Every step you take: how Bluetooth beacons will change your life at work, rest and play
Bluetooth beacons that can track movement and relay messages to your smartphone are being embedded into the world around us
Mention the word "Bluetooth" and wireless headphones and keyboards immediately spring to mind. But the technology is so wide-reaching these days its applications may be a lot more prevalent than we think.
Bluetooth beacons are a case in point. These low-powered, low-cost devices with a very long battery life are now being embedded into the world around us - from the walls of offices and train stations to airports, sports stadiums, shopping malls and even placed on the shelves of stores - and they are spreading fast.
Beacons make the web a physical entity. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, they cost about HK$150 each, and do nothing more than broadcast a short-range Bluetooth radio signal.
Your phone - and virtually every phone in circulation - reads that Bluetooth signal, calculating its strength to determine down to a metre or so how far away it is.
"Beacons broadcast about three times per second," says Trevor Longino of Kontakt.io, one of a handful of beacon-makers and which has offices in Shenzhen.
"They're small, last for a relatively long time, and are capable of relaying a unique piece of information constantly, and in a manner that's usable by virtually every smart device produced in the past three to four years. As such, they give a context to the real world that's readily available to almost anyone."