[djgagnon]

Hey ARIS Folks!

A few weeks ago, based on work we are doing with Minnesota Historical Society, we released a version of ARIS that has a new trigger for using iBeacons.

If you don't know, iBeacons are little bluetooth LE devices, that can be purchased for about $14 from amazon (see https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JJ4P864?psc=1) that allow for super accurate INDOOR location detection.

I'd love to hear if anyone is using this new feature and what your experience is. I'd also like to invite someone to help us write up the documentation for this new trigger type in manual.arisgames.org.

Thanks all. Enjoy iBeacons!

David

[Steve]

Hi David

I am trying to use an iBeacon as a trigger but nothing happens.

I have the Beacon UUID, Major and Minor entered to trigger a plaque. Other apps on my phone and laptop "see" the beacon, but not within ARIS.

Does this feature work with the current ARIS app? Or is there something else I need to configure to get this working?

Thanks!

[djgagnon]

I assume you are using the newest App Store version, though anything higher than 2.2.2 has support for ibeacons.

We've tested with iPad mini, iPod touch 5th gen and iPhone 6. What device are you using? What iOS?

This is a new feature so I wouldn't doubt if we have some compatibility issues to work though.

David

[Steve]

ARIS 2.3.2, latest iOS on an iPhone SE

The beacon is one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/a3o/Avvel-Be ... 01DU5XCFQ/

[djgagnon]

Thanks for speaking up. This was actually caused by an issue in the editor that is now resolved.

Please give it a try and report back.

David

[Steve]

Wonderful, it works perfectly now!

Thanks for such a speedy fix! Much appreciated.

[chrish]

I'm just starting to play around with this beacon stuff too and am running into trouble. I'm working with a radbeacon, using the current app store version of aris, and what happens is that the game that the beacon trigger is in will not load. It gets to "fetching game lists" and then aris crashes. The trigger in question is locked when the game begins. I can load other games fine.

Any ideas of how to troubleshoot? Does the UUID need to be formatted in a specific fashion? Do the hexadecimal letters need to be uppercase?

[whitlew]

I am experiencing the same problem. Latest ARIS version, iPhone 6 plus, and the beacon is a Bluegiga model BLED112 I believe.

[whitlew]

I was able to resolve this by finding the UUID number that was specific to the iBeacons I am using. I am using RadBeacons, which require an app to be downloaded onto your smartphone. The app finds any RadBeacons and gives the details (including the UUID) about that beacon. Then it was simply taking that number and putting it in ARIS.

Thanks!

[chrish]

I thought I had done this correctly. Did you format the uuid in any particular way (capitals, dashes)? Any other details that might help me troubleshoot? Which proximity choice did you make and have you tried them all? I did start the game within range of the beacon, but I don't now if I'm just imagining possible problems here.