Physical webInside & outIoT meetup Tehran University

Navid Ardakanian

CTO and Co-founder

Radical Proximity

In this meetup, we will discuss the Physical Web and Web

Bluetooth: two unrelated but highly complimentary technologiesthat enable us to create signposts and pathways between the

web and physical world.

The number of smart devices is goingto explode, and the assumption thateach new device will require its ownapplication just isn't realistic.

We need a system that lets anyoneinteract with any device at any time…[this] isn’t about replacing native apps,it’s about enabling interaction whennative apps just aren't practical.

— Scott Jenson, Physical Web Lead, Google

1. A brief history

5

The Physical Web isn’t our first attempt to place digital markers

within the physical world. Most older approaches in fact are still in

use as they serve slightly different use cases.

QR codes (Japan, 1994)Invented for use in retail but rapidlyadopted across industries.

Advantages

• Cheap to implement and distribute.• Can hold up to 1000 bytes of data.• Easily discoverable.

Disadvantages• Hard to scan from a distance.• Many people think they’re ugly.• Most people (outside Asia) don’t

have a QR code reader.

British Airways NFC + e-paper baggage tag prototype

RFID, NFC (1983, 2002)• Both employ radio signals to exchange data between nearby objects.Advantage• Proximity often requires explicit user action, which improves trust, and makes these technologies idealfor payment and identification. Disadvantage• Poor discoverability. Must be signposted or rely on learnedbehavior.

Proximity marketing 1.0 (2004)• A small server broadcasts short

messages, images, mp3s etc. intoa space using Bluetooth.

Disadvantage

• Anyone nearby with Bluetoothturned on received the broadcast.

• Was mostly used for advertisingso became a form of spam (whichforced many people to shutBluetooth off).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/voyages-provence/13541325644

Apple iBeacon (2013)

• Small battery powered Beaconsbroadcast messages to iOS + Androidapps using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

• Only the app that matches the beaconID recognizes the broadcast.

Advantage• Users aren’t bombarded with messages

from brands they don’t already have a

relationship with.

Disadvantage• Users without the specific app that matches

the beacon can’t discover/take advantage

of the data or service it provides.

*kontakt.io beacon shown

iBeacon On iOS, a user’s app will automaticallyreceive a broadcast each time it passes by abeacon—even if the app is in backgroundmode or switched off.

Advantage

• If a user walks by several beacons, it’stherefore possible track their path and useit to trigger location-relevant offers ornotifications (i.e. a user’s gate numberwhen they enter the airport).

Disadvantage

• Potential privacy concerns.• Even if the user likes a brand,

automatically triggered notifications canrapidly become annoying.

The goal of the Physical Web isn’t to replace these technologies,

but to address some of their challenges by leveraging the ‘super-

powers’ of URLs and the open, flexible, decentralised and

universally supported web.

2. How does the Physical Web work?

15

The Physical Web (PW) is an open-source* project. Google

initiated the technology, and has the most widespread

implementation (~800m devices) through Chrome on Android and

iOS—but there’s already a large ecosystem of other contributors.

It’s all open source!

*Visit GitHub to download the source and/or contribute to these conversations.

1. The beacon(a thing that

broadcasts a URL)

2. The scanner/browser(a thing that scans for, retrieves

and displays a list of URLs)

3. Proxy(user advocate)

The Physical Web is pretty simple—it has three partsThe specifications for all three are open source.

optional cloud

service

many beacons also includesome form of remotemanagement app

What is a beacon?This beacon is by Estimote (but there are many others)

low-cost, long-life(~2yrs) battery or

other power source

many sizes and

form factors

BLE radio transmitter

(intermittently on, sips powercompared to regular BT)

A beacon’s (only) job is to repeatedly* transmit

a signal that other devices can see.

The message itself is transmitted using a BLE

‘advertising packet’, a standard broadcast

format limited to 17 bytes.

Once in range, Bluetooth-equipped devices like

a smartphone can “see” the beacon and

receive its broadcast (if BT is switched on).

