Here at Estimote, we take two approaches to physical-world context:
- (Indoor) Location and
- Proximity
Indoor location utilizes signals from multiple beacons and provides accurate coordinates. Proximity is relatively simple, and gives basic information such as “somewhere near beacon X.” The main advantage of a proximity solution is its simplicity to set up - you just tag a certain area with a beacon and detect whether you are within the beacon’s range. The majority of apps relying on the proximity method use something quite naive, such as "Can I hear the signal from the beacon or not?” A naive approach due to beacon physics usually leads to poor results, with disappointing reliability.
With Estimote Monitoring, we are applying complex math and models on top of a ton of research we’ve poured into how the iOS Bluetooth stack works, to improve reliability of enter/exit reporting. Today we are releasing a significant update to Estimote Monitoring, with more configuration flexibility and better accuracy.
What is Estimote Monitoring 2.0?
Estimote Monitoring 2.0 is an update to Estimote Monitoring 1.1, which means it retains all the advantages over CoreLocation Monitoring that you get from the previous versions:
- Events will happen closer to your expected distance
- You will get even more reliable enter/exits
- You will get exits without a fixed time threshold
- You are no longer limited to monitoring only for 20 regions
On top of all that, it adds:
- More accurate enter/exit events
- A software defined range
We made it even more precise
By leveraging our experience with Indoor Location, we managed to achieve the perfect compound of filtering data and ideal packet combination. This mixture ensures both precision of classification inside the beacon’s range, and stability of reported proximity.
We regularly deal with all the sensor data (including RSSI values) that we could obtain from a phone. To understand and use this data, we need to filter out measurement errors and perform signal processing. Using our know-how, we can find the perfect filter types and parameters to make sure the experience that you build on top of our SDK handles both dynamic and static cases equally well.
With this release, we focused on improving the filtering parameters so now we are more precise with detecting the exact spot of an “enter” event.
No more pre-defined zones
Context is all about micro-location, thus some applications require the range to be narrowed. Instead of connecting to a beacon and setting different tx powers or even physically shielding the beacon, you could utilize any desired range by using our Estimote Monitoring.
With a software defined range, you are no longer restricted to trigger one action per beacon. Imagine hailing a ride-share while the car is far away, having a screen to accept the fare pop-up as the cars pulls next to you, and then getting the option to rate the ride once you are safely inside. You could not achieve this without Estimote Monitoring.
With the previous version of Estimote Monitoring, we had predefined 3 distances where events could happen. With this release, we give you the ability to fully customize those distances. Now you could either use a very close distance for an experience similar to NFC, or very long distances to maximize the area coverage of your beacon (of course within the maximum range allotted for your beacon.)
We would like to hear from YOU!
We encourage you to use Estimote Monitoring to build on top of it and delight your users with predictable and repeatable experiences matching their expectations.
Estimote Monitoring 2.0 is available in our iOS SDK. Give it a try and share your thoughts on our forums or drop us an email.