IBeacon - Apple abandoned the technology?

Number of news about iBeacon lately tends to zero. technology announcement took place at the WWDC 2013, but what we have learned about her since then? Google and "Yandex" issue in the main document of 2014, as if everything was frozen in time. What is it? Calm before the storm, or the slow death once "revolutionary" technology, as it has repeatedly been in the IT-sphere?

Recall how the iBeacon technology. It is based on the interaction iBeacon device (hereinafter - the beacon) and iPhone / iPad according to the scheme:

1. The beacon sends a signal to the iPhone, and transmits the data: a number and variety of technical information.
2. According to the received signal (beacon number and signal strength) iPhone can determine your location in space. To do this, 2-3 beacon. By the way, this is based navigation facilities.
3. After the iPhone to determine where it is, it binds to the server and receives information in response. This can be advertisements for discounts, promotions, text content, images, and more.
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4. iPhone can establish two-way communication with the beacon and interact with it, for example to carry out financial transactions.

It was assumed that iBeacon technology will revolutionize the reteyle, points of public catering, indoor-navigation, but as time went on, and successful case studies on the implementation of the technology so no one boasted. According to Ru-Beacon CEO Ivan Parfyonov, the fact there are several reasons.

It seems that technology iBeacon 2 years later is still considered experimental. In Russia, the successful case studies can be counted on the fingers of one hand. One of the cases - the introduction of the system of the Media Guide and 20 beacons iVeacon in the Multimedia Art Museum in Moscow (MAMM), which was carried out by Getsy.

Moving through the exhibition, the user gets on your smartphone additional content depending on whether, in what room, and even a specific point in the exhibition it is.

MAMM experience - the first in Russia in this field, and therefore "MakRadar" went to the museum, where he met with the CEO Maxim Getsy Pertsovsky.

- Where do you see the efficiency of iBeacon technology in museums, in this case - in MAMM?

- We were right in the audience: Mamm visited mainly by young people living in new technologies. Before us, nobody else in Russia did not use Bluetooth-mark in museum spaces. From the first meeting of c and colleagues to release the application has passed one year. human relationships and the museum become more technological. We already perceive other information, and in general it is a new step in the way people have to interact with the art. For us, this is the first step in order to understand how this technology need people.

- If the beacon iBeacon standing in the store, the user can, for example, discounts. He has the motivation to include Bluetooth. And what is the motivation of the museum?

- We do not impose technology. At the visitor it is always a choice. If he wants to receive additional content on museum exhibitions, he turns Bluetooth on when you log into the application and give permission to send messages. Motivation - do not need to take the audio guide, it is not necessary to scan the QR-code, and so on. That is, we take off to some extent a barrier between man and art.

- How many beacons installed in the building of the museum and how you serve them?

- In the museum we found 20 beacons in each room - 2-3 pieces. The difficulty is that the exhibition is constantly changing, even the walls sometimes disguise and alter, so it was important not to interfere with the aesthetic perception of the exhibits and do everything quietly.

- And you need to come to the museum, or the entire setup iVeacon you spend remotely?

- There is still a few technical problems. Everything that is presented on iVeacon market, does not scale. As now everything is working? There is a beacon, it non-stop broadcast Bluetooth-signals. In this case, there is no connection of iron and clouds, and we can not control at a distance Technical label, check the battery level and so on - you have to physically come to the site, and through a special mobile application from the manufacturer to collect information on each beacon. It becomes impossible for a large number of objects. Now the market began to emerge a new class of iBeacon-devices, which, in addition to Bluetooth, and use Wi-Fi. These beacons combined in a network around labels and allow remote already cast information, update the firmware, turn-off equipment. It is much more interesting thing, we have test data with the device in a number of pilot sites.

- You put beacons in stores "Republic". What is the result?

- It was a pilot project, not only for us but also for the industry as a whole. We did not set the task to increase the average check. It was more important to test the technology. When someone came into the store with an iPhone in hand, jumped out a proposal zasharit Social Sharing information about the store, and then we were given blankets. These users turned out 350 people, and we realized that it works. Moreover, we have implemented a project when iBeacon technology was announced and still really no one worked.

- And how do you imported beacons? After all, they still can not import in large volumes?

- We have imported at a time when it was still not clear what it is at all. And many brought immediately. So I can not now say exactly what are the rules, but in our case we have the goods customs clearance and notification made to the Russian FSB.

- What I am the beacons are now available on the market?

- Chinese, American, Spanish, Polish. We work with the Polish, because they are best suited for business. Chinese is difficult to configure. American tried Estimote. They are beautiful, but only just. A network that will solve business needs of the customer, are not able to create.

- You may have noticed that on iBeacon technology recently forgotten. Perhaps this is due to the advent of Apple Watch?

- I know that in closed sessions WWDC 2015 were talking about iBeacon technology and everything is in order. Apple releases new firmware, it is now the seventh version, and with each update the technology is getting better. Apple Watch significantly reduce the distance from the seller to the buyer, and the development in this segment will be going at a frantic pace. It plays its part Apple Pay and various loyalty programs. Taken together, these three technologies will create a completely new user experience in offline commerce.

Forecast of BI Intelligence

In August 2014 Business Insider published forecast iBeacon of global market development until 2018. The graph shows that we are waiting for rapid growth. Is BI prediction will come true?