iBeacon is an indoor positioning system that Apple
Inc. calls "a new class of low-powered, low-cost transmitters that can
notify nearby iOS 7 devices of their presence." iBeacons
can also be used by the Android operating system.
iBeacon in a single sentence is a technology that enables an iOS device or
other hardware to send push notifications to iOS devices within close
proximity.
Apple’s
iBeacon works on Low Energy Bluetooth (BLE), also known as Bluetooth 4.0 or
Bluetooth Smart. In a real life scenario it would be more of a location-aware,
context-aware, pervasive small wireless sensor beacon which could pinpoint your
location in a store. From there iBeacons could send you personal notifications
of items around you that are on sale or items you may be looking for. It could
enable payments at the point of Sale (POS) such that you don’t need to remove
your wallet or card to make a payment. It could be a possible Near Field
Communication (NFC) competitor.
It works by
using Bluetooth low energy Proximity sensing to
transmit a Universally unique identifier
which when picked up by a compatible app or operating system can be turned into
a physical location or
trigger a specific action on the device such as a
Check-in
on social media.
The beacons
themselves come in a number of different formats, including small coin cell
powered devices, USB sticks and software versions.
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