iBeacon, Eddystone, Bluetooth, IoT sensor beacons, apps, platforms
We have two new wearable beacons in stock:
The W52 also includes a lanyard holder and lanyard so that it can be work around the neck.
The W59 is a fitness style-beacon that’s waterproof to IP67 and is rechargeable.
Both have buttons that can be used for on/off or button triggered advertising.
The FSC-BP108 has been updated so that the battery is now replaceable.
Previously, the waterproofing was such that the beacon had to be ultrasonically sealed. A clever new twisting design allows the battery to be replaced while remaining waterproof.
Most coin cell beacons use either a CR2032 or CR2477 battery. CR2477 tend to be too large for keyfob beacons while CR2032 only last of the order of a year, depending on settings. This beacon uses an intermediate size battery, the CR3032 that more than doubles the battery life of CR2032 while keeping the size small and weight low. This beacon also uses the newer Dialog DA14531 that offers a battery life up to 6 years, depending on settings.
We have the new W7 security beacon in stock, suitable for use in places such as hospitals and prisons. It’s fitted with a security screwdriver and advertises an alert if the wristband is removed or cut off.
The W7 advertises iBeacon and Eddystone as well as acceleration (x y z) and body temperature. It’s waterproof to IP67 and is rechargeable via magnetic USB cable. The battery lasts up to a year on one charge, depending on settings.
Since the Covid pandemic, when many organisations needed to determine room occupancy, it has become more acceptable to use beacons for tracking people. For example, health is just one industry where tracking remains vital, for example tracking vulnerable patients and determining the location of care providers.
There’s an increasingly number of scenarios where beacons are being worn. In order to facilitate this we have a wearable category and also stock lanyards.
Box-shaped beacons can be cumbersome to wear. Instead there’s a range of beacons in a watch style.
The iB001W is rechargeable via USB.
The H1 is rechargeable and also has an accelerometer that can be used for motion triggered broadcast to save battery power.
The B10 is different because it has an SOS button. It also contains an accelerometer for extra interaction possibilities.
The ABN05 is one of the smallest and measures only 23.9mm x 23.1mm.
The electronics inside beacons tends to be very similar because they are based on chip manufacturers’ standard designs. Instead, the main differences tend to be the batteries and the case. When it comes to the case, how to attach the beacons is usually a consideration.
The most common way of attaching beacons is with a double sided sticker supplied with many beacons. 3M VHB is popular due to the strong hold. The sticker can be attached to smooth surfaces such as wall or the back of lanyard id holders.
When using stickers, removing the beacons from walls can damage the paint surface. Also, some installations need a more theft resistant solution. Other’s need to be attached to rough surfaces or used in rugged situations. In these scenarios look for beacons with screw mounting. The screw holes are also sometimes used to plastic tie lock beacons to structures such as cages or plastic boxes.
For wearable beacons, many have a loop that can be attached to a lanyard or keyring. There are also wristband form factors.
Finally, a few beacons have the option to use a magnet for attaching to metallic objects.
A few days ago we announced the New W2-P5202D3 Wristband Beacon. Another way of advertising iBeacon from a wrist worn device to use through software on a programmable watch.
Beacon Maker and Beacon Scanner have recently become available for the Galaxy Watch:
The Galaxy Watch uses Samsung’s Tizen software.
Fielddrive provides machines to manage event visitor flows, providing fast checkin. They also supply the BEACONEX system where wearable beacons track the attendee journey throughout an event allowing show organisers to collect and analyse this data and learn about different aspects of the event.
For more information, visit the Fielddrive blog post What Are Benefits of Beacon Technology for Events?
We have added Fielddrive to the Beaconzone Solutions Directory.
We now have the Minew D15N beacon in stock. It’s small, attractive, wearable beacon with a range up to 50m.
It advertises up to 6 channels that can be iBeacon, Eddystone UID, Eddystone URL, Eddystone TLM and device info.
We have two new beacons in stock in the INGICS range:
The iGS04 is a new keyring/keyfob style beacon only 6mm thin. It advertises continuously and the button is used to change a value in the advertising data.
The iGS01 is similar to our other iGS beacons except it has no sensors other than the being able to detect the button press.
These Bluetooth beacons are not iBeacon nor Eddystone beacons. The advertising data is instead wholly used for sensor data. You will need an (your own) app or gateway to scan and obtain the advertising data.