BeaBeacon© is the natural evolution of my Advertently© ble scanner/connector: if i can scan for ble devices and connect to them to see their services, characteristics and descriptors, why can't i be a ble device myself and advertise? of course, i can. android supports legacy advertisements both as an ibeacon and as a generic ble peripheral. and with additional 3rd-party libraries, it can also broadcast in other beacon formats, eg, eddystone.
without being a member of the apple ecosphere - or applesphere, if you prefer - an ibeacon alone is somewhat limited, but android's support of the format does have its uses. the primary function of an ibeacon pertains to location and identification, and android's ibeacon allows for that.
broadcasting as a generic peripheral is a even more interesting. i was able to embed a "secret" message in its advertisement and then, using my Advertenty© scanner, decode that message. technically, any ble scanner can see any advertisement (unless hidden), but reading manufacturer specific data is another story. just as you would need access to apple's proprietary data, so access to my "proprietary" message format is required. the message, of course, could be anything within the limits of a legacy advertisement (eg, lat/lon coordinates, meeting place address, phone, etc). BeaBeacon© sets and broadcasts the message, Advertently© deciphers it. your handler could be sitting in a coffee shop sipping on a latte and broadcasting your instructions. you could stop on your e-bike outside, pick up your instructions broadcast to your phone and go on your merry way.
find attached 4 images demonstrating the project. first, we advertise as an ibeacon with major and minor values filled in. in this case, i've put 7 and 8. (if you don't know what the major and minor values do, you probably don't want to be an ibeacon.) the second image shows how the major/minor values appear in a ble scan. in the third image we advertise as a generic ble peripheral. a secret message has been keyed in. in the fourth image, we see how the secret message appears in a scan and how it is decoded (apologies for the poor quality of that image. the hex representation is wide and runs off the screen.)
UPDATE: i should have mentioned that, technically, android supports extended advertising, which allows you to broadcast a larger advertisement, but i don't believe you'll ever get it to work. not all devices support it, but even with those that claim to, you will be hard-pressed to get it to work.
without being a member of the apple ecosphere - or applesphere, if you prefer - an ibeacon alone is somewhat limited, but android's support of the format does have its uses. the primary function of an ibeacon pertains to location and identification, and android's ibeacon allows for that.
broadcasting as a generic peripheral is a even more interesting. i was able to embed a "secret" message in its advertisement and then, using my Advertenty© scanner, decode that message. technically, any ble scanner can see any advertisement (unless hidden), but reading manufacturer specific data is another story. just as you would need access to apple's proprietary data, so access to my "proprietary" message format is required. the message, of course, could be anything within the limits of a legacy advertisement (eg, lat/lon coordinates, meeting place address, phone, etc). BeaBeacon© sets and broadcasts the message, Advertently© deciphers it. your handler could be sitting in a coffee shop sipping on a latte and broadcasting your instructions. you could stop on your e-bike outside, pick up your instructions broadcast to your phone and go on your merry way.
find attached 4 images demonstrating the project. first, we advertise as an ibeacon with major and minor values filled in. in this case, i've put 7 and 8. (if you don't know what the major and minor values do, you probably don't want to be an ibeacon.) the second image shows how the major/minor values appear in a ble scan. in the third image we advertise as a generic ble peripheral. a secret message has been keyed in. in the fourth image, we see how the secret message appears in a scan and how it is decoded (apologies for the poor quality of that image. the hex representation is wide and runs off the screen.)
UPDATE: i should have mentioned that, technically, android supports extended advertising, which allows you to broadcast a larger advertisement, but i don't believe you'll ever get it to work. not all devices support it, but even with those that claim to, you will be hard-pressed to get it to work.
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