Hello. I was hoping my 6 beacons would be ready to go out of the box, but upon using the Indoor Location app and mapping my target space, the app will not let me proceed because it says I need more beacons. I’d like to take my chances and use only the 6 I have, but it won’t let me progress any further. I think I have seen similar questions where the resolution involves coding or modifying existing code (to create your own app?). But unfortunately, I am not a Mac user nor do I know how to program using a Mac. I am fine if using fewer beacons means less range, but the app doesn’t give me that option.
Has anyone else come up with this problem? Any resolution that doesn’t involve programming?
Thank you!
Yes, the usual solution is to use the Indoor iOS SDK and map the space out manually/programmatically:
http://developer.estimote.com/indoor/map-your-location/#the-advanced-way-location-builder
… with the caveat that using less beacons than recommended by the Indoor app will very likely result in degraded performance/accuracy, which is why we’d rather not allow in the app to use less beacons than we think you’d need—we don’t want you to have poor experience.
I think the best suggestion I can give is to try it out in a smaller space first. What do you want to use Indoor Location for?
Hello,
Thank you for your quick response. I am part of a small group at a research university and we are piloting the use of beacons for one of our studies. We’d like to explore the movement of people in an office setting - potential interactions, locations most frequently visited. Because this is a pilot project there aren’t too many resources. If we cannot look at different individuals’ movements, then as a secondary goal we would like to see if a beacon placed in a particular area (e.g., near a copying machine) can provide information on the number of people (and potentially the duration) that visit the area.
There do seem to be a good number of programming resources, however, I am unfamiliar with Apple iOS and it would take some time to develop an app.
Thanks again,
Robert
Understood, thanks a lot for sharing! So I assume you want to tell people to install Estimote Indoor Location app, and use + Estimote Cloud’s Location View for the pilot? Wouldn’t require any coding, and you’d be able to see who’s where in the location. But yeah, that’d require you to either find a smaller space to set up the pilot in, or buy a few more beacons.
Counting people near a certain area would already require building a simple app and distributing it to people.
Or maybe look for some ready-made app/platform for tracking occupancy/position that uses beacons? For example, robinpowered.com? (There’re some other ones probably, this is just one I know about.)
It’s amazing how helpful you are. While I think there is amazing potential in using beacons for our purpose, I need to prove it to my group members and project leaders, so this pilot is crucial for that. Yes, the thought is that we will have registered participants and with ethics/IRB approval, have them download the Indoor app. I’ll try your suggestions and look into ready-made apps. If this works, it could be a great addition to our research in the future.
Thanks!
Robert