Introduction to Waterproof Beacon

PublishTime： 2021-12-31 Article Source：SKYLA

First comes the understanding of the Waterproof beacons as the technology itself. after that, SKYLAB will focus on the ground-up approach of deployment of beacons and gateways. We on the other hand can also refer to these terms as access points. The beacons or gateways are primarily used for location-based applications and solutions. Before going into the details, it becomes imperative to understand how beacons and gateways work as access points work.

Therefore, without a clear understanding of the gateways and beacons, there are high chances of getting an incompatible gateway solution and the deployment ultimately falls prey to failure. Hence, a complete understanding appears to be a must. It is then a priority to first discuss the information about access points or gateways. After that, it will be a discussion of different steps that are involved in the deployment of these gateways. Read more here

What are the Water Proof Beacons and How Do They Work?

Waterproof beacons are the devices that carry the property to work freely even when submerged in water. The device holds the IP66 certification which makes it resist water and its consequent damage. The beacons are the devices that help us to broadcast the connectivity using the Bluetooth Low-Energy BLE signals for nearby devices. The connectivity of the devices can help us to identify the approximate distance of other devices that runs by using the same BLE signal.

This sort of connectivity eventually helps us to connect the device using the proximity feature to other devices. To connect or perform the action or alarming signals to that device, the beacon uses the application that helps to inform us of the distance of the other device.

The primary advantage of using these devices is that it is suitable for even indoor locations. It is because a normal satellite location device is failed to perform in the indoor proximity connections. However, the BLE-enabled beacons are famous to perform perfectly well in indoor locations. This makes these devices an outstanding product and a fast-emerging technology.

Major Beacon Protocols

Two major protocols are in wide use in Waterproof beacons devices. The one common protocol is developed by Apple Inc and is famous by the name of iBeacon. However, the other one is developed by Google Inc. Google calls this device by the name of Eddystone. Both of these beacons are very much common and appreciated by their users in multiple ways. The function of a beacon is to send information and signals periodically.

Moreover, to identify the beacon itself, two things work parallel. One is the Unique Identifier as UUID and alongside it, some minor and major numbers are used. However, it is the will of the manufacturer to set the strength of the signal and the intervals between sending these signals. Nonetheless, you can change these intervals on your own. The Eddystone beacons can carry the URL address as well.

Working Of Beacons

The working process of the beacon is technical. It is because a beacon is sonly supposed to send a signal and broadcast it. However, to receive and utilize them requires a specific device to do this. For this reason, hence, smartphones and their accompanying application are used. According to one of the researches, done in 208, it suggests that almost 40% to 50% of the customers and mobiles users leave their Bluetooth turned on to receive the beacon. This thereby allows the user to reach other users using this channel.

In another research, we find that the BLE beacon market will be worth $58.7 Billion by the end of 2025. This allows the Bluetooth beacons to have a large-scale adoption. The annual growth of the beacon industry comprises 95.3% by 2025.

Understanding The Waterproof Beacon

The understanding of the Waterproof beacons starts from developing a business case. Then we develop a clear case for the deployment of the access points and their respective maintenance solutions. For this reason, hence we will discuss in this article the process by which the beacons work and how to deploy them. By doing this, one will ultimately be bringing the IoT solutions to the organizational level. The solutions eventually will be beneficial to provide more value to the deployment process.

Basics Of Waterproof Beacons and Access PointsBeacons

For those who are unaware of the reality of the Waterproof beacons, it is a device that is small and is a Bluetooth radio transmitter. These small gateways of beacons are a bundle of signals that a person can see and read using special Bluetooth-equipped devices. The devices are smartphones or other gateways. The signals however are famous as advertising packets. These packets thereby carry information that includes the beacon’s specific ID as well as the amount of strength of signals or transmission power. It also includes the data about which we can access the rate at which the signals are broadcasted. This data is also famous as advertising intervals. Lastly, the information includes the data from all the sensors installed in it.

However, the term beacon is in wide use for the devices that are stationary/state. Furthermore, the term eventually changes to TAG, for the devices that are in motion. Most of the time the tag devices are either equipped with some assets or are usually worn by some people and people. Moreover, with different cases and scenarios, there are different beacon models available for use. But there is a question that comes to our mind that if TAG is the most widely used item, then what is the use of beacon then? To answer this question, a discussion about Access Point is a must.

Access Point

Access Points, in comparison to that Waterproof beacons, are devices that use a Bluetooth connectivity module for operations. It attaches or connects itself with a nearby device to detect the nearby signals of Bluetooth devices. These devices as access points basically could be smartphones or other gateway devices. Without the presence of an access point, the gateway beacon is therefore a useless instrument. With the help of an access point gathering information and saving it to the cloud becomes a convenient job. With the help of beacon and access points, it becomes easy to use location-based services.

