iBeacon, Eddystone, Bluetooth, IoT sensor beacons, apps, platforms
There’s often the requirement to show data triggered by beacons detected by iOS and Android apps. There are many SaaS subscription systems to do this for you but what if you want to host the data yourself or have a large number of beacons where SaaS solutions aren’t economically viable?
You could create your own CMS. However, take a look at SBCMS. SMCMS provides a simple open source CMS that can be hosted on your own server or automatically on a Heroku cloud server instance.
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There’s a new updated version of the Universal Bluetooth Beacon Library that works on Windows 10 (UWP) and Android (Xamarin). The core library also works on iOS, Mac and Linux. It allows you to write applications to parse iBeacon and Eddystone advertising.
We are sometimes approached by companies after their initial choice of developer has let them down. The usual pattern is failure to meet deadlines after which the developer gives excuses why they can’t continue on the project. iBeacon projects introduce extra complexities that, if not experienced previously, can slow or stall projects. In the worst of cases this can cause developers to drop out wasting valuable time and in some cases loss of money that can’t be recovered.
A resultant problem is that it’s difficult to take on others’ code. The only time this is usually possible is when the developer has left for a good reason and is still around for a short time to answer questions. Noone wants to take on abandoned code as as it’s usually poorly implemented and documented.
Organisations are generally too casual about how and who they take on for development, concentrating on cost and speed at the expense of risk. Do some checking so you reduce some of the risks.
Ask who (yes a person, not a company) will be actually doing the work. How long have they been with the company? Try to assess whether they are likely to see your project through to the end. Try to get a reference for work done by the person. Ask the reference about quality and whether the work was completed on time. The better developers provide weekly or even daily builds for you to review. This allows you to evaluate progress and provide feedback. Think about how much pre-sales feedback has been received. For most projects, developers ask things and provide initial advice. If it’s all ‘can do’ or ‘yes’ then suspect something is amiss.
Successful development is a long term relationship and a random approach to choosing one is more likely to land you in trouble. It’s sometimes the case that there’s more work to be done on amendments, enhancements, solving end-user problems and creating variants than on the original development. Think longer term.
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Nordic Semiconductor has recently published a great downloadable guide on programming Bluetooth LE and hence Beacons on Android. It covers Android permissions, scanning and how the API varies across versions Android 4, 5 and 6. There’s are also a section on GATT connections and how to use Android as a GATT Server.