Hi , I'm testing the sdk with a virtual beacon on my ipad(3rd generation) and an app on my Nexus 5 . I try to get the distance of my phone from the ipad(virtual beacon) with Utils.computeAccuracy() and tracking the distance on my phone but I see the results change is very unstable and changes very fast in a wide range.
I'll appreciate if you can help me with this.
thanks
Hi there,
Calculating the exact proximity of a Beacon is based solely on the radio waves it’s broadcastin, wich makes it pretty hard. You have to consider factors such as multipath propagation, wave diffraction, absorption or interference. That’s exactly why our software does not try to calculate the exact distance between a Beacon and the receiving device. Instead, we, and the whole iBeacon standard, use a value called RSSI (received signal strength indicator), which allows to estimate the proximity based on signal power. For calibration purposes, there’s also included a metric called Measured Power - but it’s nothing more than just RSSI measured 1 meter away from the Beacon. Even calibrated, RSSI might fluctuate heavily, due to the factors mentioned above.
Cheers.
So you're telling that using the method Utils.computeAccuracy() is correct , but I'm facing really wide range of changes , I put Utils.computeAccuracy value and test it in different values to output different screens in my app . but it's values change suddenly from 0.001 to 9. I don't want to have the exact distance , I'm just trying to determine the distance range between my virtual beacon (my ipad) and my phone.
Hi again,
Yes - there is no problem with the method, it's just the signal stability. With physical Beacons, you can try increasing broadcasting power for better reliability.
Cheers.