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Published by tomcarey2k, 2019-01-07 13:23:49

Kontakt-io_Guide_to_Beacon_POC

Your First Beacon Proof of Concept




with Kontakt.io




The go-to guide on how to plan, handle,
and test your first pilot deployment





















































1

You’ve read a couple of articles and use cases about how others have boosted their
businesses with beacons and proximity, and you want to try it out, too. So you’ve just
ordered your first pack of beacons to test how they work before ordering hundreds of them,
and you’re wondering:

Are beacons for me? Will they work for my use case? Will my team be
able to deploy and maintain the infrastructure? Do we have enough
time to do it?


This guide is all about helping you answer these questions by walking you through the
process of deploying your first proof of concept (POC).


From this guide, you’ll learn:


• Why a POC is crucial and how it’ll help you in a real-world deployment
• The difference between iBeacon and Eddystone and when you should use each
• How to choose hardware to make your POC a success
• How to smoothly plan, test, and handle your first deployment
• How to use the Kontakt.io platform to make your POC a success
• What style of beacon placement your POC needs and how it impacts the process
• What influences a beacon signal and how that impacts your deployments


Moreover, you’ll get

• a printable checklist you can use for any beacon POC to help make it a success
• an overview of Kontakt.io tools and when to use them
• practical tips from third-party experts on how to get the most out of your POC
• a troubleshooting guide for deploying and testing beacons













About this guide






2

Beacon POC Check list


To help you succeed in your first pilot deployment








General information © App tested © Beacons deployed and tested

Project: © beacons trigger actions that are assigned to © beacons firmly mounted as noted on the plan;
them ideally over 3m high
© beacon-powered triggers work on different © beacons’ Tx power and interval values tuned to
Venue:
devices © the venue’s requirements
© back-end data collection or analytics © beacon-powered triggers work properly
Project manager: represent real interactions © bugs fixed



Number of beacons:
© Venue explored © Management and maintenance

© a space measured and sketched © the deployment is running for 2 weeks
Type of deployment: © space challenges and obstacles identified and © feedback collected
listed © a possible battery lifetime calculated
© Point-based © Grid-based © a floor plan created © the team set up and trained
Format: © beacons put on the plan © weekly time needed to maintain the

© iBeacon © Eddystone © ideal ranges of beacons marked on the plan infrastructure calculated


© Beacons set up © Postmortem conducted


© beacons’ identifiers and intervals set up © costs calculated
© Tx power values match the values on the floor plan © KPIs calculated
© the marks on the floor plan updated with © decided on whether to develop the project
beacons’ IDs or aliases further



Done?

Let us know how it went! Having problems? Tweet us at @kontakt_io and we’ll help you make your POC a success!


3

Why should I carry out a POC?



Deploying proximity infrastructure is an investment, and the decision whether to develop
your initial ideas into a full rollout requires research and testing. You don’t order dozens or
hundreds of beacons the day after you’ve first developed an idea on how to use them. First,
you order just a few devices to get familiar with the technology and find out if it’s a good fit
for what you want to achieve. In order words, you run a Proof of Concept (POC.)


A POC is your number one way to:
• find out whether beacon technology can answer your business needs
• develop scalable processes for when you’re ready to hit the market
• prep for the final deployment
• learn how beacons, your venue, and your app all work together
• learn how to address challenges and problems in real-world deployments

Based on lessons learned during your POC, you can decide to implement beacons into your
strategy, adjust your initial plans, or even and look for another solution than beacons or
proximity—but we hope it doesn’t come to that.
This guide will help you at each stage of this process, so keep it on hand when planning and
running your first POC deployment. Before we dive into the step-by-step section, though,
let’s go over some general rules.












1.