*recommended every 700 milliseconds

What it does

broadcast range

Unidirectional broadcast

The Bluetooth ‘advertising’ function

is by-design unidirectional.• A single beacon can advertise to

multiple nearby smartphones but

these devices cannot send data backto the beacon.

• Beacons also cannot physicallydetect when clients scans them socannot track passers-by.

smart (and otherwise dumb) things around us

Permanently

broadcasts “I love you”

Turn me

off from a

distancehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/naan/2398024748

Change my

colour!

…in the near future, the ability

to broadcast URLs could also be

attached or embedded into all sorts of

Check what materials

i’m made of when

Craigslisting me.

Understand how

I work and where

to recycle me

2. The scanner/browserAs the beacons broadcast URLs, the most common scanners are

(and will probably remain?) web browsers.

ChromeAndroid + iOS

~800M devices

Opera(Labs browsers)

Mozilla(Beta)

Microsoft Edge(coming soon)

Safari Mobile????

Unlike iBeacon, there ishowever no backgroundscanning. All scanning forURLs must be user-initiated.

As the Physical Web is new,

users will probably not scanunless they’re aware of nearbycontent, or notice the logo.

(This is how the ‘normal’ web began as

well :-)

…displayed in order

Tapping the notification displays a list ofall beacons within range, showing theirURL, page title, description and favicon*.

If there are beacons nearby, they will see alow priority (no vibration) notification.

*see this article for details of metadata retrieval in each browser

How do you ‘scan’ (in Chrome)(Behaviour varies by browser)

A user opens their Android Notification

screen or Today Widget on iOS.

https://webPage.io

And then…?That’s (technically) it. The beacon’s job is done. All subsequent

interactions between the user and brand take place ‘on the web’.

https://shortURL.io

user taps to load the

page (on the internet

—the beacon does

not serve the page)

The proxy sits in between the beacon and the user. A proxy is

optional but serves two important purposes: improve

performance and protect the user.

The Chrome proxy is called the Physical Web Service (PWS).

Other browsers have a similar (but probably not identical) service.

3. The proxy

*more details on the PWS and its role

https://shortURL.io1

What it does(based on Google’s PWS…each proxy is a bit different)

parses the

document to

extract

metadata

2

• final URL

• page title

• description

• favicon

BEACONS BOOKMARKTOP SITES

Haro Sushi and Izakayaharo-sushi.com

Hons on Robsonhons-noodles.com

analysis +

optimisation

4

Search or enter address

1 https://shortURL.io

one-way broadcast

What it does(based on Google’s PWS…each proxy is a bit different)

parses the

document to

extract

metadata3

2

• final URL

• page title

• description

• favicon

Masks the user’s device information from a web site until the

user has chosen to interact with it.

Ensures site doesn’t contain SPAM or malicious content.

De-duplication*

If several beacons with the same URL are used within a space

the user's will only see one URL.

Optimisation

Augments and enriches the basic results to improve usefulness

and usability. e.g. sorting, ranking and filtering for relevance

User benefits

*Chrome only (for now)

Miscellaneous FAQ

HTTPS only (on Chrome*)

All communications between your browser and the website areencrypted.

All interactions are ‘on the web’

Once a user selects a site, all subsequent interactions take place

on the web so automatically conform to privacy-preserving

behaviours such as opting-in to enable geolocation or web

notifications.

Q: Are any other user safeguards built in?

*For now. Other scanners will hopefully emulate this.

No. There are many ways to broadcast a URL. Today, the Physical

Web uses BLE because of its ubiquity on mobile devices today.

Additionally, it is highly energy efficient—many bluetooth beacons

today have multi-year battery lives.

The hope however, is that other useful formats will be supported.

Two strong candidates are mDNS and uPnP—transport protocols

that enables users who are logged into wi-fi to discover beacons

broadcasting on that same wi-fi network.

Q: Will/does the Physical Web only support BLE?

