a firefighter is down. The team captain can track all beacons using a smartphone application, and hence have more control over the cooperation and safety of team members.
Helping the Visually Impaired with Public Transportation
In Wichita, Gimbal – one of the biggest beacon manufacturers – is partnering with local companies to install an accessibility system for buses throughout the city. Using this system, passengers can keep track of their bus plans and routes, using their smartphones. This is one example of the IoT at work, isn’t it?
Beacons will be installed in every bus stops – totaling about 1200 beacons around the city. With Bluetooth-enabled smartphones and the application installed, passengers can get information about the stop, the bus routes, and check if their bus is late or has changed routes. The system will be fully installed by July 1st, and will be further expanded if proven successful.
Wayfinding in International Airports
Every air-traveler knows the frustration of scouring for the correct boarding gate in a crowded airport. Indoor maps are time-consuming (which you cannot really afford when your flight is departing in 5 minutes), confusing and far in between. With that in mind, Hamad International Airport (HIA) launched a mobile app to aid customers in knowing their way around the airport.
The application – which uses iBeacon technology – also provides updated info about flight schedules and baggage claiming location. When passengers go past a kiosk or an outlet, the app will also notify them about special deals or discounts. Currently, the app is only available for iOS, but an Android version is to be launched soon during this quarter of 2016. Further developments are already ongoing.
Tracking and Inspecting Assets at Hospitals
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons have been recently deployed at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. This project is done in partnership with Nesa Solutions, and has been very beneficial to the hospital and residing patients.
Currently, the system provides many solutions, such as crash carts tracking, room inspecting, staff notifying and process optimizing. The hospital hopes to broaden the scope of the program, and to get intensive location intelligence to increase efficiency of caring service.
Google I/O 2016
For this year’s I/O – one of the biggest developers’ conference, Google has further developed Spaces, an app that uses beacon technology to enhance the experience at I/O. Spaces is aimed at managing discussions and sharing between small groups. With I/O 2016 up and coming, Google encourages attendees to use Spaces for all discussions at the I/O.
Spaces will invite users to join the discussion in each session through beacon push notification. Google’s official blog stated that the app is intended to facilitate small social networks, and there will be surprises in place for developers in the upcoming I/O.
Proximi.io