Indoor GPS app makes COMPUTEX Taipei more accessible

By Ted Chen ,The China Post
May 31, 2014, 12:00 am TWN

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) yesterday provided a sneak preview of the upcoming COMPUTEX Taipei event, the largest information and technology tradeshow in Asia, unveiling numerous innovations and bringing unparalleled convenience to visitors.

This year's COMPUTEX Taipei will feature innovative and cutting edge technologies that solve simple inconveniences such as reducing the difficulties of searching for specific exhibition booths at the event's sprawling venue. TAITRA this year teamed up with a Taiwanese developer supplying the modules powering Apple's iBeacon technology, which enables near proximity communication between mobile devices via Bluetooth connectivity. The iBeacon technology overcomes the limitations of GPS-assisted navigation in indoor environments and will be incorporated into TAITRA's exclusive app that will be available for download at each operating system's respective app store by COMPUTEX Taipei visitors, providing the swiftest path to exhibition booths. Users may also use the app to search for a list of desired exhibitors by name or booth number to plot the most efficient route to tour the venue according to their current location.
In addition to Android and iOS operating systems, TAITRA's app is also available for use by visitors with Windows Phone devices. With the COMPUTEX Taipei app running on their devices, visitors have access to information on all aspects of the event, including international buyers' registration, the latest update on activities, a searchable exhibitor index, publications, travel guides and maps of the venue — all presented through an attractive and simple user interface.
The COMPUTEX Taipei tradeshow this year will highlight the five major themes of smart technology, touch applications, wearable devices, mobile computing and cloud-based services and computing. Two all-new exhibition pavilions will showcase touch control and display products — two of the most pivotal emerging trends in the technology sector.
Amid the confluence of emerging trends, TAITRA has invited pivotal figures and renowned global sector leaders to provide insight on how businesses may navigate the rapidly changing landscape and strive toward new heights by integrating software and hardware. Speakers slated to take the stage at this year's Summit Forum include Simon Segars, CEO of ARM Holdings, the leading global semiconductor intellectual property company, Shane Owenby, Managing Director of global electronic commerce giant Amazon's Web Services arm in Asia Pacific, Tsai Min-kai, Chairman of MediaTek, the world's fourth largest fabless integrated circuit supplier, and Stan Shih, founder and President of Acer Inc.

Together, top executives from leading global companies will explore this year's theme of “software x hardware; technology innovation and transformation,” and discuss emerging concepts and trends while exploring potential new applications of new technological frontiers.


original: The China Post

CEA announces iBeacon Scavenger Hunt at CES 2014

REVIEW CENTRAL STAFF JANUARY 7, 2014 0

New this year at the 2014 International CES, attendees can participate in the first promotional iBeacon-based scavenger hunt to explore the event and be rewarded with a special prize. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2014 CES, the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, will run January 7-10, 2014, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Attendees at the 2014 CES who download the CES Mobile App on iOS or Android devices will be encouraged to explore all areas of the show through the scavenger hunt and will collect badges for each iBeacon they encounter. Specific scavenger hunt instructions are included in the CES App. The first three verified players who collect all of the available badges will be rewarded with a special prize from CES, available for pick-up in the Press Room at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), South Hall Connector, Room S229, during normal operating hours. A limited number of prizes will be available for others who complete the hunt throughout the week.

“This promotional scavenger hunt demonstrates our commitment to leveraging the latest in emerging technologies, making CES the most interactive and engaging technology event of the year,” said Jeff Joseph, senior vice president of communications and strategic relationships at CEA. “This promotion is a fun and novel way to introduce attendees to iBeacon technology and encourage participants to visit important exhibits across the show floor.”

CEA is partnering with its member companies Radius Networks Inc., the leading provider of mobile proximity services, and Texas Instruments to implement the scavenger hunt. The devices being used for the hunt are Radius Networks iBeacons using Bluetooth^® low-energy technology from Texas Instruments (TI).

iBeacons are short range, Bluetooth, low-energy transmitters that can notify mobile devices when they come within 100 feet of the beacon. This micro-location proximity awareness can be leveraged to deliver a wide range of new, innovative solutions, such as precision indoor navigation, automatic ticketing, guided museum tours and location-relevant offers and promotions.

“This is one of the coolest proximity-aware apps we have worked on,” said Marc Wallace, CEO and cofounder of Radius Networks. “This is also one of the first, tangible applications that leverages iBeacon technology. And it is a great example of how iBeacon technology is not just about advertising as it is about bringing new and innovative solutions to the marketplace. We are very excited to be a part of it.”

“This scavenger hunt is yet another innovative use of Bluetooth low-energy beacons,” said Oyvind Birkenes, general manager, Wireless Connectivity Solutions, TI. “We are delighted that our Bluetooth low-energy SensorTag is being used to demonstrate one of the many inventive and beneficial use cases for beaconing technology.”

Official contest rules are available at this link.

original:http://www.reviewcentralme.com/2014/01/07/cea-announces-ibeacon-scavenger-hunt-at-ces-2014/

iBeacon Definition

iBeacon is the Apple Trademark^[1] for an indoor proximity system^[2][3][4][5] that Apple Inc. calls "a new class of low-powered, low-cost transmitters that can notify nearby iOS 7 devices of their presence."^[6] The technology enables an iOS device or other hardware to send push notifications to iOS devices in close proximity. Android operating systemdevices can receive iBeacon advertisements but cannot emit iBeacon advertisements (ie. central role only^[7]).^[8]

The iBeacon works on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), also known as Bluetooth Smart. BLE can also be found on Bluetooth 4.0 devices that support dual mode.^[9] One potential application is a location-aware, context-aware, pervasive small wireless sensor beacon that could pinpoint users' location in a store: iBeacons could send notifications of items nearby that are on sale or items customers may be looking for, and it could enable payments at the point of sale (POS) where customers don’t need to remove their wallets or cards to make payments. It could be a possible Near Field Communication (NFC) competitor.^{[citation needed]}

It uses Bluetooth low energy Proximity sensing to transmit a Universally unique identifier^[10] picked up by a compatible app or operating system that can be turned into a physical location^[11] or trigger an action on the device^[12] such as a Check-in on social media or a push notification.

Various vendors have made hardware iBeacons that come in a variety of form factors. This includes small coin cell and AA powered devices, USB sticks, and software versions using Bluetooth 4.0 capable USB dongles.^[13]

original: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBeacon