A beacon is a small Bluetooth transmitter that repeatedly transmits a signal that other devices can see. A Bluetooth-equipped device, once enabled, can “see” a beacon once it’s in range.
In our case, the reader at the school is the Bluetooth-equipped device that sees the beacon once it’s in range and our software in the reader knows to send a notification to the registered parent / carer once the beacon has been detected (on arrival), or no longer detected (on departure).
The Bluetooth beacon is fitted to each registered child’s bicycle or scooter (1 per child). When the child passes through the Bluetooth reader located at the bicycle cage, the reader will send a push notification to the parent/carer.
The beacon is not a tracking device and is only recording arrival and departures from the school bike cage. This is when the push notification is sent to the parent or carer.
Beacons are electronic equipment, and this program is a trial. The program relies on electricity, Bluetooth, batteries and telecommunications to deliver push notifications, and as such cannot be guaranteed.