What you need to know


about a beacon Proof Five practical tips before you start


1. Plan your POC as an ideal, final deployment
of Concept (POC) A POC isn’t about verifying whether beacons work or not—that would be a simple technical

proof that you execute before you even plan a POC. It’s about verifying whether they work
for you and your business, so make sure your proof of concept includes everything you’d

4

like to include in your final campaign, and treat it like a real-world project. • a person responsible for assembling and configuring hardware
Sketch your scenario, define your goals, list your app features, and identify make-or-break (eg. beacons)
indicators. At this stage, don’t wonder what’s possible and what’s not. The POC will verify • a person responsible for mounting beacons
• a business analyst who understands customer needs and project
that.
objectives
2. Think of the POC as a process • a mobile developer
• a web back-end developer
• a project manager
This is your time to learn about the technology, test its opportunities, and prepare the
It all depends on your project whether all the people listed above
ground for your final deployment. It takes time and requires trial and error. You’ll be coming
are necessary. For example, you may decide to mount beacons
back to previous steps, iterating, and fixing things over and over again. Don’t treat this guide by yourself (in this case, make sure to contact the building
as a step-by-step instruction where you only go through every step once. Each distinct step administration and receive consent beforehand.)
may come around several times before you finish the POC. Always have a Project Manager, as this person needs to juggle
between different areas of the POC and make sure all the people
are available and have all the information they need. At early
3. Take notes stages, a Project Manager can also replace a business analyst and
help you verify if the POC meets the customer’s needs.
Because a POC isn’t a linear process, it’s easy to get lost or forget what happened at which
Since you’ll often need to change beacon parameters to check the
step, so take notes on everything you do. The notes will help you identify problems when signal propagation, you’ll also need a technical person who knows
they occur and will become your do’s and don’ts during your final deployment. how to reconfigure the beacons on the go.
All the technologies aside, make sure to bring the good ol’ pen
4. Collaborate and paper and floor plan printouts—they’ll make the job of all your
team members easier!
Imagine you’ve carried out a POC and the decision is to go for it. When the project is
getting serious and the deadlines are short, you don’t want to be the only guy or gal who 5. Have your app ready
knows about beacons in your organization. Get your team members working with you from
day one. Not only will they help you run your POC, they’ll serve as extra eyes to help spot Since you should treat your POC as a final deployment, test it with your own app (unless
issues with your POC and they’ll also be ready to help you scale the project up when the you’ve decided to use an external SaaS solution.) If you have one, it’s recommended to
time comes. implement the Kontakt.io Proximity SDKs, so management and monitoring of your beacon
fleet is handled for you, and so you’ll have instant access to new updates plus the world’s
most complete suite of beacon security.
If you don’t have an app now, it’s time to think about it. Create a demo based on Kontakt.
Łukasz Felsztunkier io Proximity SDKs, so you have something to work on or have your developers create one for
CEO, Linteri you. Your app doesn’t have to be beautiful or user-friendly yet. At this point, just make sure it
works and you can test the beacon-triggered features.
How to setup a team for a beacon POC?

When you’re dealing with proximity and mobile technologies,
there are so many tasks to be done, that it’s impossible for one
person to handle them all. You need to setup a solid team.
Looking at beacon-based projects that we at Linteri have
worked on, I think that a perfect beacon POC team should
consist of:



5

Most of the decisions you’ll be making while deploying POC can change, be adjusted, or
cancelled later without affecting how your pilot goes. There are some, however, that have
a huge impact on the entire process, so you should make them at the very beginning. Here
they are:
• hardware: Which type of beacon should you choose?
• beacon format: Should you go for iBeacon, Eddystone, or both?
• type of deployment: Should you choose a point-based or grid-based deployment?
If you’re not familiar with beacon technology and these terms don’t ring a bell, keep
reading.
Smart Beacon or Tough Beacon

Kontakt.io currently offers two types of beacons: Smart Beacons, designed for indoor use
cases; and Tough Beacons, designed for more active and rugged use. While both of them
use the same hardware, they have different cases and intended use.
Kontakt.io Smart Beacon


Kontakt.io’s Smart Beacon is designed for indoor use. Its casing is openable, so you
can easily replace the battery if it drains—very useful during POC, when testing and
reconfiguring consumes more battery than the usual usage. You can attach a Smart Beacon
to the wall with adhesive tape or via a nail or screw passed through the mounting hole on
the back of the beacon.















