We have all experienced the annoyance of a waiter that has disappeared, whether it’s because you need menus, you’ve been waiting to place your order, and especially when you are in a rush to pay your bill. Rene Batsford, CEO andFounder of OrderPay, realized that ordering and paying haven’t really changed for 20 years and there was an opportunity to enhance operational effectiveness that ultimately results in happier customers. OrderPays aims to provide ‘a simple and seamless way to deliver ...
May 13, 2019•40 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast Something we talk about often on the Mr. Beacon Podcast is physical to digital convergence. The world of fashion is no stranger to this phenomenon. Apparel now has its own identity and retailers are creating experiences with IoT devices and augmented reality. The blending of fashion and technology is something our guest, Barry McGeough, has seen and been involved in first hand. Barry worked with Dr. Martins, at North Face, Speedo, and founder and former head of innovation at PVH: a portfolio of ...
May 01, 2019•42 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast This week on Mr. Beacon, we welcome back Dominque Guinard, CTO of Evrything, this time in his capacity as co-chair of the GS1 Digital Link Standard. The GSI Digital Link is defined as a “standard for web-enabling barcodes promises to enhance the shopping experience for consumers around the globe, while strengthening brand loyalty, improving supply chain traceability and efficiencies and bringing mobile phone scanning into the 21st century”. Today products are tagged for many reasons: compliance,...
Apr 08, 2019•22 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast Imagine a full solution, created with such ease of set up that businesses big and small alike could have a proximity marketing campaign set up in minutes - This has been Mobstac’s guiding principle. This week on Mr. Beacon, Ravi Pratap, CTO & co-founder of Mobstac, talks to us about why he believes that Bluetooth beacon applications are led by software. Ravi explains that proximity marketing, indoor location, and way finding will only be as successful as the quality of the software...
Mar 12, 2019•35 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast This week we welcome Bob Friday, CTO of Mist, back to The Mr. Beacon Podcast! On this episode, Bob gives us an updated on how Mist are using machine learning in the realm of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks. We discuss some of the recent Mist deployments at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Resort and The Veterans Department, and discuss the state of the Bluetooth ecosystem and where it is going. Find out why Bob thinks Bluetooth is going from a “nice to have” to a “must have”. If you missed the first episo...
Feb 26, 2019•25 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast This week on Mr. Beacon, we talk to Micha Benoliel, CEO of Nodle, a connectivity provider for the Internet of Things. Nodle has an impressive 4.3 million active nodes, and 78 million IoT devices connected to date. Nodle has built and continues to grow a network, based on Bluetooth Low Energy, that connects devices and collects their data. They have a unique approach of leveraging smartphone infrastructure to create availability for the network, crowdsourcing connectivity as Micha puts it. In thi...
Feb 15, 2019•40 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast This week we talk to the Wiliot engineers behind the first sticker sized battery free Bluetooth tag about how it works and the approach to its design. Wiliot envisions a world of smarter "Things" that can sell themselves and offer functionality not possible before. Apparel and pharmaceutical packaging become connected to the cloud. The Internet of Things can scale and offer real value as we understand where products are, who is using them and when they need to be replenished. Manufacturing...
Jan 29, 2019•13 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast Headquartered near Barcelona, Accent Systems’ main business is designing and developing tailored Bluetooth enabled IoT devices, from concept to an end-to-end solution. Accent Systems has worked with well-known brands such as Samsonite and Volkswagen, enabling them to offer unique services to their consumers through beacons technology. In this episode of Mr. Beacon, we talk to the CEO and Founder, Jordi Casamada about the evolution of the company over the past 11 years as well as the evolution in...
Dec 28, 2018•33 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast This week on Mr. Beacon we talk to Justin Zastrow, CEO, and Ira Hayes, CTO, of Smart Armor. Smart Armor builds controlled access points, in other words Bluetooth locking systems. The company was born out of creating a solution for locking medicine cabinets and measuring adherence to medication. Now they are finding many different applications where securing drawers and cabinets, and using your phone as the “key” using the Smart Armor Smart Cube is very useful. You can find their cube in Best Buy...
