When iBeacon was launched, it had a robust API with just three predefined proximity zones: immediate, near, and far. It’s a very pragmatic design, dictated by the physics of the 2.4 GHz radio waves.
In 2014, we set out to build a more powerful location API, one that gives you the (x,y) position of the user. We applied complex algorithms to signals from built-in sensors and nearby beacons, the placement of which we know from an automatically-generated floor plan. That’s how Estimote Indoor Location for iOS was born—one of the very first pieces of our operating system for the physical world.
The best way to build a complex piece of software such as an OS is to do it brick-by-brick. And today, we’re adding a new one: Estimote Indoor Location for Android.
Upgrade your Android app from Proximity to Location
Estimote Proximity SDK for Android has been available almost since the beginning. It offers an API with simple “did enter/exit beacon’s range” events, basic proximity zones, and distance estimations.
Upgrading to Indoor Location API means the canvas for developing apps for the physical world gets much richer. You operate within 1 m “blue-dot” accuracy, instead of just a few proximity zones. You can “paint” indoor geofences of any shape and size, and “re-paint” them entirely in software without the need to physically move beacons. It’s like jumping from writing apps for an 80-character-wide terminal to writing for a 4K screen.
How to get started
You can find the Android Indoor Location SDK on Estimote’s GitHub. It comes bundled with an example app, so you can just clone the repo and try it right away.
You can use the floor plans you already have in Estimote Cloud. Otherwise, get a kit of Location Beacons with UWB, and let them automatically create a floor plan for you. Small caveat: the mapping app is currently iOS-only, so dust your iPhone off or borrow one from a friend. Automapping takes just a few minutes—your Android-wielding colleagues won’t have time to notice you’re holding a forbidden device in your hands.
Feedback wanted!
Contrary to iOS, the Android ecosystem is extremely diverse. In fact, that’s exactly why we first rolled Indoor Location out for iOS only. We were just getting started, and it was much easier for us to ensure quality with just a few iPhone models to optimize for.
Fast forward to today—we’ve learned a lot, and over time, our Android Proximity SDK has already accumulated a ton of workarounds for quirks we discovered in various Android devices. Much of that happened with the help of our developer community: your emails, your bug reports, and your forum posts.
Android Indoor Location SDK is out now, and all we ask is: try it, and keep the feedback coming! You can find our Indoor Location engineers on Estimote forums, or email us at contact@estimote.com.
Buy Indoor Location dev kit
Includes 4 × Location Beacons with UWB and automapping