Bluetooth beacon specialist Estimote has released a new app designed to let developers build products based around indoor location.

The iBeacon-compatible software product, known as Estimote Indoor Location, works with the company’s existing beacons enabling easy set-up for indoor mapping and the ability to deliver contextual features to mobile apps.

The latest feature set is currently only available for iOS, requires a minimum of four devices to define an indoor space, and generates a code snippet that can be integrated into a company’s mobile app.

As manufacturers of BLE beacons and software management platforms, Estimote prides itself on building comprehensive products for indoor location that include hardware, firmware, mobile and cloud APIs. Estimote Indoor Location is a “developer-focused approach … providing simple and elegant mobile tools that offload difficult calibration work.”

The new features can provide detailed indoor traffic analytics about visitors and customer paths. In addition, mobile apps could used to track customer engagement and purchase conversion.

Indeed the market for beacons and sensor-based technology for retailers is heating up with a recent announcement from Macy’s that it’s adding 4,000 iBeacon devices to 786 stores across the country. Managed through a Shopkick app, the program is intended to send special offers and popular deals to nearby shoppers with smartphones.

Privacy concerns, especially for retailers, remains an important factor in the growth of the indoor location market. Estimote is taking these concerns seriously. As stated on the blog: “Estimote Indoor Location and beacon technology work as an entirely opt-in consumer experience, gated through an app’s permission layers – meaning this is about building value-add contextual features into your mobile apps, not creepily tracking users real-life locations without their permission.”

In August, Estimote introduced tiny beacon stickers, dubbed “nearables.” These three millimeter-thick adhesives can be attached to everyday objects to monitor and relay data about location, temperature and motion.

Categories: Articles, Mobile + Location

Tags: Macy's, iOs, iBeacon, Estimote Indoor Location