We’ve all wandered around the office, department store, or huge venue trying to track someone down, only to find that they were in the last place we’d think to look. What if there was an app that went beyond GPS to geo-locate people within a building, down to the meter?

That’s what we’re currently building with PRPL Labs. When different clients started coming to us in need of fine-tuned location services for the indoors, like performance venues and schools, we found that the only viable solution would have to be built ourselves. GPS is great and accurate outside, but as soon as you go inside, the countless physical interferences make tracking inaccurate. Our solution: BLE technology and beacons that signal to phones to triangulate one’s position inside a space.

How it works

Triangulate? That’s where several beacons are placed throughout the area to cover each dimension in the 3D space and provide an idea as to where people (read: mobile devices) are located on a more precise level (see Exhibit A below). Many retail stores and restaurants will use one beacon to see if you are in the proximity of their business, at which point they’ll serve a coupon or utilize other user data to enhance the consumer’s experience. What we’re working on takes that tactic a step further.

What does our app do?

After employees opt in on their mobile devices, the app and stationed beacons allow us to pinpoint the location of people on the floor plan within the PRPL office. As long as their phones are on, the app keeps track of their locations so that anyone participating can see where the others are, down to about a meter of accuracy.

Getting past interference

IoT, beacons, signal, interference, illustration

The biggest challenge with indoor positioning in general is signal disturbance. Outside with GPS, the signal is clear. Inside, there are pipes, electrical conduits, wifi signals, cell phones, and furniture cramping the signal strength of beacons (Exhibit B). Because of this, if you were only using Beacons, you’d need an extremely large and prohibitive number of them. We’re looking to turn the problem into the solution, experimenting with methods of using the EM interference from these other devices to generate a “noise map” of the area to compensate for differences in the signal strengths of the beacons.

What’s next

More than anything, our mobile application is a proof of concept and sandbox for us to test theories and ideas in the realm of the Internet of Things. With several beacons around the office, we’ve been testing the effectiveness of the app and imagining it in various environments and use cases for our clients and the world. While this particular app most likely will not be released publically, PRPL Labs is also exploring other opportunities with BLE technology, including incorporating a beacon into the Gifn setup. There are so many uses for beacons and IoT, we’ve only scratched the surface!

Innovating in the Office with IoT & Beacons

Launched: Lux Capital