2.


Click
Three crucial decisions


to make when you start







6

Smart Beacon vs. Tough Beacon Comparison
Kontakt.io Tough Beacon

Smart Beacon Tough Beacon
Kontakt.io’s Tough Beacon is designed to perform in both outdoor and indoor
environments. Its sealed casing is waterproof, dustproof, shatter-resistant, and it stands BATTERY LIFE up to 2 years
up to long exposure to UV radiation, so it keeps the beacon safe even in extreme, exposed
conditions. For this reason, Tough Beacons are used in open air and on moving objects. The SUPPORTED FORMATS iBeacon and Eddystone
integral socket allows you to pass a cord through the back of the beacon so that you can DUSTPROOF yes
mount it on all kinds of surfaces like pipes, gratings, ducts, and anything else you can attach
a zip tie to. TEMPERATURE RANGE from -20°C to + 60°c (from -4°F to +140°F)

WATERPROOF up to 1m depth up to 10m depth
SHATTER RESISTANT, UV RE
no yes

DEFAULT COLORS
custom Pantone colors availa- white, black white
ble on request
OPENABLE CASING, yes no
REPLACEABLE BATTERY

MOUNTING screw or adhesive tape cable tie, zip, or similar

zoos, open-air events, parks,
RECOMMENDED retail, museums, events, hospi- transportation, asset tracking,
FOR USE CASES tality, workspace
moving objects


Especially if this is your first time working with beacons, it may be worth while to buy
a Smart Beacon for the POC if it all possible; connecting to a beacon to reconfigure it
consumes more power than when it broadcasts on its own and the user-replaceable battery
can save you a lot of hassle if you’ve drained your beacon’s battery by connecting to it a lot
during your POC.

ĵ How to replace your Smart Beacon
battery:
Kontakt.io’s Smart Beacons have a single When you’re putting the beacon back together,
CR2477 Lithium coin cell battery. You can the bottom of the case and the top of carefully note that one side of the back plate
probably find replacements for this common the case, near the mounting hole. With has two small plastic tabs that stick out and
battery at your local electronics store or online. a simple twist of the wrist, the back will the opposite side has one tab that sticks out.
pop off. Line those up with the matching slots in the
You can open a Smart Beacon by looking at the top of the beacon case to put the beacon back
back of the beacon and putting your fingernail together.
or a small screwdriver into the seam between


7

iBeacon or Eddystone iBeacon vs. Eddystone Comparison


iBeacon and Eddystone are the two best known communication protocols that beacons
broadcast. Your beacons can only broadcast one protocol at a time, but at Kontakt. iBeacon Eddystone
io, you can switch between these two protocols whenever you like. So why should you
ADVERTISING PACKETS one: Universally Unique Identifier three: unique ID, URL, telemetry
choose a format early in your POC planning? Because whichever protocol you choose now (UUID)
will determine how you write your app. While the two standards are similar, they’re not
flexible, open, constantly devel-
interchangeable, so you should choose one format and then stick with it. simple, easy to implement, fully oping, Eddystone-URL enables
Which standard is best? Take a look below at the pros and cons of each to see which better FEATURES documented you to interact with users with-
out a dedicated app
suits your needs.

