Mister Beacon

Most people these days are familiar with the Internet of Things, at least in concept – but when we speak of the web of things, we are speaking of an entirely different, though related issue. On this episode of Mr. Beacon, Stephen talks with Dominique Guinard, CTO of Evrythng, a company that helps brands create and establish digital links with their products. There are many reasons for this kind of technological integration into physical products and the two of them discuss the issues behind a unique identifier approach to product development and distribution. This is a fascinating conversation about where the world of products is headed, so make sure you listen.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

RFID vs Bluetooth - It's a debate that will go on for some time as the technologies continue to improve and change. In this conversation with Mike Kastner we dive into the controversy to discover if there are any ways that we can understand the two technologies comparatively without feeling that we have to jettison either one. It's a lively conversation that focuses on the pros and cons of each technology and the wide range of applications that can be considered for each one. If you or your company is looking for the right technology to meet a new situation you're facing, this episode should be very helpful for you.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Personal Asset Tracking has been one of the great success stories of the Beacosystem. Companies like Stick-N-Find, Trackr and Tile were some of the first vendors and they have been selling many millions of beacons. Haystack Magic is a new challenger to the approach these incumbents have used, with a software solution that uses lower cost general purpose beacons. The Haystack Magic user interface is designed to use the way the human mind works to track things.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As we consider what is known as The Internet of Things, RAIN RFID is one of the technologies that will undoubtedly be an integral part of IOT moving forward. Will there be a day when actual things such as sweaters and socks are identified via electronic technologies?  Steve Halliday, president of the RAIN IFID Association says he has no doubt about it. In this great conversation, Steve shares a great deal of information about what RAIN is capable of doing now and looks into the future to explain possibilities that are not too far off. It's an intriguing conversation that's well worth the time it takes for you to listen.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can you even imagine any reason your motor oil would need to be a connected product? To stretch your thinking a bit more, how about pharmaceuticals? These are some of the cutting edge examples of how connectivity in packaging and everyday products is making a difference both to the consumer and the cost and production inherent in bringing those products to market.In this episode of Mr. Beacon, Steve talks with Marcin Pilarz, CEO of Talkin’ Things, a company that integrates connected technologies with everyday products. In this conversation you will hear why this particular application of NFC technology is beneficial, the particular hurdles encountered when implementing it - especially with well-established brands, and how the industry is poised to grow in the next few years.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Creating an app that can be the remote control for a venue is an art and a science. Venuetize have developed and acquired technologies for just that purpose that are unusual and distinctive. Venuetize's CTO has unparalleled experience in creating successful mobile apps that predate the advent of the Apple App Store. Listen to his case studies and lessons learned.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A wave of multi-level marketing (MLM) firms are creating beacon offerings, putting Bluetooth beacons in the hands of business people completely unfamiliar with the technology. We find out what's happening, who is using the technology, the problems and the opportunities by talking to Victoria Gonzalez, a solopreneur who has been figuring out how to make beacons work for her small businesses.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Water.io is a pioneer in augmenting packaging with Bluetooth sensors, opening up new user experiences and business models while giving us a preview of what is to come. We talk to Kobi Bentkovski, CEO and co-founder, about how their system works and the implications of this transformation in how products are delivered.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A masterclass / case study from Markus Wulff of the Absolut Company on how his team integrated the digital world with the physical (bottles of Malibu) using RFID to engage their customers. Recorded after his awesome presentation at the @Active Intelligent Packaging Industry Association conference in Amsterdam.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Understanding where the beacon market will go is critical for entrepreneurs and solution designers. In a market this complex, it's also very difficult to do. We have the privilege of talking to some amazing players in the beacon ecosystem, which helps inform our annual forecast. In this episode, we focus on our assessment of what's happened in 2017 plus some key predictions for the future.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#56 – Real Time Location Systems have been considered rare and exotic technology deployments until recently. Bluetooth is changing all that, in a way that is sparking a wave of innovation–not just in high tech, but in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, hospitals and office buildings around the world. We talk with the person that literally wrote the book on RTLS, Ajay Malik.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bill Davidson has a unique perspective from his positions as a VC, CAO at Global Foundries, SVP of Marketing & Investor Relations at Qualcomm and his early days working for the Bell co. that would become Verizon. He shares the story of his career in what evolved into IoT and first hand experience implementing some of the early wireless use cases that have resurfaced again.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#54 – Museums, despite being associated with the past, have been at the leading edge of Bluetooth beacon adoption. We visited Dieter Fenkart-Fröschlt, COO of the San Diego Museum of Art and talked about what drove their investment in a beacon-enabled app, how they approached it and what the business benefits have been.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bluetooth Mesh is perhaps the biggest thing to happen to IoT since Bluetooth Low Energy sparked the revolution of beacon technology, wearables and thousands of other connected products. Szymon Slupik, CTO of Silvair and Chair of the Bluetooth Mesh Working Group at Bluetooth SIG explains what the release of this new standard means, what mesh is, why it was necessary and the applications that it enables.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#52 – Bluetooth connects millions of IoT nodes, but who are the people behind the standard, where did it come from, and where is it going? Most importantly, how can we influence or understand it better? Mark Powell, Executive Director of the Bluetooth SIG answers these questions and many more.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Erik Bjontegard has been a pioneer in using #IoT technologies to develop a context platform, and has the customers and partners to prove it. He explains the strategy he's used as a serial entrepreneur, what the Spark Compass platform does, and the metrics it yields for specific customers of his.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Acquiring location data is challenging, but how do you monetize it? Verve is one of the few companies who have been able create a successful location based ad network using billions of location data points. We talk to Brian Dunphy, a veteran of Qualcomm, Gimbal and now Verve about what it takes to be successful in this market.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have you figured out how to make your apps successful? Research shows that over the past four years, the percentage of companies that do has jumped from 10% to 90%. But having such a strategy does not guarantee success. Phunware have a unique track record of success powering apps from Netflix, NBC Sports and Fox to Cisco and even NFL stadiums. This week, Phunware CEO Alan Knitowski deep dives into every major aspect of what it takes to be successful in mobile apps.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How are big data and the IoT reshaping the shipping industry? We sat down with the Chief Business Officer of Alpha Ori, Sam Jha, to learn how they're helping steer their customers toward smart shipping. Don't miss this fascinating episode, our first to deal with pirates and autonomous ships!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What is the state of the Internet of Things? What are some examples of IoT gone wrong and which companies are getting it right? We sat down with former Qualcomm and Intel IoT strategist Aidoo Osei and tapped into his well-informed insights on what IoT is now and where it's going in the future.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.