This is great! So are iBeacons but NOT for shopping.
It's good to see Samsung remembering the members of society who struggle, daily, as they make it through their days.
Over the recent Lunar vacation a friend was 'dumpster diving' in a tech park and came across a dumpster that was filled with TP-Link WiFi modems - too cheap to fix and to expensive to return to factory. Half-a-day later and many beers we transferred possession to my company office.
We have managed to get many basically functional, sufficient for our needs which are as a WiFi transmitter which can send out a code and a 30-second message intended to advise sight-challenged people where they are, or near a shop or facility.
Then came iBeacon.
Regardless of whether WiFi or Bluetooth - they can both perform the function of notification. With the now ubiquitous intelligent cell handset these limited distance signals can trigger a very simple App that shakes the cell handsets 'booty' and then annunciates the message.
We aren't too swift with pretty looking UI but who needs that when they can't see the screen!
The pre-amble code is used to identify the signal as a guide rather than an advert and could, with work on the App make announcements based on a database within the cell handset. This database can contain messages in alternate languages using only the transmitted code.
We have forty-three out now, all solar powered.
Mounting them is a breeze. With a store owners permission, we simply put a 'splodge' of construction adhesive on the rear of the case and, using a modified squeegee mop, affix it on the building high enough to make it impossible for some thieving b*stard to steal. They can be removed by using the butchered squeegee mop to loosen the glue.
We have also been able to purchase Bluetooth transmitters that have failed specification tests but basically just work for around 50 cents each, but they lack cases.
Thanks, industry folks who want to go nameless, for your support, schematics and repair tips!
Could you do this in YOUR community?