What Are They Used for And Who Is Using Them?

There are many potential users of the Waterproof beacons, amongst them are the leading names such as The Hilton Hotel UK and Gatwick Airport administration. Let us discuss one by one:

The Hilton Hotel

The Hilton Hotel UK is using the technology of a beacon that allows them to connect it with their loyalty scheme using their official application. This allows the user and their customer to avail their facility to check-in digitally. This thereby helps them in preventing the hassles of waiting in the long queue at the front desk for in-person check-ins. The Hilton Hotel administration has deployed this technology to their number of hotels in the UK. However, they are promised to install these solutions in their 250 properties by 2025.

The Gatwick Airport

The Gatwick airport has recently installed around 2000 of their Waterproof beacons devices. This technology runs using AR that provides the customer with an indoor location and navigation facility in the premises of the airport. The user can utilize this service by using the Gatwick Airport application. This facility is not to be just accessed by the airport customers. However, the other business and offices that are operating inside the building of the airport are also allowed to use this device.

By using this application, retailers and stores can attract customers by pushing out a variety of offers and it helps them in driving a variety of sales. Moreover, this technology is unique and beneficial for both the airport administration and their customers. It is because the application also allows the administration to track their customers who are running late. The app helps the airport to check whether the customer is near the gate or is approaching the flight. This thereby let the to decide whether not to bother the unloading of the customers’ bags from the hold or not.

What To Look for When Installing the Waterproof Beacon?

The first thing that we have learned is that Waterproof beacons use technology to determine the distance between two different access points. One thereby is a beacon and the other one eventually is the receiver. The other receiver mostly appears to be a smartphone. If we deploy the proper beacons, we can have full control to navigate indoor locations. The strength and the intensity of the beacons used at the outdoor locations however cannot be that strong as that of the GPS signals by Satellite.

The BLE signals of beacons however allow it to get interfered with ease. It hence becomes difficult to track the signals if some physical object like a desk, wall, or person comes in front of it, it loses its signal strength. Therefore, if we place beacons on the top position, on the roof, or walls, then there is less likely to be a chance of signals to fade away.

Step By Step Guide to Successful Deployment

Let us discuss the step-by-step guide to the basics of successful deployment of Waterproof beacons. The steps are carried in with the collaboration of both the business as well as the technical team. The steps thus are:

Step 1. Defining The Business Case

The first and foremost step is defining the business case. By this, it means that for a successful deployment a one needs to establish a well-defined business case. To do this, there must be a collaboration of business as well as the technical team. Without the chances of collaboration, there are high chances of getting your project to fail shortly.

For this reason, contacting and hiring an expert team eventually is integral for success.

Step 2. Booking And Activating the Waterproof Beacon

After the successful collaboration of the business and technical team in finalizing the business case and thereby understanding and choosing the best Waterproof beacons for your need, the next step involves shipping. The manufacturer will consequently ship your package the matches the configuration. The user however just needs to activate the package or beacon. Moreover, the activation process of this beacon is pretty simple. This simplification of the activation is possible because of the addition of a simple and comprehensive user manual in the package. The manual will help the user with basic functions as well as any other information.

Step 3. Installation Of Waterproof Beacon

This is the step where the experience of deploying the hundreds of Waterproof beacons comes in handy. With regards to the deployment of gateways, there are a few questions that we usually get. They are:

Where We Should Install a Waterproof Beacon?

The place or exact mapping of installing the gateway beacon is of utmost importance. For this reason, hence, the use of building blueprints is useful for calculating the exact position of installment of these beacons before final deployment.

However, the places to install are between 3-5 meters above the ground level and 8-10 meters apart from each other.

The hardware of these beacons procured from a reliable source is prone to bear and withstand harsh environments. However, there is a recommendation about protecting these beacons from direct exposure.

How Should We Attach the Waterproof Beacon?

To deploy the stationary beacons, it is a recommendation to use Glue, Velcro, Tape, or Screws for mounting.

Each type of beacon carries a specific way to the attachment. For this reason, hence, visit our page here.

Step 4. Maintenance of Waterproof Beacons

To maintain the beacons, the cloud-based beacon management tools are in wide use to provide customers with the necessary information and to let them monitor their beacons from a remote position. This solution also provides in-depth insight, alerts, and updates about the beacon. Lastly, the process of replacing the batteries of beacons is also simple and convenient.

+1 Like
Add to Favorites

Recommend

Selection Guide

More>

Technical Resources

More>

New Products & Solutions

More>

This document is provided by Sekorm Platform for VIP exclusive service. The copyright is owned by Sekorm. Without authorization, any medias, websites or individual are not allowed to reprint. When authorizing the reprint, the link of www.sekorm.com must be indicated.

Integrated Circuits