For a project we are looking for a way to locate objects which could be fitted with stickers that have a variable position. The area is quite big so we were thinking to use beacons as they seem to have a bigger range to pin point a user to the right zone.
My main questions are:
Not entirely sure what you mean by the mesh/grid setup—as in, divide the space into sub-sections, place a beacon in each sub-section and detect which stickers are in there?
All in all, the problem is that beacons themselves cannot detect stickers—the communication is pretty much uni-directional, i.e., the beacon broadcasts its presence around, but can’t scan for other Bluetooth devices.
One possible work around is, use the phone as a proxy. As users move through the space with their phones, your app can detect which section they’re in, and then scan for nearby stickers, and send this data to a server. (think: “user A is in section X, and the app detected stickers 1, 2 and 3 in there”)
In fact, we’re working on something very similar for our Indoor Location, so keep an eye on Estimote announcements in the upcoming weeks (: