Bluetooth Low Energy – the digital Swiss knife – part 1

What to do with Bluetooth Low Energy? Which applications can we cover? Several short articles shall give you an idea for useful applications on BLE. The first article is related to my lost key-fob.

BLE beacon at key-fob (1)

Estimated twenty-five years ago I lost my keys at the ruins of Corinth in Greece. I had luck. Somebody found the keys of my car and gave it to the kiosk in front of he ruins.

Bluetooth Low Energy - BLE- applications

Bluetooth Low Energy – BLE- applications

Today this problem can be solved by BLE. Bluetooth Low Energy offers a profile called Proximity. As soon as something like the keys will be out of range, the smart phone will start to ring. This means that if the keys will fall to the ground and you will walk further, your smart phone will start an alarm. You will remember where you walked before and can have a look back. On top BLE offers a profile called Find Me. With Find Me you can trigger an alarm at the buzzer at the key fob.

BLE Bluetooth Low Energy beacon at key-fob

BLE Bluetooth Low Energy beacon at key-fob

A further option is the iBeacon protocol. With the iBeacon protocol you get an estimated distance to something. With the right app on your smart phone and an iBeacon at your key fob you come to same result. The iBeacon protocol is analysing the RSSI level transmitted by the beacon. This means any other protocol with RSSI level can do the job as well.

If this article gained your interest and if you plan to develop an on application on iOS or Android, then then to not hesitate to drop an email to harald.naumann (at) gsm-modem.de and to ask for an Bluetooth Low Energy beacon kit.
More Bluetooth Low Energy applications here

#BLE_1

8 Comments

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  1. I am interested in those beacons.
    Kindly let me know how to get some samples & eval kits.\
    Thanks in advance.

  2. You will get an email. There are 3 different evaluation kits. One is a simple kit with 5 beacons. The standard eval kit comes with programming cable and software to change parameters. The pro eval kit gives you the freedom to run own source code on the beacons.

  3. Its paul here.. keen to replave my icookie with yours. Icookie does not work. Faults not lould enough. App does not work right. Can we brand it.
    Wilk flick you a message on fb so you remember me

  4. Hi Paul, I made a quick comparison between iCookie and my beacon.
    iCookie:
    Certified: no radio certification
    Dimension : 33.94 mm x 31.2 mm x 7.9 mm
    Weight: 6.4 g
    Connectivity : Bluetooth 4.0
    Frequency Range : 2402~ 2480 MHz
    Distance : approximate 20 m with line of sight
    Battery: CR2032 (Coin cell battery)
    Standby time : ~ 1 year
    Update rate: not mentioned
    Power level: not mentioned
    Temperature sensor: not supported
    Button: not supported
    Accelerometer: not supported
    Protocols: iBeacon
    Own code on beacon: not supported
    Wall mounting bracket: not supported
    Key fob mounting bracket: yes
    Wrist band mounting: not supported
    Custom branding: not supported
    Schematic diagram: not available
    Community: not available
    Free demo app: iOS and Android
    Price:One piece for evaluation estimated $29.95

    My beacon:
    Certified: FCC IC / CE, RoHS, Reach and halogen free compliant.
    Dimension : 30 mm diameter, 10 mm thickness
    Weight: 7 grams
    Connectivity : Bluetooth 4.0
    Frequency Range : 2402 ~ 2480 MHz
    Distance : 75 meters with up to 120 meters at max. power
    Battery: CR2032 (Coin cell battery)
    Standby time : 18 month, ( 0 dBm and update rate 1 second)
    Update rate: 1 second (standard other by programming cable)
    Power level: 0 dBm (75 m), 3 dBm (120 m), minimum power level – 18 dBm
    Temperature sensor: yes
    Button: yes
    Accelerometer: yes
    Protocols: iBeacon and further
    Own code on beacon: yes (option – by C complier)
    Wall mounting bracket: yes
    Key fob mounting bracket: yes
    Wrist band mounting: yes
    Custom branding: yes
    Schematic diagram: yes
    Community: yes
    Free demo app: iOS and Android
    Price: One piece for evaluation – estimated $12

    For iCookie the price is higher. It mentions no certifications. The range is lower and the standby time is lower as well. The iCookie does not support a button, a temperature sensor or accelerometer . The iCookie is a static BLE beacon and can´t run own source code. There is no schematic diagram and there is no engineering community as well.
    I will come back to you by email.

  5. Hi Harald, I am interested in your BLE product as a people id/ status inside my residencial automation system.
    Please where can I get moré tech info for the subject and a unit and development kit price

    Best regards Alberto Murgui.

  6. Dear Alberto, you got an email and an offer. Have a nice weekend.

  7. Hi Harald. I would like info on how I could get a sample/eval kit of your beacons.

    Thank You

  8. Hi Erik,
    You got an offer. Enjoy the weekend.
    Regards
    Harald

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