iBeacon triggers actions when an app is
SUPPORT ON ANDROID open, can’t wake the app when fully supported, still waiting
for native support for Eddys-
iBeacon is the world’s most widely used beacon profile. Released by Apple to extend it’s closed tone-URL
Location Services on iOS and OSX devices it broadcasts one packet of information, called an
advertising packet, that contains a given beacon’s identifiers.
triggers actions when an app is
Developers around the world like working with iBeacon because it’s robust, simple to open, can’t wake the app when
implement, and there are many resources available to help with integrating iBeacons with SUPPORT ON IOS fully supported it’s closed
any app. It works best on iOS devices—it works on Android to some extent but can’t wake native support for Eddys-
tone-URL (a user has to activate
up the device or push an alert to the lock screen—so if you know your potential users use Chrome’s Today widget)
iPhones, go for iBeacon.
Eddystone
Once you’ve determined which beacon technology is going to power your deployment, you
Eddystone is an open beacon protocol from Google. It currently contains three packets, need to figure out how to actually lay out your beacons in the real world.
called frame types:
• Eddystone-UID—a beacon’s unique ID number. This frame type triggers push
notifications or app actions, just as iBeacon’s advertising packet.
• Eddystone-URL—a URL that the beacon advertises. Once a user’s device receives such
signals, it can display URLs broadcast by nearby emitters, ranked by proximity—even if
the user doesn’t have your app installed.
• Eddystone-TLM (Telemetry)—data obtained by sensors. This frame type enables you to
gather data on beacons’ health.
At Kontakt.io, beacons with support for Eddystone broadcast all three frame types, one after
the other.
Developers decide to work with Eddystone because it’s flexible and creates new
opportunities to broadcast additional data and add custom features to their devices. The
format is fully supported by Android devices. It also works on iOS but can’t wake up the
device or push an alert to the lock screen. If you’re operating in an Android-focused market,
choose Eddystone.



8

Point-based or grid-based deployment Grid-based deployments


There are thousands of use cases for beacons, but when you’re planning the placement of
If you need to know precisely where your users are—for example in order to provide indoor
the devices, there’s only two ways to build your plan. The deployment can be either a point-
positioning, navigation, analytics, or just a more configurable environment for alerts based
based or a grid-based deployment. Understanding the differences between them and
on areas, you need more beacons. Make sure your deployment covers the entire area with
knowing which type of deployment you need is crucial, because it has an impact on how
multiple beacons so that your app, using trilateration, can calculate the exact location of
many beacons you buy and how you should deploy them.
the user. Of course, you don’t need hundreds of beacons when running your POC, but make
Point-based deployments sure you have enough of them to cover at least one room at your target location. For the
best accuracy, mount your beacons at least 3 meters above the ground or on the ceiling
If you only want to engage with your audience at specific places—like with coupons as users
enter a store—and you don’t need high resolution analytics on user path through a space,
go for point-based deployment. This type of deployment requires fewer beacons than a
grid-based method, because you don’t need multiple beacon signals covering every point
of your deployment. You simply put your beacons at specific Points of Interest, such as a
store shelves, exhibits in a museum, or entries to a building, so once your users walk into a
beacon’s range, their smartphones trigger the desired action linked to a given area.































ĵ Why your beacons should generally be
mounted above head height
water. If you recall from science classes back how far your signal can broadcast. In some understand what people–and atmospheric
Beacons use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
technology to broadcast their signals. Bluetooth in school, humans are more than 6% water, so instances–such as activating only for people who conditions like rain or fog–can do to a
signals–just like microwaves–are absorbed by if your beacon is located below head height, are at a Point of Interest–this may be more of a beacon’s signal after you deploy your
people walking around will seriously impact feature than a problem, though. So be sure you devices.


9

The process



A Quick Guide to the Kontakt.io Proximity Cloud Platform


Perhaps, you won’t need all the below features during your POC, but since a POC is
supposed to help you get familiar with the technology and develop your own processes,
test out all of them. Make sure you understand how they work and know how and when to
use them. If you’re having problems or don’t understand some of the terms we use, head
over to our Support pages. If you want to dive into details, check out our Getting Started
guide on the Kontakt.io Support portal.

























