Newbie Question about Locating Phone, Pebble with Estimote

Hi:

I just purchased some Estimotes. I am new to the world of beacons. I want to write the following scenario: I open my door and walk down the stairs. A door contact and motion sensor are activated: I am leaving. Some programme uses the Estimotes to locate my Smartphone. If the smartphone is not in the same room as me, I am alerted (i.e., a light starts to blink in my stairwell). I would like to do something similar with my Pebble.

I am not sure where to start. Do I need an application running on my phone? Or can I write an application running on a Linux machine that talks Bluetooth and somehow queries the beacons and coordinates with the sensors?

Thanks,
Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Interesting idea indeed! Although it will require some hacking and workarounds to make it work right, so I’m not exactly sure if the experience will be all that smooth :slight_smile: Basic pre-requisite is an app on the phone that will be able to detect your beacon. Also, it would make most sense if you have the beacons with you (yoy can just toss it in your bag and leave it there), and after the app is triggered by the motion sensor, the phone checks if the beacons is in close proximity.

If yes = you have it with you.
If no = you forgot your phone, so the app has to communicate with the server in charge of your lights.

Cheers.

Hi Wojtekb:

Thanks for the response! Thanks for clarifying that I have to have an app on the phone (I have been doing more reading). Putting the Estimote in my bag is clever. However I think I can also get away with just having Estimotes in my rooms. The scenario is:

  1. I am in my stairwell - motion sensor is triggered. Message sent to central app.
  2. Ccentral app sends something like a GCM to my Smart phone.
  3. Smart phone looks for Estimotes and reports back location (using the ranging feature?).
  4. If Estimote location does not equal my location - blink the lights or send a message to my Pebble (hopefully I am wearing it and it my phone’s bluetooth range :slight_smile: )

Let’s see what I can whip up in the weeks ahead!

Thanks,
Andrew