3 Things to Consider when Planning a Bluetooth Beacon Deployment

Location

The primary consideration when siting beacons is the location. Beacons work best when there’s a line of sight. If the beacons are static and received by devices such as smartphones then the best position is higher up where they won’t be blocked. If the beacons are moving, the receiver, for example a gateway, is best placed overhead. When thinking about the location of static beacons, also consider camouflaging them or placing them out of reach so that they don’t become victim to theft.

Attachment

Think about how you will attach the beacons. Many beacons come with a strong double sided 3M-branded tape. While this can work, the glue or underlying surface can fail in the long term due to the affects of heat and moisture. Also, it can be difficult to remove or replace a beacon in the shorter term without damaging the surface decoration.

i3 has lugs for screw fixing

Tidier methods include screwing to the surface or plastic tie fixing that can be more suitable for attaching to some types of structure.

Maintenance

Although batteries can last years, think about how how battery levels will be measured and the physical and IT processes needed to replace a beacon.

FSC-BP103 Advertises Battery Level

The ease of physical maintenance is also related to beacon location and how they have been attached.