Web Panel

The Kontakt.io Proximity Web Panel is your command center for your entire fleet. It lets you
manage and monitor your fleet, set up your beacons, schedule updates, and configure
your beacon security settings. Here you can create your account and add beacons to it.
3. Additionally, you can:
1. Change your beacons’ settings
Update your beacons, either individually or in bulk. Switch between iBeacon and
The Process Eddystone formats, change beacons’ identifiers, set up transmission power and signal
interval.
2. Create venues
Venues are virtual groups of beacons that usually represent physical locations where
these beacons actually are. The main purpose of venues is to categorize your beacons
so they’re easier to find. Also, if you want to change a setting for beacons at a given


10

location, you can update beacons assigned to a relevant venue, instead of looking them
up one by one.
Venues are helpful especially if you maintain a big infrastructure, but we recommend to
start using them from day one, so you can understand the philosophy behind them and
use them effectively in your final deployment.
3. Give access to your fleet to other members of your team
Since you aren’t a solo player (rule number four: collaborate!) you’ll want to give other
members of your team access the infrastructure. The Kontakt.io Proximity Web Panel
makes it really easy and enables you to create different types of accounts and control
who has access to which part of your fleet.






Test your app


Once you’ve created your app or beacon-enabled your existing one, test how your beacon-
based features work.
You don’t have to go to your target location or attach beacons to walls or objects yet,
but make sure you’ve chosen a place where there’s no interference caused by other radio
transmitters and test out all of the use cases you want your app to perform. Don’t worry
about your beacon’s range and TX power just yet, because the necessary settings will
probably change once you deploy beacons on site (we’ll cover this later on.) Your only goal
at this point is to check whether your app properly reacts to a beacon.
The way you’re going to test the app varies based on the type of deployment.
Testing a point-based app
Admin Apps
Take one beacon and put it on your desk. Approach it using different smartphones and at
With Kontakt.io’s Admin Apps for iOS and Android, you can set up and update your different speeds and answer the following questions:
beacons, monitor their health, and synchronize updates from your Web Panel to any beacon • Does the beacon trigger an action that is assigned to it?
in range of your mobile device. Download an app for your favorite mobile OS and play • How long does it take to trigger the action?
around with it. • What happens if you try to access the triggered content while leaving the range of a
beacon?
Kontakt.io Proximity SDKs • Does the action work on different devices?

Kontakt.io’s iOS and Android Proximity SDKs give you all the tools you need to develop your Testing a grid-based app
own beacon-enabled app and quickly integrate beacon functionality into any existing app
with a few lines of code. Read the documentation and make sure to implement the SDK’s Even though it’s time consuming to test a grid-based deployment somewhere that’s not
features into your app before moving to the next step. your final real-world intended site, we still recommend it because the beacons tested with
some more effort up front will save you a lot of time in the end.
Once you’ve created your map, attached your beacons to it, added beans to the real world,

11

and you’ve got the basics of trilateration working, you’re ready to start testing your grid
deployment. Move around the area with different devices and determine whether:
• Your app shows your position properly (in case you use a beacon-based map)
• Beacons trigger actions that are assigned to them
• How long it takes to trigger an action
• What happens if you try to access the triggered content while leaving the point of 5
interaction 4
• Any back-end data collection or analytics presents sensibly
3
2
Go to location
1
Once you know your app works properly, it’s time to get to know the space where
you’ll deploy beacons and then plan your deployment. Remember that every space
is different, and everything—from a room’s size to a material that walls are made of—
1 Dry Wall 3 Water 5 Wood
affects the beacon signal, so don’t just plan your deployment on a piece of paper and
assume that you will get it completely right without needing adjustment. Here are some 2 Metal 4 Concrette
tips to get you started with your planning.


