Nordic collaborates with Google to launch SDK

Like Eddystone, Eddystone-EID is capable of working across Android and iOS devices but is now designed to protect user privacy and security in sensitive applications by broadcasting secure beacon signals, including website address URLs, using what's termed a 'rotating ephemeral identifier'.

This will allow Eddystone-EID beacon manufacturers to manage access to beacons to avoid unpermitted access, and guard against various potential types of malicious attack to which beacons can be prone including spoofing, malicious asset tracking, and replay attacks.

The Nordic Semiconductor 'nRF5 SDK for Eddystone' is available now and allows the immediate development of Eddystone-EID beacons to provide real-world context to users in a huge variety of proximity-based beacon applications. The Nordic nRF5 SDK for Eddystone also features a GATT configuration that allows Eddystone beacons to be configured from a smartphone.

The SDK is designed for Nordic's latest nRF52832 / nRF52 Series Bluetooth Smart Systems-on-Chips (SoCs). A future upgrade will also allow existing Nordic nRF51 Series or nRF52832-based Eddystone beacons to be updated to the latest Eddystone-EID secure capabilities via a straightforward over-the-air firmware update.

"Beacons are a core building block of the IoT and the wider trend towards making everyday objects smart," comments Reidar Martin Svendsen, Product Manager, Nordic Semiconductor Technical. "Security and privacy has been a concern with today's beacon formats. The Eddystone-EID opens up new possibilities to use beacons in sensitive applications where the data obtained could be used maliciously.

"In addition, the ability of the Eddystone beacon format to broadcast URLs opens up endless opportunities. A simple example would be giving advertising posters the ability to broadcast a relevant web address to smartphones nearby to make it very easy for anyone interested to find out more about the advertised product or service without having to download an app first.

"This kind of app-free, interaction-on-demand service would be applicable to almost any kind of device or 'thing' that would benefit from being made 'smarter' including vending machines, public information points, tourist attractions, toys, bus stops, and parking meters. In fact the potential application list is vast and will only grow over time."