Until iBeacon, the iPhone couldn’t figure out its location in enclosed space within short distances. With iOS 7, over 200M iOS devices have access to micro location awareness in the presence of compatible Bluetooth sensors. The likely popularity of this technology will allow for the design of new experiences connecting people and precise locations, especially indoors.

1. CAPTECH
iBeacons & UX
What they are and
why you should care
04 January 2014
@mbadger
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
TALK

2. What is iBeacon?
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
2

3. What does it do?
Microlocation
© Josh Valcarcel – http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-12/12/apple-ibeacon/viewgallery/331114
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
3

4. What’s new about that?
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
Accelerometer
Magnetometer
Gyroscope
GPS
Cellular
WiFi
Bluetooth
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
4

5. Why Bluetooth LE?
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
5

6. Why proximity awareness matters
Context
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
6

7. Why proximity awareness matters
01:18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUIqfjpInxY
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
7

8. Beacon capabilities
Entry or exit
Far : 30m
Near : 2m
Immediate < .5m
Region monitoring
Range finding
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
8

9. What’s required?
Location awareness
• Notifications
• Bluetooth enabled
• App
•
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
9

10. Some examples (story links embedded)
at Techcrunch
at CNET
at Techcrunch
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
at The Verge
10

11. Macy’s pilot via shopkick
00:54
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CipsLFB8KFk
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
11

12. Paypal
01:16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8h_i8qv1FY
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
12

13. What do you think?
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
13

14. Thank you.
@mbadger
@CapTechListens
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S

15. References
Good Info on How iBeacon(s) Work
Good Use Case Overviews
• http://daveaddey.com/?p=1252
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/
2013/12/15/the-internet-of-ithings-apples-ibeaconis-already-in-almost-200-million-iphones-and-ipads/
– Excellent details about how iBeacons work, leans
technical, but is very clear on capabilities
• http://blog.nerdery.com/2013/11/nerdery-labsibeacon-experiments/
– Great details about how iBeacon works, as well as case
study videos
• http://www.oho.com/blog/apple-ibeacon-howdesign-and-build-ibeacon-apps
– How to design UX with iBeacon
• http://gigaom.com/2013/12/28/the-guiding-ibeaconhelping-brands-navigate-customer-relationships/
• http://www.fastcolabs.com/3021833/forget-coiniphone-payments-now-possible-thanks-to-ibeacons
• http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/apple/appleibeacons-explained-smart-home-occupancysensing-solved.html
•
– "It is important to note that although iBeacon uses
Bluetooth to communicate, a user does not need to pair
with each beacon (unlike your Bluetooth headset).”
• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19477044/
ibeacon-in-the-background-use-cases
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
http://beekn.net/2013/12/5-ux-predictions-foribeacons-2014/
• http://www.wired.com/design/2013/12/4-use-casesfor-ibeacon-the-most-exciting-tech-you-haventheard-of/

16. Slide Notes
Slide 2!
iBeacon is an Apple-branded protocol built on top of Bluetooth LE that
dictates how Bluetooth sensors may communicate with iOS devices.
• So, “beacons" are wireless sensors (often very small) that transmit data to
your iPhone using Bluetooth Low Energy.
• The protocol is tightly constrained, by design. Very little data gets sent—4
identifiers, in fact—even though BT allows for data as robust as audio
streaming.
Slide 3!
iBeacon allows apps on your iPhone to have access to microlocation. In short:
it creates short-range, proximity awareness. This device is near that sensor (or
those sensors). That’s it.
• iBeacon gives you enough information to identify the sensors in range…all
the other intelligence (and value) must be built into the app or into the app
plus a cloud/internet service.
Slide 4!
Since the iPhone 4s, the iPhone has been able to use a number of sensors
and antennae to understand it’s environment and the relationship to it.
Slide 5!
• Bluetooth LE is also known as Bluetooth 4.0 and Bluetooth Smart.
• Very low energy consumption, with BTLE in particular.
• Better range than NFC and wider device adoption. None of the several
hundred million iOS devices support NFC, for example, while about 200M
support Bluetooth LE and, with iOS 7, iBeacon.
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S
Slide 6!
Until iBeacon, the iPhone couldn’t figure out its location in enclosed space
within short- medium-range distances. It still doesn’t: it understands only that
it is near one or more beacons. The location of that beacon in the store (or
anywhere, for that matter) is not inherent to the beacon or the iPhone. That
information must be programmed and maintained in a database somewhere.
Slide 7!
An iPhone (or similarly capable Android phone) with Bluetooth LE enabled
enters the broadcast range of a beacon (around 30 meters). The beacon is
constantly broadcasting its identifiers. When the iPhone intercepts that
communication, it routes the IDs to the relevant app, which then displays
notifications or responds in other more interesting ways once the app is open.
Slide 8!
Beacons can flag when BTLE devices enter or exit their broadcast region, and
they can be used to estimate distance based on signal strength.
Slide 9!
The failing of most of the articles about iBeacon is that they convey the sense
that the beacon (or the physical object or location to which it is attached) will
suddenly become smart. That is not the case: the beacon itself transmits
VERY limited information about itself. The app or service layer behind the app
must make use of that information and generate relevant interactions for the
user. In order for the retailer to know who you are, they must do more than
install passive beacons, they must install beacon aware software that reads
your smartphone as a beacon.

17. Slide Notes
Slide 10!
Though iBeacon implementations are not widespread, there are a few, limited
examples out there (though their number seems to be increasing weekly).
Slide 11!
Macy’s has leveraged a 3rd party provider, shopkick, to implement an iBeacon
system. There are are a few issues worth noting:
• With this implementation, shopkick owns the loyalty program, not Macy’s.
• Consumers are asked to trust a brand with whom they may not be familiar,
rather than more established brand with which they have an existing
relationship (i.e., Macy’s).
• Unless shopkick can integrate with Macy’s POS system, the contactless
payment will remain elusive.
Slide 12!
There are several sticking points to overcome, but the key one may be the
download of an app which will provide the actual benefit of beacons. This is
why it makes more sense for top-line brands to support beacon: trust the
brand to provide meaningful benefits via the app, and then trust that
permissions around location awareness and notifications will engender value
not abuse. Established, innovative payment processors, such as PayPal and
Square, may have a leg up for these very reasons.
D I G I TA L S O LU T I O N S