• How many objects are there? How many people will be there?
Be aware that objects in the range of a beacon—sculptures, fountains, and even people—
Disclaimer may block signal so it can’t reach users’ smartphones. This information will be useful

This is an example, beginner-friendly workflow. There while planning the number of beacons and adjusting their settings.
are dozens of other ways to go through this stage. Some
people deploy first, and then they put beacons on a floor
plan; others set up, deploy, and test at the same time.
Remember that every deployment is different, and that it’s
up to you how you plan and run your own POC. Feel free
to adjust the following steps or perform them in a different
order.

Get to know the space

Look around, describe the space, and identify possible areas where your beacons may
not work correctly by answering the following questions:
• What are the walls made of?
Everything that blocks or reduces signal strength can impact how the beacon
performs. If you want your beacons’ signal to go through the walls, pay attention
to the material they’re made of. Note that concrete, water, and metal are all nearly ĵ The illustration shows how the same beacon with the same configuration values behaves in an
empty and a crowded space.
opaque to Bluetooth.


12

• How high is the space? How open are areas? TX power
If you have huge vaulted ceilings and giant open spaces—like a warehouse or an aircraft
hangar—you may run into problems where you simply have nowhere to put a beacon. On Admin App Settings: TxPower Expected Range Expected Battery life*
the flip side, cramped aisles and low-hanging fluorescent lights can make a retail shop
1 -30 dBM 4m (13’) 2 years
floor extremely tricky to get good signal reception to a smart device.
3 (default) -12 dBM 35m (115’) Up to 2 years
7 4 dBM 70m (230’) Up to 15 months

*ASSUMING 350MS DEFAULT INTERVAL AND OPTIMAL ENVIROMENTAL CONDITIONS


While configuring a beacon and deciding which one goes where, mark it on your plan by
putting a beacon’s ID next to its spot on the map. It’ll speed up the deployment and help
find your devices if you need to update them or replace their battery.




Deploy and test


Create a floor plan

Measure your space and create a detailed floor plan. Then, “put” your beacons on your plan Ashish Kumar,
and mark the range you want them to have. The maximum radius is around 70m (230 foot,) Co-founder, BeaconsTalk Technologies
but note that it refers to situations where nothing blocks the signal and that the bigger the
range, the harder it gets to control the signal. Also, have your type of deployment in mind— How to setup a team for a beacon POC?
just to remind you: in a point-based deployment, you put a beacon exactly where you want
to interact with a user; in a grid-based deployment, you’ll need to cover the whole area. Testing and bug fixing are crucial to making your POC a success,
so you need to make sure you go through this stage without
Once you’ve finished your floor plan, calculate how many beacons you need and make sure pitfalls. There are some general rules you need to follow but
you have enough. remember that everything depends on your context: a use case,
venue, and even the country you operate in.
Set up your beacons For example in India, where BeaconsTalk mostly deploys,
we must take into account that places we beaconize will be
ultimately far more crowded that during POCs. It also happens
Go to your Web Panel and configure your beacon identifiers, intervals, and transmission here that beacons get stolen or damaged; so in deployments
power (Tx power). Make sure your Tx power values are set to reflect something close to the where accuracy is critical, we have to test if an infrastructure can
range you sketched on the floor plan. Here are some estimates on the range you should effectively keep running without some units.
expect from a given Tx power for Kontakt.io beacons. Keep in mind that they reflect an ideal Considering BeaconsTalk’s experiences, here’s what I recommend
situation, so you’ll possibly need to adjust the values once your beacons are on site. doing while testing your beacon fleet:
Set up a testing environment in a small part of a venue and
make sure it isn’t too busy during operation hours
Don’t test beacon-triggered notifications with a high RSSI just
to reduce it later. Start with the lowest RSSI that will help you

