Announced by Apple in mid-2013 as an application of new Bluetooth low-energy (LE) technology, iBeacon will be used to power what the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) describes as “the first promotional iBeacon-based scavenger hunt,” rewarding a “limited number” of attendees with special prizes for collecting virtual badges scattered throughout the show. Attendees will find instructions on gathering badges within CEA’s official 2014 CES app, which will wirelessly look for iBeacons within 100 feet of an iOS or Bluetooth 4-equipped Android device, tallying each badge discovered during the hunt.
The first three people to gather all of the badges will receive a “special prize,” with other prizes for people who complete the hunt during the rest of the show.
According to CEA, the hunt was developed in partnership with iBeacon vendor Radius Networks and Bluetooth SensorTag chip provider Texas Instruments.
Having deployed iBeacon with mixed results in its retail stores last December, Apple does not appear to have anything to do with the promotion.
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