After a few months of hard work hand in hand with Google to develop it, Eddystone is finally here. Few companies have collaborated to create the most complete beacon concept. Discover what Eddystone is and how it can benefit you and your business.

What is EDDYSTONE?

Eddystone is an open beacon format, allowing you to use it without barriers and even contribute to its expansion and improvement through the community platform.

While this may not be new information, more updates will be coming from the team in California.

Three Beacons in One

The main advantages of this protocol over others are its ability to set and send three different advertising packets (frame types).

• Eddystone-UID: This is similar to the well-known iBeacon advertising packet, with a specific ID to trigger actions in your app.
• Eddystone-URL: Remember The Physical Web? This is essentially the same advertising packet, now integrated into this super beacon.
• Eddystone-TLM (Telemetry): Many have requested the inclusion of various sensors on the beacon to create innovative use cases. Now, all this contextual information can be reported through this third available advertising packet, perfect for monitoring deployments in terms of battery, temperature, humidity, etc.

iOS and Android Supported

Eddystone is now officially supported on both operating systems. Since last week, Google Chrome for iOS (with Android support expected soon) has integrated the Physical Web. This means you can now deploy Eddystone format beacons to interact with Chrome users, reaching millions without needing a specific app. User privacy remains unaffected.

Our Case Study: Volkswagen Connect

Accent Systems has partnered with leading companies to advance technology, showcasing successful Eddystone integration.

With Volkswagen Spain, Accent Systems developed a smart key fob to help VW owners find their keys, phones, or even take a selfie!

The key fob communicates with the app using ID packets, helping you locate your phone if it’s nearby but out of sight. The app can also activate a beep in the key fob for the same purpose.

The main innovation is that if your keys are out of range, you can activate the URL packet via a server to broadcast a request for help to Chrome users, even if they don’t have the VWconnect app.

How iBKS Enhances Your IoT Strategy

With iBKS beacons, you can combine data packets to communicate with app users and others simultaneously, sending different messages to each. For instance, you can offer a loyalty program in an app while recommending others to download the app from the App Store via the Physical Web.

Get your iBKS Eddystone compliant here. If you already have iBKS 105, you can update it by following the tutorial and downloading the latest firmware update.