Building Applications with iBeacon

Preface

We all carry supercomputers in our pockets. Sometimes we even still make phone calls with them, too. The computing power available in most smartphones today is vastly greater than what many desktop computers had when I started working with computers, and that additional computing power has been put to good use in redefining the way that we interact with the world.

Extending the mobile computing experience beyond the glass touchscreen is a key component of enabling the Internet of Things, developing wearable computers, and embedding intelligence in the world. Humans have sensors (such as eyes!) to interact with the world around us, and phones now have the electronic equivalent by using proximity technology to discover the immediate world around them.

But how can a phone recognize what it is near?

The answer to that question is the essence of proximity and helps move nearby interactions onto the smartphone touchscreen. Getting a basic readout on what is in the neighborhood is the most basic operation for making a phone part of a mobile computing system.

Or, to say it better, knowing what you are near is foundational. Proximity is the “Hello, world” for the Internet of Things.

Many technologies exist to help phones interact with the world around them. This book is about iBeacons, a Bluetooth technology that helps a device understand its location and surroundings with a high degree of accuracy. iBeacons enable a device to display web pages, control nearby machines, and negotiate ...