Apress Beacon Technologies: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Beacosystem

Learn the key standards―iBeacon, Eddystone, Bluetooth 4.0, and AltBeacon―and how they work with other proximity technologies. Then build your understanding of the proximity framework and how to identify and deploy the best solutions for your own business, institutional, or consulting needs. Proximity technology―in particular, Bluetooth beacons―is a major source of business opportunity, and this book provides everything you need to know to architect a solution to capitalize on that opportunity. What You'll Learn Understand the disruptive implications of digital–physical convergence and the new applications it makes possible Review the key standards that solutions developers need to understand to capitalize on the business opportunity of proximity technology Discover the new phenomenon of beacon networks, which will be hugely significant in driving strategic decisions and creating wealth See other technologies inthe proximity ecosystem catalyzed by and complementary to Bluetooth beacons, including visual light communication, magnetic resonance, and RFID Examine the Beacosystem framework for analyzing the proximity ecosystem Who This Book Is For Solutions architects of all types―venture capitalists, founders, CEOs, strategists, product managers, CTOs, business developers, and programmers Stephen Statler is a writer, public speaker, and consultant working in the beacon ecosystem. He trains and advises retailers, venue owners, VCs, as well as makers of beacon software and hardware, and is a thought leader in the beacosystem community. Previously he was the Senior Director for Strategy and Solutions Management at Qualcomm's Retail Solutions Division, helping to incubate Gimbal, one of the leading Bluetooth beacons in the market. He is also the CEO of Cause Based Solutions, creators of Give the Change, democratizing philanthropy, enabling non-profit supporters to donate the change from charity branded debit cards, and developer of The Good Traveler program. Contributors: Anke Audenaert, CEO, Favrit John Coombs, CEO, Rover Labs Theresa Mary Gordon, Co-Founder, tapGOconnect Phil Hendrix, Director, immr Kris Kolodziej, President, IndoorLBS Patrick Leddy, CEO, Pulsate Ben Parker, VP Business Development, AccelerateIT Mario Proietti, CEO, Location Smart Ray Rotolo, SVP OOH, Gimbal Kjartan Slette, COO, Unacast Jarno Vanto, Partner, Borenius Attorneys LLP David Young, Chief Engineer, Radius Networks Foreword by Asif Khan, President LBMA