What is Bluetooth beacon
Bluetooth beacon is a Bluetooth transmitter that sends signals to other nearby devices like a lighthouse in the sea. The beacon is a simple and reliable location transmitter. There are many manufacturers in the market. When buying a beacon, what indicators should be considered? According to our experience with beacon, 6 aspects need to be considered when choosing a beacon:
1. Transmission distance
The distance of the Bluetooth beacon must meet our actual needs. If our actual scene is to interact with information on the square and the distance is over 400m, then the transmission distance of the beacon must be 400m. But if we use it for indoor positioning, our main consideration is accuracy, and the transmission distance should not exceed 30m.
2. Battery Life
Battery life is a key indicator for choosing Bluetooth beacon. Any equipment maintenance will bring many costs. According to our estimated service life, choosing a large-capacity battery and low-power beacon is a key choice. Generally, battery-powered beacons will choose a service life of more than 5 years to reduce maintenance costs.
3. Protection level
The beacon will be deployed indoors or outdoors. Once deployed outdoors, it must be waterproof, especially in low-lying areas, the waterproof level must reach IP68.
4. Configuration
According to the standard protocol of iBeacon, it cannot be configured, but in actual applications, the transmission power, interval, Major, Minor and other information of the device will be configured according to the actual situation. When purchasing a beacon, you need to purchase a product that can provide a configuration tool.
5. Supported protocols (Eddystone / iBeacon):
Protocol support is also very important. At present, most Bluetooth beacons on the market support both protocols. However, the more protocols, the more power consumption will be, so you need to consider your own application scenarios when choosing a protocol. For example, in the application of a chemical plant, only supporting your own equipment, then you can choose a protocol according to the equipment's situation, so as to not only meet your own needs, but also reduce the power consumption of the equipment. For the position service, iBeacon protocols is popular.
6. Price
Although the price of a beacon is not high, it is always a particularly important indicator. There are many indicators that affect the price, such as: quantity, configuration, warranty period, delivery cycle, etc. When buying, choose the most economical price according to your own project situation.