Dec 20, 2018•27 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast There doesn’t seem like a more perfect use of wayfinding services using Bluetooth beacons than in the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the United States – Mall of America. Janette Smrcka, Information Technology Director at Mall of America, took on the challenge of enabling users to locate and navigate effectively across 520 stores on 5 levels, spanning 4.3 miles, over 5.6 million square feet. In this Episode of Mr. Beacon, we talk with Janette about what beacons and “blue dot” provi...
Dec 04, 2018•9 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast With 300 million square feet, covering 35 countries, 100,000 beacons, and 200,000 connections per day, the French company Pole Star definitely deserves its recognition in the Beacosystem. In this episode, we talk with the Deputy General Manager & CTO of Pole Star, Jean-Baptiste Prost about use cases in their four main verticals. Polestar promises an enhanced user experience, engagement with visitors, and insight into how your spaced in used. Polestar can make any venue “smart” with indoor lo...
Nov 20, 2018•22 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast One of the essential ingredients to the infrastructure of many systems is a gateway - a device that connects ‘things’ to the cloud. In many cases, these ‘things’ are Bluetooth beacons! Rigado, one of the leaders in this space, produces a ‘edge-as-a-service’ infrastructure - wireless gateways and an edge computing platform. This infrastructure is used for Commercial IoT solutions, like asset tracking and in smart buildings. On this episode of Mr. Beacon, Rigado’s CTO, Justin Rigling, gives us ins...
Oct 16, 2018•11 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast On the August 24th, Estimote launched a first for the IoT industry, an LTE beacon. It leverages cellular LTE, GPS, and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity. This small device, fully programmable using JavaScript, was built on the idea of enabling asset tracking in both indoor and outdoor environments. Jakub Krzych, Estimote’s CEO, gives us a first look at this revolutionary product, how it works with the Estimote cloud, and their vision of empowering developers to “use the physical world as their c...
Aug 30, 2018•26 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast Meet the leading designer and maker of Bluetooth beacons in Italy, BlueUp. Partnered with Quuppa for next generation angle-of-arrival location, and supporting iBeacon and Eddystone, BlueUp offers beacons of all shapes and sizes, gateways, along with software and cloud services. As the number of beacons grow and they gain more and more visibility, new applications constantly appear and are even changing the way we talk about “beacons” or “tags”. This week we talk with Alessio Cucini, who has...
Jul 11, 2018•20 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast Asif Khan, Founder and President of the Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA), defines location based marketing as the intersection of people, places, and media. Asif through the LBMA shares the best of what is possible and inspires companies to think differently about the technology available to them. On this episode of Mr. Beacon, we talk pilots, surveys, trends, and end with a 3 layer cake that reveals what is essential to an effective location based marketing solution. Hosted on ...
Jul 03, 2018•15 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast ThinkInside is working with some of the most successful retailers and manufacturers in the world. Making physical space “smart” is their vision. CEO Iacopo Carreras discusses how his platform captures large volumes of very precise location data, which is used for operational advantage and to unlock insights into behavior. Problems with flow, layout, engagement, and sales can all be uncovered when looking at the complete buyers’ journey in the store, starting form when they pick up thei...
Jun 27, 2018•34 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast We all can relate to the feeling of an uncomfortable wristband, one that was fastened too tight, continuously scratching our wrists, or even too loose and falling off altogether. Personal identification, whether it be in healthcare, hospitality, or recreation, has yet to see many improvements either for the user or provider. Idion aims to change this by creating a skin-applied, hypoallergenic, and flexible personal identifier and platform using radio frequency technology. Michael Gilvary, co-fou...
Jun 11, 2018•18 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast From sporting goods to luxury items to cosmetics, there a massive problem with counterfeiting. This 1.7 billion dollar problem is a weighty pain point in most verticals. The health and safety consequences are serious, and misrepresentation of the brand image and quality is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of negative ramifications. On this week’s episode, we talk to Ross Mandel, CEO of VerifyItNow, about the business he built around finding a solution to this problem. We discuss the gro...