13

accurately predict the range based on obstructions. • A beacon triggers another beacon’s content
Use a BLE scanner to pre-detect any overlaps Solution: Provided that you checked to make sure that you’ve got the right beacon in
While testing, always use a wider range of RSSI values the right place, that probably means that signals overlap—decrease Tx power or interval
because the fluctuation of values in each beacon may be of the nearby beacon that triggers the incorrect content (and, if needed, increase the Tx
fairly different.
Use a good brand of adhesive tape to test a potential power or interval of the beacon you’re testing. If you’ve got a curious case of a beacon
beacon location before putting a nail into the wall - beacon triggering content way away from where it’s supposed to be, check for any possible
locations sometimes need to be tested frequently to ensure sources of Bluetooth signal reflection.
signal consistency and theft prevention. • A beacon doesn’t trigger an action when approached from a specific angle
Solution: Something is blocking the signal. Is the beacon mounted at the corner? Try to
move it to one side or another. Remove the obstacle (if it’s possible) or increase the Tx
Now that you have your app working, beacons set up, and the map ready, it’s time to install
power (if you still can do it.)
beacons on site, test the whole solution, and do final adjustments.
• App drains a lot of battery / app is unstable when deployed but fine in tests
Solution: Likely, you have too many beacons visible to the smart device at once. In
Deployment
general, you don’t want more than 7 of your deployed beacons visible to a smart device
Following your map, attach beacons to your desired at once. If you can see dozens (or scores!) of beacons, you need to dial down the Tx
places using a method you’ve chosen (adhesive type, power across the board.
screw, zip tie, etc.) and make sure they’re mounted In grid-based deployments, the process is more complicated and more of a trial and error,
firmly. Double check the beacon ID on the back of and it actually deserves a separate guide to cover it thoroughly (tweet us if you’d like to read
every device to make sure that it match the IDs on one!)
the floor plan.
So here’s just an overview of some most common issues that you may encounter:
Reconfiguration and bug fixing
• The app inaccurately registers or shows your position
Check how your app and beacons work on site, tune your beacons’ settings so they match • The app triggers too many actions at once
the location’s requirements, and address any problems that crop up. Again, the process will • The app triggers actions assigned to other beacons than expected
be a bit different depending on the type of deployment you’re running.
If it’s a point-based deployment, start by approaching each beacon separately with In most cases, such problems mean that your smartphone grabs signals from too many or
a smartphone. Do it several times, from different angles and at a different speed. too little beacons. This may result from either the distance being too long between you and
a beacon or the Tx power values of nearby beacons are too high or too low. Try mounting
Here are some issues you may face—and how to address them. beacons at different heights and experiment with your Tx power and interval values.
• You need to get too close to a beacon to get an app to trigger an action Remember though, that if you significantly decrease Tx power, beacons will cover less area,
Solution: Increase your Tx Power or the interval—start with the former and check and you’ll need more of them to get a full coverage.
whether it works for you. Since there are many factors influencing how the beacon signal behaves (and since there
• Content doesn’t display at all are many beacons used,) there’s no single formula on how to fix certain bugs. Try different
Solution: Since you tested the app and it worked, the problem must lay somewhere in things—one after another. If something doesn’t work, return to previous settings and try
the beacon that’s supposed to trigger the content. Check the beacon ID If it matches different tactics—until you identify the problem and its possible source. Then, eliminate it
the ID on the floor plan, check its battery level. If it’s also fine, try to increase the Tx and repeat the process.
power and then, the interval. If all of these fail, check your app again.





