4th Feb 2014Marc Curtis – Emerging Technology Lead – TMW - @exmonkey

iBeacon Tech Mini Bitewhat's all the fuss about?

What is it?

What do they look like?

What are the opportunities?

What are the limitations?

A retail example.

Q&A and demo.

...and at least one cat picture.

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Before I begin...

A Bluetooth enabled technology that enables apps to pin-point your location so they can make use of that

information.

– That geeky bald bloke

Say what?

Put simply, it's like a super accurate version of GPS that can work inside or outside

You had me at jam....

Not just for Apple

Accurate to within a couple of feet

Works indoors

Programmable unique ID

No pairing necessary

Doesn't cane your battery

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Sounds a bit like RFID...

There are some key differences

Range - 50m vs 20cm

RFID can hold small amounts of information, iBeacon cannot

Location/distance

Convenience

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In summary

Small (normally) devices that broadcast an ID only, using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

All the work is done by an app on the device

These apps have to be distributed by a brand and installed by a user

Think of them as a way of tagging a specific location - like a shelf, a sign or a shop doorway

What do iBeacons look like?

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Picture of the one's Roo bought

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Opportunities

Retail

Events

Experiential

Home automation

Museum & galleries

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Retail

Retailers with existing apps

Aisle end/product specific offers

Rewards for visiting certain locations (ShopKick)

Get very accurate shopper data back from apps

May one day soon enable payments without having to even get your phone out

Warning: Don't spam

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Events & Experiential

Innovative engagement apps

Stats on interactions

Games

Guides

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Home Automation

Lighting

Context/location aware apps

Tagging easily lost items

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Museums and Galleries

Interactive tours

Stats

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A bunch of other stuff

Contextual advertising

Automotive assist

Find your way around airports, sporting venues, shopping malls and car parks

Check-in/ticket barriers

Limitations

Barriers to adoption and use

Users have to have location services enabled on their device

Users have to have Bluetooth turned on

It requires an app and possibly an internet connection (depending on functionality)

Limitations

iBeacons do not send any data (except their unique ID)

They need a battery/power

Distance is only an estimate

Need a lot of iBeacons to get accurate positioning

An example...

Jane has an H&M loyalty app on her phone

She walks past a store...

The app alerts her that the shop is running a sale

Jane walks in. As she passes an aisle, her app alerts her to a discount voucher she could

redeem against one of the items

As Jane approaches the till, the sales assistant gets a popup on his screen with her recent sales history and suggestions on related offers

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Value exchange Jane gets tailored offers on

products as she looks at them

H&M get extremely accurate data Jane's shopping habits, dwell times, route round the shop etc (even if she doesn't buy anything)

Questions and demo

(which as tradition demands, will probably fail)