Beacons are a hot topic in the public display space. Several companies that we track here at Display Monitor have looked at installing them in their displays, or otherwise working with them.
Most coverage in the area of beacons relates to Apple’s iBeacon technology, but there are other companies out there. One of these is EM Microelectronic, a Swiss company whose EMBC01 and EMBC02 beacons have recently achieved the Eddystone (Google’s open beacon format) certification.
Eddystone is not the only format that the beacons can interact with. They can broadcast multiple interleaved formats, such as iBeacon and Altbeacon, and can be configured over the air.
EM Microelectronics’ Bluetooth beacons can last for more than 12 months on a single CR2032 battery. The EMCB01 is a proximity beacon; the EMCB02 adds a 3-axis accelerometer to transmit motion data, and trigger motion-based alarms.
