How Beacons came into picture:
Apple introduced a device that works on a chip that catches the signals of the device entered or registered into the system which would track the object in real time, with help of the signal and its clarity the system would find out the distance of the object, more the noise more the distance more the distance the tracker ranged up to 70meters to be precise. The iPad, iPhone had an inbuilt chip that would receive the signals. Before it was limited to the apple devices, later they evolved and improvised now current iBeacons can also be read out with Android smartphones via certain frameworks or applications.
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Later Based on similar concept Google launched the Bluetooth beacon technology that is BLE Beacons Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons.

What is Bluetooth Beacon?
​Bluetooth Beacons are the smart sensor chip developed with help of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and by intelligent Internet of Things technology IoT, these sensors are designed to keep the track of objects that you put the tag on. This tag has a unique code that is stored in the database of the centralised system which helps to track the object, collect the data, store the data, analyse the data and create the daily/weekly/monthly reports which makes it even easier to keep track and information for your analysis.
Hence this type of beacons are a boon for industry like Retail Industry where it is very difficult to track and Keep the report and needs lot of attention and manual work to do all this stuff.
vDots.io provides to you this latest technology understanding your business and its needs. vDots solutions based on Bluetooth beacon technology are namely vDotTrck for Tracking, vDotTalk for effective interaction, vDotDetect for genuinity check, vDotPay for transaction and vDotTrigger for analysis based improvisation.
 
What can Beacons Do? Or what are the Functions of Beacon?

Track:
Beacon can track a device/object in real time with latest smart Bluetooth LE technology.

Talk:
Beacons can give away the stored information by sensing the Bluetooth installed device in the area nearby and also has the ability to receive the information captured from the device nearby, which is a great advantage for any business, you can use this technology to spread about your latest and upcoming deals and offers that you offer and attract the customers.
 
Analyse and Trigger:
Beacon technology is smart enough to track the pattern of events happening around and with help of the stored data it can create a daily, weekly or monthly report and also may help you improvise marketing strategies based on the tracking analytics of the beacon generated reports.

Make Transactions:
Beacons can help you make transactions at any kind of stores where the products, system have the Beacon technology installed and are interconnected, with the specific application installed into your own device of payment. This reduces the manual efforts, time and money consumed for the task to be accomplished.

Detect:
It can help you detect the difference between genuine product and the non-genuine (fake) ones or also the genuine price of the product so that you buy the product care free.

Update:
It also helps you update or integrate or reminds you for the accomplishment of the pending task by tracking the older actions taken and gives to you the reminders, based on which you can easily complete the tasks without forgetting. Hence, reduces the risk of errors and helps your business grow.
Ultimately Beacons are life savers for any and every type of industry as multitasking is the key to success, Beacons helps you by all means.

Use of Bluetooth Beacons:
These beacons are very useful and helpful little tags especially for marketing/ tracking/detecting/transaction purposes in the real-time. It is the base of the new technology raising in the market i.e. the IOT Technology based on artificial intelligence (AI). IoT is Internet of Things as the name itself suggests that this is a smart technology the creates an interconnection or a mesh between the different sections or things into an industry so the things work smartly and through the connection cycle or mesh created using these Bluetooth based beacons or sensors that is capable of storing, investigating, analysing, sorting, deciding, transmitting the data and carry out tasks accordingly. It has the capability of interconnecting the hardware and software.
 
Beacon in Marketing:
Bluetooth beacon is the best way to communicate with customers, uses proximity marketing, best way to showcase or to project your plus points and the product that you are up for in the market, it also helps analyse the like’s dislikes and transmit the message on the smart devices into the range and attract the customers.

Beacon in Tracking:
It can be used in many industries like manufacture, retail, real-estate, banking, etc. for tracking the valuable assets, objects, people or location. It makes tracking highly accurate.

Beacon in Detecting: 
Its accurate data analysis also can give you the description and genuinity of the product or brand you want to purchase in this ongoing trend of false branding.

Beacon in Transaction:
It promotes automated contactless transactions.

Bluetooth Beacon and RFID and Barcode:

• The RFID and barcode have comparatively low frequency, low accessibility, low accuracy, low distance coverage and depends all the components like adapter, antenna, transmitter, receiver, scanners/readers, and manual assistance in every process. Hence, higher maintenance, more investment and also no inherent capacity to smart devices.
• The Bluetooth beacon technology is completely automatic, totally wireless low on maintenance, cost-effective, has higher range and high accuracy, and uses the Bluetooth low energy technology that is no easily available in any of the smart devices and helps connect very easily. And additionally is smarter.

​Making smart choice is a smart decision!

​Bluetooth tags: Bluetooth Tags also known as Bluetooth Beacons are the wireless sensors built using the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. As these beacons use the BLE technology which is nowadays available in each and every smartphone, cell-phone, laptops desktops, tablets, headphones and most of the electronic devices. It makes it easier to connect with all these devices whenever in the frequency range of this tag/label/beacon. And eventually easy to transmit the information to these devices. It basically creates the two way communication with these devices which creates an information exchange and through this exchanged information the data can be analysed resulting into the desired output accordingly.
Beacons are the base of the latest technology Internet of Things. IoT is intelligent technology based on the concept of Artificial Intelligence AI.

