As technology becomes more advanced and sophisticated, doing chores and everyday tasks also gets simpler and easier. In telecommunications, for example, innovations made since the invention of mobile phones have been countless. For the past several years, tech companies and developers have been cultivating newer ways to make communication even much easier.
The beacon technology has been around for some time now but only recently did developers start innovating further. A beacon is a tiny wireless device that transmits a radio signal, giving its location and ID in the process. It works by using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and is placed in strategic locations like hallways, lobbies, and common indoor public areas. It is a low-cost hardware that can be mounted on the wall or any safe surface. BLE is battery-friendly, and the use of it makes instant messaging faster and easier since it transmits directly to smartphones and tablets. When the mobile phone detects the beacon signal through Bluetooth, it reads the beacon’s identification number, calculates distance and location, and then identifies nearby beacon mobile app users, allowing them to communicate within the range of the signal.
A lot of industries today are welcoming the use of beacon technology. It is now popular in the retail industry where it creates newly improved in-store interactions between customers and retailers. It allows retailers to know preferences of its customers based on their in-store actions. On the other hand, it enables customers to receive personalized retail suggestions based on their preferences. More establishments such as hotels, airports, sports venues and public transports, are now using this simple and effective beacon innovation.
I'm Taihwa Terry Ho, capital investor and technophile. I see promise in developing things people will use every day. Please follow me on Twitter.
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