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Luis Lopez feedback. Keep monitoring if all the features are working and feel free to apply changes and
improvements. Track your app’s and beacons’ performance and take notes on anything you
Implementation Engineer, Zii.io
find.
How to organize your deployment Use the data gathered during this time and your experiences so far to find out:
• How fast do beacons consume the battery? What’s the possible battery lifetime for your
Organizing a beacon fleet is essential to the success of any deployment?
Proof of Concept. It gives a solid base for expansion if the • How often do you need to visit the venue?
POC takes off. It gives you the benefit of knowing which • Will the maintenance and management require more people?
beacons will cover which locations and an organized way of • Do beacons remain where you mounted them?
replacing beacons if necessary. And it will come in handy when
performing any QA procedures or tests on site. The best way to
start is to create a foundation for your POC beacon fleet. Conduct a postmortem
To do this, you must first decide how you will place your
beacons onsite. Having deployed, tested, and examined your
Create a map of the beacon placements, and annotate each
location with the corresponding ID tag. When choosing the best infrastructure, you can finally evaluate your POC and make
placements for your beacons, make sure to equally distribute a decision on whether or not to develop the solution
the coverage across all areas listed in the POC. Keep in mind further. You know best what to take into account—consider
that the effective range of a beacon is about 100ft, and that pros and cons, compare the results with your KPIs,
will change when placing the beacon indoors. You can also calculate the resources it needed, and make sure you
label each beacon with a special identifier that is separate know the answer to the question we asked at the beginning: are beacons for you?
from the ID tag. I found the easiest way is to split the beacons
by floor, and then organize them in ascending order. “1st,B1” No matter what your decision is, hopefully this guide has been helpful during your journey.
would signify that this is the 1st beacon on the 1st floor- simple. If you opt to end here, shoot us an email and let us know if we can help you. If you want to
This labeling can be as complex as it needs to be, but the main continue, get some rest and prepare for moving your solution forward. Now that you know
goal is to keep track of which beacons went where. Once all the technology inside out, you may experiment and explore new opportunities without
the labeling is done, make sure to take pictures of the beacon limits.
tags with the labels written on; this will ensure that you know
exactly which beacon belongs to which label. Also make sure to
separate the beacons into different containers labeled with the Good luck!
floor number.
A strong and well-kept beacon fleet is invaluable to you, and
your POC. Any time that would have been spent dealing with
beacon management can now be allotted towards perfecting
your POC.

Manage and maintain your deployment



If you’ve gotten to this point, congratulations! Your deployment is now properly running,
and you’re probably wondering what to do next. Actually, there’s one thing left before
you evaluate your POC. You need to give yourself two to three weeks to find out how your
deployed fleet is doing and learn how to manage and maintain it.
Encourage some people to visit the location with your app installed and gather their

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4. 5.


The next steps Further reading







If you’re ready to take your beacon deployment to the next level with dozens, hundreds, or
thousands of beacons, here are some things you may want to consider:
• Order pre-configured beacons Looking for inspiration?
If you know what identifiers your beacons will have, don’t waste your time configuring Subscribe to our blog
them by yourself—let us do it for you so your new Kontakt.io beacons will be ready to be
deployed straight out of the box.
• Drop ship beacons to any place in the world
If you’re a reseller or software provider, let us drop ship each box of beacons directly to
the end destination so you don’t have to spend time and money to transship them your-
self. Want to dive into specific topics?
• Make your beacons look like you want Keep your eyes peeled on upcoming webinars
Want Kontakt.io beacons white labeled or with your own logo printed? A custom color and whitepapers
case? Even more customized? Anything’s possible, including custom beacon labels or
packaging, and it works with drop shipping, too.
• Share your infrastructure
Use your existing infrastructure or create a new one to build a Proximity-as-a-Service
model. Kontakt.io enables you to share your devices with third parties so that you can
additionally monetize your proximity solution or offer it for free to those who want to Having problems?
use beacons for good but can’t afford to create their own networks. It’s 100% free, 100% Head over to our support pages
secure, and 100% up to you how you’re going to use it.
The possibilities don’t end here, though.

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If you’re looking for the best beacons, go beyond the ordinary. Kontakt.io, with its award-
winning hardware and industry-leading software, is your number one way to get the best
out of proximity and connect your business to the Internet of Things. No matter if you’re a
Fortune 500 business or a serious hobbyist, Kontakt.io provides you with tools you need.
Providing you with the most complete beacon security platform, robust cloud-based
management tools, and customization services, Kontakt.io helps you run your deployment
exactly the way you want—from beginning to end.







GO TO STORE










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