At Danavation Technologies, we are always striving to ensure our automation offers the best experience for both business and consumer. While some in our industry use different protocols to communicate with the electronic shelf labels, we favour BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology to support our Digital Smart Label™ systems. Given BLE’s minimal energy consumption and ability to run BLE-enabled devices on small batteries for extended periods of time and still share, transfer, or exchange data, the benefits of this product are evident. Not everyone knows or understands what exactly BLE is or how it works. Below, we will provide a concise explanation, explaining the benefits and how it compliments our Digital Smart Labels™ technology so effectively.
What is BLE?
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology is a communication protocol for sending and receiving data via a wireless link. It’s secure, and is perfect for short-range, low-power, low-cost, wireless transmission between electronic devices – ideal for Danavation’s® Digital Smart Label™ systems. According to Sparkfun, BLE is an excellent choice for wirelessly transmitting relatively small amounts of data over a short range, as well as a wireless replacement for communication interfaces.
Oftentimes, the most overlooked factor when comparing electronic shelf label vendors is the type of wireless technology that is being used. Metal shelving, organic goods, and liquids are the enemy of wireless communication technology. When Danavation® designed our system from scratch, we had a choice to use any of the wireless protocols available. After extensive research we settled on BLE, a far superior protocol for this technology.
What are the benefits of Bluetooth Low Energy?
The introduction of BLE technology as a wireless standard for the electronic shelf label market is helping to unlock the next phase in retail digital transformation to deliver positive benefits for both businesses and their customers.
BLE was built from the ground up for today’s fast-growing IoT devices and offers the lowest signal interference possible. When not in use, BLE switches off between transmissions allowing devices to communicate effectively at a fraction of the power therefore extending Danavation’s® products’ long life value proposition. Generally, our batteries are rated for about 3,600 updates. For context that’s a 10 year battery life, with 1 update a day.
ABI Research predicts that more than five billion Bluetooth enabled devices will ship in 2023 alone, and that Bluetooth electronic shelf label developers will benefit from the economies of scale that Bluetooth technology affords. “Retailers are increasingly looking towards Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to help them deliver operational efficiencies, increase conversion, and to encourage customers to return to stores. However, some retailers have been hesitant to adopt electronic shelf label technologies due to concerns over vendor lock-in, interoperability, scalability, and the ability to extend this to other smart retail initiatives,” explains Andrew Zignani, Research Director at ABI Research. “The introduction of the Bluetooth electronic shelf label standard will help reduce potential obstacles for retailers looking to invest in IoT technologies and accelerate adoption and innovation.”
For more information on Bluetooth and electronic shelf labels technologies by visiting https://www.bluetooth.com/learn-about-bluetooth/use-cases/electronic-shelf-labels/. For information on Danavation® and to learn more about our adaptation and use of BLE technology, please visit https://danavation.com/digital-smart-labels/ or contact us directly.