Jun 04, 2018•19 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast From sporting goods to luxury items to cosmetics, there a massive problem with counterfeiting. This 1.7 billion dollar problem is a weighty pain point in most verticals. The health and safety consequences are serious, and misrepresentation of the brand image and quality is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of negative ramifications. On this week’s episode, we talk to Ross Mandel, CEO of VerifyItNow, about the business he built around finding a solution to this problem. We discuss the gro...
Jun 04, 2018•19 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast A UK based nonprofit has created the first internationally recognized standard for accessible audio navigation - helping visually impaired people travel independently, removing barriers to employment and interacting with friends and family. With the number of visually impaired estimated to be 295 million and increasing, Wayfindr saw a lack of accessibility solutions and a lack of consistency which was impacting young people in particular. In order to fix the fragmentation created by different of...
May 30, 2018•41 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast This week on Mr. Beacon we are talking to a pioneer in the beacon space, Nathan Dunn, CEO of BlueCats. BlueCats has seen the progression of the real time location services industry first hand, starting with Ultra Wide Band technology followed by a integration of Bluetooth beacons and then the advent of iBeacon. The value of real time visibility was first realized in retail, focusing on how people were led to purchase decisions. BlueCat’s solutions have since spread over many verticals such as sp...
May 23, 2018•19 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast Grizzly Analytics is recognized as one of the world’s leading analysts focused on location technologies and IoT, based on their technical expertise and hands on approach to evaluating vendor claims. On this episode of Mr. Beacon, we talk with Bruce Krulwich, Grizzly’s founder, about the current landscape of location technologies, how the different offerings are evolving, and expectations of the future. We talk Bluetooth beacons, Ultra Wide Band, Ultrasound, SLAM, Machine Vision, and more. ...
May 08, 2018•33 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast Gavin Neate has made several careers out of helping others. After ten years of service in The Royal Air Force, he spent 18 years as a Guide Dog Mobility Instructor. Then he founded Neatebox, building on his knowledge and experience of working with those who are visually impaired. Since starting Neatebox, he has launched two products using beacon technology, ‘Button’ and ‘Welcome’. Both aim to help in the day to day life of the 13 million people with disabilities”. In this episode, we talk to Gav...
May 01, 2018•38 min•Ep 71•Transcript available on Metacast With the European Union’s new data protection law going into effect imminently, it's driving a flurry of changes from businesses based inside and outside the EU, racing to comply and avoid new levels of financial penalties. Jarno Vanto, a cybersecurity lawyer and partner at the law firm Polsinelli, gives us insight on what The General Data Protection Regulation entails, who it applies to, and the implications of not complying. Here is what you need to know before May 25, 2018. Hosted on Ac...
Apr 24, 2018•31 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast Connecthings is in the business of enabling public transport solutions for Smart Cities using a combination of Beacons, NFC and QR Code technologies. We talk to their CEO, Laetitia Gazel Anthoine, about how her company has achieved success in an area where few have survived. For more interviews and articles from the author of Beacon Technologies see https://www.mister-beacon.com/interviews Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 16, 2018•31 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast If your pipes could speak, what would they tell you? If your bottle of whiskey could ask questions, what would it ask you? FeelIt’s advancements in sensor technology are enabling objects to become “smarter” - reaching new levels of self-awareness. CEO and co-founder, Gady Konvalina describes the Nanotechnology-based sensors they have created with the ability to sense structural formation, movement, and weight. With the help of beacons and cloud services, these sensors can give pipes the ability ...
Feb 26, 2018•18 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast 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 un...
Feb 19, 2018•23 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast 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 comp...
Feb 12, 2018•42 min•Ep 66•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...
Feb 05, 2018•27 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast 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 exp...
Jan 29, 2018•35 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast 