See Github for the latest discussions on mDNS

An outstanding issue with wi-fi based protocols is that the devices

that are most likely to broadcast this way (e.g. TVs, printers, smart

home appliances) will most likely broadcast a local IP address

rather than a public URL.

The (cloud-based) proxy will therefore not be able to follow this link

to retrieve the page title and description, perform customary security

checks, or further optimise the discovery experience.

Challenges with wi-fi based discovery

See Github for the latest discussions on local IP-based discovery.

Eddystone is a new open source protocol specification from Google

that defines a BLE message format for proximity interactions.

Eddystone broadens what can be done with beacons by

broadcasting up to four formats (or ‘frame’ types):

• Eddystone UID, EID and TLM—Which all work with apps and

enable interactions similar to iBeacon.• Eddystone URL—Which the Physical Web is now based on and works

with a browser.

Q: What is Eddystone?

Does the scanner have to be a browser?

No. The browser is merely an app that incorporates the

Physical Web specification. This specification is open source,

so companies could build the ability to “see” Physical Web

URLs into other apps.

“…the watches glow and vibrate

when you walk somewhere in the real world

that corresponds with somewhere in

Pokémon Go's virtual world”

Source: The Verge - Pokemon Go Plus hands on photos

3. Three key use cases

40

Use case 1: Pure discovery (“A much smarter QR code”)

Use case 2: Interact with moderately “smart” things

Use case 3: Directly control an object

tadaslab on Instagram“Call a taxi” button attached to a tree #iot

…the significance of

technologies such as RFID and

2D barcoding is that they offer

a low impact way to import

physical objects into the

datasphere—to endow them

with an informational shadow.

- Adam Greenfield

Part closure

Part closure

Service closed

London Overgroud

Northern

Waterloo & City

Tube, DLR, London Overground

Average wait at North

Entrance is 12 minutes

Good serviceon all otherlines

you can also dynamically deep-dive

to the exact content that suit a user’s

context and location

https://www.flickr.com/photos/oatsy40/24775669489/

…or attach URLs to a “thing”

whose identity is more important

https://www.flickr.com/photos/morebyless/14246207164

Hi, i’m Narelle!

Ask me anything about

vikings (or join my

class on Thursdays and

Sundays at 14:00).

REGISTER

than its context

Miscellaneous FAQ

By design, the Physical Web does not push messages (and it

will hopefully remain this way).

You can however expand on its base behaviours by combining

it with other web technologies.

For example…

Q: Is it possible to push messages or notifications

from a Physical Web beacon?

Yikes, as you can see,

we’re *really* busy!

There’s about a 20 minute

wait, but our sister locationOishii still has three tables.

JOIN WAITLIST

SHOW ME OISHII

BOOK ANOTHER DAY

Scenario:customers can add their names to

a wait-list and receive a notification

once the table is ready

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfj/288526372

Use case 1: Pure discovery (“A much smarter QR code”)

Use case 2: Interact with moderately “smart” things

Use case 3: Directly control an object

50

Most “smart” things we use these days are

not that smart. While they can often be

controlled using an app, very rarely does the

app “speak” directly to the thing.

A brief “smart thing” primer…

Instead, the app oftencommunicates withthe cloud, or a localhub (or ‘bridge’)which then relays thecommand to thedevice.

1

Issue a command:

”Lamp on!”

For example…

service API

The bridge in your

home receives the

command via wi-fi.

2

For example…

cloud

1

Issue a command:

”Lamp on!”

1service API

The bridge in your

home receives the

command via wi-fi.

23

It transmits the

command (P2P) to

nearby bulbs

For example…

cloud

Issue a command:

”Lamp on!”

1service API

The bridge in your

home receives the

command via wi-fi.

23

It transmits the

command (P2P) to

nearby bulbs

If other bulbs are too far from the

bridge, the closest bulb uses a mesh

network to pass the message along

4

For example…

cloud

Issue a command:

”Lamp on!”

