,
5 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
So after the Apple announcement yesterday, I'm trying to figure out "Bluetooth Low Energy". Sniffing the beacons, it seems like we are surrounded by them, bathed in bluetooth radiation. What's generating them all and why? 
So I'm hanging out in a bar. That screenshot is a Raspberry Pi Zero W simply running "hcitool lescan" to receive these beacons. In the screenshot, you see a "Tile" trakcer and a FitBit "Versa" watch, and a bunch of other stuff.
My evening walk through the neighborhood sees tons of devices
Note that this isn't old Bluetooth trying to "pair" with devices. There's only discoverable device using classic Bluetooth near be. Instead, these are BLE "beacons".
Yes, one use is advertising, with stores putting specialized "beacon" transmitters that'll interact with your iPhone/Android app. That's a thing, but is a small percentage of what I'm seeing.
