Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
manufacturerName
];
return
;
}
At this point, the iOS API has enabled the battery level voltage that was measured by
the remote peripheral A/D converter to be transferred via BLE onto the iOS device,
making it available to display as a graph, present as text, or store in a database.
iBeacon
iBeacon apps use the
Core Location framework
features of iOS to provide navigation
and location-based features to iOS and Android devices indoors, where access to cell
tower signals and GPS might not work well or at all.
The iBeacon model offers a variety of new possibilities for connecting devices and
communicating based on location, including interesting variants in retail settings. For
example, permission-based marketing would allow retailers to push special offers and
other information to customers (who have the corresponding app on their phones)
based on their location in the store. In a museum, iBeacons could provide self-guided
tours, delivering detailed information about nearby exhibits (in the form of text, audio,
or video presentations) to visitors.
A device that implements iBeacon functionality broadcasts (see
“Broadcast and Obser‐
vation” on page 38
) BLE advertising packets with the following four values included:
Proximity UUID
A 128-bit value that uniquely identifies one or more beacons as a certain type or
from a certain organization.
Major value
An optional 16-bit unsigned integer that can group related beacons that have the
same proximity UUID.
Minor value
An optional 16-bit unsigned integer that differentiates beacons with the same prox‐
imity UUID and major value.
RSSI value
Programmed into the beacon to facilitate determining distance from the beacon
based on signal strength.
In the museum example, the proximity UUID would be associated with one particular
museum, and major and minor numbers could be used to group or distinguish multiple
beacons within the museum. In this case, the major value might specify a room in the
museum, while the minor number might be associated with a particular exhibit in that
room.