​Why is Bluetooth beacon used?
The Bluetooth beacon is mainly used for Tracking, Analysing, Communication and contactless payment. Customisation according to your business need and can be used in any and every type of business, is the beauty of this beacon technology.
Let us have a look at some use-cases of these Bluetooth beacons in different industries.

What is Barcode Reader?
The electronic device or equipment that decodes the optical data or information that is stored in form of barcode form, into electronic impulses through its light and lens sensors and draw it to the computer, is called as barcode scanner/reader.

Types of Barcode Reader:
There are several types of barcode readers some of them are as listed below.

• Pen-type Scanners: shaped like pen/wand, inexpensive, used to scan packages.
• Laser scanners: these scanners create “point clouds” to decode the data from surface of object.
• CCD readers (also known as LED scanners): Scanner similar to digital camera, has hundreds of LED lights, captures the barcode image to decode the data, fast but has limited range.
• Camera-based readers: These readers Use camera image processing technique, used photo diode and light source to decode the info.
• Video camera readers: Uses CCD technology with a twist, a video camera that has many more rows of sensors in 2D array to create an image.
• Large field-of-view readers: Readers for industrial use, reads plenty barcodes at a time, and come with high resolution.
• Omnidirectional barcode scanners: These are the readers found mostly in supermarkets. They are located in a specific counter and covered with a glass lid over.
• Cell phone cameras: Used in applications, enterprises, etc. these are used to scan QR codes, used even in the transfer of the data from one device to another.Barcode Printer and Types:
  Barcode printer is the electronic device used to print the barcode tags/stickers/labels to stick/attach/print directly on any of the object. There are mainly two types of printers used in market, direct thermal printers and thermal transfer printers.
  Direct thermal printers are heat generating print-heads the create a chemical reaction on the specific paper that turns the paper black and the Thermal transfer printers also generate heat to melt the wax or resin substance that is spread over the ribbon and further on paper through the ribbon to print the code.
  Different barcode printers are designed according to their use and markets. Printers in industries like warehouse and manufacturing have large paper capacities and are faster and more durable and for retail and office use there are normal smaller barcode desktop printers.
  Some other types of printers differentiated on basis of the mechanism they use are as listed below:
• Dot Matrix Printer.
• Ink Jet Printer.
• Ink Jet Printer.
• Direct Thermal Printer.
• Thermal Transfer Printer.
• Barcodes are usually used for security and tracking and billing/transaction and data analysis purposes in industries like, manufacturing, retail, education, warehousing, toll booths, examination centres, supermarkets etc.
  
  

​What is RFID?

RFID- The Radio Frequency Identification:  This technology works with the help of electromagnetic fields, this technology is made up of two parts a reader and a tag or label. The reader has all the tags connected to it and all the information captured by the tag and transmitted, is then captured by the reader and stored and used later to track or information investigation purposes. These tags are placed on a product or a device to keep the track of it.  Every tag has an individual unique code that is also stored in the reader which helps to identify the specific device. The Information stored in the form of electromagnetic waves. There are basically three types of tags.

Active and Semi-Passive and Passive Tag:
Active Tag or battery driven tag and has transmitter and the highest frequency coverage and used for high value products like cars, transport vehicles etc. Semi-Passive Tag is battery driven but no transmitter and has comparatively lower coverage and used for the medium range tracking, which means works in limited and specific range.  Passive-Tag has the lowest frequency and no battery power as it draws the power from the reader itself and used for the in-house products and assets in short range. And they also cost accordingly.

These tags are also differentiated on basis of the frequency that is LF, HF and UHF

LF: Low Frequency RFID tag covers the frequency of 100-130 kHz, reading range of about few cm. large antenna size.
HF: High Frequency RFID tag covers the frequency of approximately 13.56MHz, reading range of about 10cm. smaller antenna size.
UHF: Ultra High Frequency RFID tag covers the frequency of approximately 860-960 MHz, reading range of about 5m compact antenna size.
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Use of RFID Technology:
RFID tags are used in many industries like manufacturing, transport, retail, schooling, pharmaceuticals on toll collection booths, in contactless transactions, in tracking and billing, on airports for tracking baggage’s and many more. It is used to track goods, vehicles, people, objects, etc. It is way better, faster and cost effective than the manual tracking options or devices like barcode scanners which consumes more time and investment, these scanners can capture information of one device at a time and also the barcode needs to be visible whereas the RFID reader can capture information from hundreds of objects or devices at a time and also only by passing by or by being within the specific range of the reader whether the tag is underneath the object or is covered. It is definitely a smart way of tracking the information in this fast world of developing technology that you should opt for to benefit your business or secure your valuable assets.