1

cloud

service API

The bridge in your

home receives the

command via wi-fi.

23

It transmits the

command (P2P) to

nearby bulbs

If other bulbs are too far from the

bridge, the closest bulb uses a mesh

network to pass the message along

4

For example…

smart

pretty

smart

less

smart

less

smart

less

smart

lesssmart

smart

Issue a command:

”Lamp on!”

…by extending this pattern tothe web we can create all

sorts of rich and yet casualinteractions while completelybypassing the friction of first

downloading an app

https://www.flickr.com/photos/charlottemorrall/3778508426

GUMBOTBet you don’t have a

quarter? Am I right or

am I right?

GUMBOTNo sweat. How about

one of these? That’ll

be $0.25 please.

Now playing

I Didn’t see itcomingBelle and Sebastian

VOTE FOR THE NEXT SONG

Monthly special for Spotify

members.

Log in to redeem your

complementary virtual jukeboxcredit and choose a song we willplay in the next 18 minutes.

LOGIN with SPOTIFY

https://www.flickr.com/photos/neo_ii/7483010074

the music system…or the café itself?

in this scenario, is ‘the device‘

Use case 1: “A much smarter QR code”

Use case 2: Interact with moderately “smart” things

Use case 3: Directly control an object

60

Web Bluetooth is an open web standard that enables users—in a secure and privacy-preserving way—to discoversmart devices, communicate with them, and use a webpage to directly control them.

Support levelsThe technology is completely separate from the Physical Web but

highly complimentary. It is nearing launch on Chrome and is currently

testable behind a Chrome ‘flag’.

ChromeAndroid + iOS

(behind Dev flag)

Opera(Labs browser)

Mozilla(Experimental)

Microsoft Edge(coming soon?)

Safari Mobile????

Built-in security features

HTTPS OnlyAll communications between yourbrowser and the website (and in thiscase, the object) are encrypted.

User Gesture Required

As a security feature, discoveringnearby Bluetooth devices must becalled via a user gesture like a touchor mouse click.

FitBit

Heart Rate Monitor GO9

Visit the thing’s URL

e.g. shown on the thing’spackage, accessible via QR

code, Physical Web beacon Tap to connect. You can now

interact with thedevice!

4

How it works: Device discovery and pairing

1

Choose device and

grant permission to

pair with the device.

2

Parrot Drone

3

CONNECTED success!

PAIR

Playbill candle

Come on, get your phone out and type this into chrome:

chrome://flags/#enable-web-Bluetooth

Enjoy!*

*Not you dear Windows user, not you!

…one more thing

One neat thing about BLE—is that you can also use it to createnew (personalized) web UIs for known devices*.

*whose services are exposed with the necessary read/write permissions.

• A standardised way for BLE devices to advertise theirservices to the outside world.

• Each device has services (e.g. battery service) which hascharacteristics (e.g. battery level: 0-100).

• BLE has a list of generic services for common devices suchas, but products can also create their own.

• The value of a characteristics can be read, you can also writeto it and request notifications* when the value changes.

*the web app (not the user) receives the notifications and uses them to update the UI as needed

Bluetooth (Generic Attributes) GATT 101

Each of these examples, taken by itself, is modestly useful.

Taken as a whole, however, they imply a vast "long tail"

where anything can offer information and utility.

— Scott Jenson, Google

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsome1/1243493095

Tell us about Radical!!

We are a service provider.

Our target market are retailers and advertisers.

We are business people, not geeks.

Eddystone / Altbeacon and Ibeacons!

We have:

Wardriving tool

and database

Beacon

management and

CMS

We are finalizing negotiations with

Some of our customers and we will deploy the system soon!

Our customers are large scale retailers.

Contact me

Navid Ardakanian

N.Ardakanian@Gmail.com

Tel: 0912 062 1065

Or contact,

Hamidreza Aghighi

Hamidreza.Aghighi87@Gmail.com

Tel: 0915 653 7943

www.radicalproximity.ir