Thanks to the internet of things, Bluetooth low energy is giving rise to plenty of smart devices that enhance communication efficiency. Bluetooth low energy is a vastly used low power connectivity in the modern world. Many businesses and industrial applications have popularized the technology making it easy for companies to improve their security compliance.
But what is BLE? Bluetooth low energy refers to a wireless low energy personal area connection that links devices over a relatively short range and operates in the 2.4GHz ISM band. It was designed with the internet of things applications in mind; therefore, it favors low energy use than constant data transfer.
It is good to mention something about the principle behind the BLE technology. A device can only work in a central or a peripheral role; therefore, no two central or peripheral devices can communicate. To overcome that limitation, many devices have both central and peripheral modes configured, such as smartphones.
Let’s look at everyday use cases for Bluetooth low energy.
Employee safety
You can use the BLE system to keep your employees safe by implementing panic buttons and fall detection systems. Employees working in high-risk departments such as bank clerks and hotel staff can use panic buttons to discreetly call for help whenever they feel threatened, for instance, when they encounter a suspicious customer.
Thanks to location tracking, the system can alert the security personnel and show them where the person is. For fall detection, you can also use BLE tags with movement sensors in nursing homes and construction sites. When the BLE tag detects a fall, it can automatically send alerts with information about who is in danger and where so that help is sent as fast as possible.
Asset tracking
Besides tracking people, BLE tags come in handy for tracking assets. It is as simple as attaching the BLE tag om the item you want to monitor. You can track how they move or, with RTLS software, ensure they are where they should be, for example, carts in a shopping mall.
In logistics, BLE tags help track cargo, while in medical industries, they can track essential supplies so that you can efficiently locate them in emergencies. In IT, you can use BLE to monitor equipment and determine where, when, and how it is used to introduce optimizations and ensure it stays in the office. For instance, laptops with critical company data.
Indoor location monitoring
You can use BLE for accurate position when GPS doesn’t seem to work, and that is indoors. BLE-equipped devices such as beacons can broadcast data to all the devices in the surrounding. Then, devices capable of capturing data, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, can relay the access points and determine the beacons’ positions.
For instance, BLE systems are handy for indoor navigation systems in shopping malls to provide customers with GPS-like indoor mapping that can simplify navigating their preferred shop. Furthermore, you can use the technology to identify nearby customers and advertise your best deals via push notifications for more targeted marketing.
Contact tracing
Occupancy management is one of the critical priorities for businesses which explains why indoor positioning has gained more importance. You can use BLE-based solutions for contact tracing on your premises to enhance security and keep your employees safe.
In this case, people coming in and out of a particular area get a simple single-use BLE tag that gathers real-time data on where they go and who they contact. If someone in the office has an infectious sickness, it can collect data and identify who is exposed to efficiently contain the outbreak. At the same time, it doesn’t keep any data considered an invasion of privacy.
Location-based services can identify how people move around and where they often gather, giving you heat maps for the frequently visited places. You can use the information to manage occupancy, keep everyone safe, and repurpose underutilized spaces.
Fitness trackers
Since the Bluetooth technology is used in smartphones, tablets, and laptops, that explains why we can easily pair them with personal devices such as fitness trackers and other smart appliances. that is one of the common uses of BLE that has popularized the technology.
Today, we have wearable smart bands that can effectively measure your heartbeat, monitor your steps, and relay that information to your smartphone. The drawback is that they drain the battery life a lot faster, where BLE-based solutions come in. BLE offers the perfect way to save energy, making it ubiquitous for smart devices.
THE WRAP-UP
Bluetooth low energy is valuable for many virtual environments, making it preferable over other low power systems. It is a recognized and applied power standard network that doesn’t require complicated hardware to be deployed. The best part is that developers are constantly advancing Bluetooth low energy to perfect it to meet the evolving needs of consumers.
