Estimote Beacons are small devices broadcasting a Bluetooth signal that can be picked up by nearby devices (usually a smartphone). The true power of beacons, though, lies with the powerful software that allows you to build extraordinary apps for almost any kind of use case.
An overwhelming amount of beacon use cases are built with Proximity technology. It’s all about your apps interacting with places of interest - sculptures in a museum, stores in a mall, machines in a factory or check-in gates in an airport. You can use beacons to tag those places and build an app that can scan for those particular items. The moment they’re detected on Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as iOS or Android smartphones, all kinds of events can be triggered.
Learn more about how beacons work here.
With beacons and your dedicated app, you can monetize your ideas, increase employees’ productivity, attract new customers (and retain the old ones) and more!
Here’s everything you need to know to get started with Estimote and our Proximity technology:
What is possible with Estimote technology?
Lots of things! Many of our customers push contextual notifications to users as they enter their stores or venues. Others trigger software automation (logging visits, taking orders, launching machines, etc) as users enter specific zones. Many use cases were built also with loyalty programs in mind or to personalize experiences. Many companies have even made their offices interactive with the use of beacons.
All those experiences are possible with Proximity Beacons and Proximity SDK. If you want to explore more use cases, check out this article.
There are also other technologies we offer as part of our Proof of Concept packages. Those allow you to:
- help people navigate around any space and optimize the experience for them
- track assets and robots
- display contextual information on nearby screens
...and more! Tell us about your idea so we can advise further.
How do I get started
- Get a development kit of Proximity Beacons from our website. It includes four brand new beacons that come with Proximity SDK to build your first app. You'll have them delivered within a few business days, no matter where you live.
- Create an account in the Estimote Cloud. Make sure you use the same email address that you used to place the order and the beacons will be automatically assigned to you.
- Once the beacons arrive, download the Estimote app for iOS or Android and try out the Proximity demo. It showcases how beacons work in practice.
- Use one of the templates to start building your first app or just download the Proximity SDK for iOS or Android. Curious why Proximity SDK is the best choice? We’ve covered it here!
- Read through our Developer Docs, look for answers to your questions on Community Portal and interact with our community on the Forums.
Frequently asked questions:
- Can I use beacons if I'm not a developer?
Yes, you can, but the options are quite limited. We recommend hiring a developer or using one of the existing solutions. Check out this article for some tips.
- Do I need an app?
To build a successful use case, you definitely need an app. Check out the docs and templates to learn how to build one or reach out to us so we can give you advice.
- Can I use beacons with React Native / Xamarin / Cordova / other platforms?
We’ve built our SDKs w/ Android and iOS in mind, adding Android Things and Raspberry Pi on the way. We've also created some wrappers for Xamarin or React Native that might be helpful to integrate beacons but they are outside of our regular software offering - feedback appreciated! On top of that, there are some 3rd party resources that should work with our beacons (but we can’t guarantee they will). You’ll find some of them here.
- What kind of support do you provide?
We provide email support for all our clients. We also provide premium support which can include jumping on a call with you or even assigning a dedicated field engineer to make a visit. Premium support is included in our Proof of Concept and all subscription plans. To learn more about this offer, get in touch with us!
- Are there any example apps I can use?
App templates and the Proximity demo are the way to go. You’ll see how to send notifications or log visits both in the foreground and background. The code is available in
- Where can I find the SDKs and the documentation?
All our SDKs are available at https://github.com/Estimote/ We recommend Proximity SDK for any new applications as it’s the most reliable option that we have (and it’s getting better & better with every new update). iOS SDK and Android SDK are no longer maintained.
Our documentation is available at https://developer.estimote.com/ Check also API documentation at https://cloud.estimote.com/docs/ and the docs of each respective SDK.