Billions of devices will be Internet-enabled in the next few years – far surpassing the number of mobile phones. In fact, according to Gartner’s latest report – 6.3 billion connected devices are growing to over 20 billion in the next four years. The site Statista is more optimistic about the total number of IOT devices in estimating 50 billion by 2020.
The new twist is the location-based technology that is compatible with a technology eco-system utilizing advanced sensor iBeacon platform technology. Now, ibeacons are a component of an IOT solution which includes hardware, firmware, and the internet.
This system can facilitate communications about an accurate location sent to a human via a mobile device. The devices’ tracking ability must not be abused, and policies need to be put in effect to exploit the practical, beneficial applications. When an ibeacon is attached to walls on the perimeter of an airline security line, a delayed passenger who is in line can be found by the gate agent before the passengers’ flight leaves.
Signs can also become more helpful as visitors to the museum can detail information via their mobile devices, Parking lots with ibeacons can indicate empty spots and a reservation for an open spot in the parking lot becomes so much easier. Finally, ibeacons can tag inventory in a warehouse.
Once a fixed ibeacon announces its location to an IoT-enabled device in the same coverage zone, a signal is sent to an enterprise system; then an SMS message can be triggered to notify authorized users of the event.
Below are four possible use cases for consumer and logistics businesses where IOT devices can communicate Location to a designated person or device.
Airports
Identify passengers stuck in airport security
A consortium of airlines and airports are testing placement of beacons at security lines in airports. Passengers’ flight carrier’s apps would know when people are in a security line, and airlines could thus know if there are people at risk of missing their flight, so they can send an SMS to the reps on duty for that zone to get the passenger moved to the front of the security line. The same notion could be used at airport gates to monitor people who risk missing connecting flights or whose gates have changed by sending an SMS to the gate agents and the passengers to alert both of the potential problems.
Smart Signage
Signs are great but are often limited to one or two languages. If signs were beacon-enabled, users could get an SMS translation in their preferred language along with much more detailed information. Imagine a TXT or audio guide through your smartphone that knows which script to play as you approach a new location in zoos, museums, and botanical gardens, but also amusement parks, airport lobbies, and hospitals. The messages are triggered without the user entering any numeric code
Parked Car Locator
When parking in a shopping mall it is often difficult to find where you parked in the lot. A simple application could have the car sending an SMS to the owner about its location allowing the car and owner to find each other.
Tracking of Equipment
Businesses such as fleet management and logistics, need to ensure they can accurately track assets along the entire supply chain to prevent loss and delays. In the digital era, we need to allow customers to locate their shipments in real time, not only at transfer points.
The key to the ibeacon technology is to make the end-user experience easier as is the ability for the late passenger, the lost visitor to a museum, a car owner and a fleet owner to receive a customized SMS message based on a location.
Westfield Consulting is a leading global technology marketing consulting firm which consults with Fortune 500 companies and start-ups. We simplify the go-to-market process from concept to roll-out making transition from early adopter to larger markets measurable with increased revenue and return on investment.
http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/internetofthings/iot-asset-tracking-brief-2890501.pdf
http://www.patentsencyclopedia.com/imgfull/20110258298_03.
http://estimote.com/#