LINKA Beacon

The LINKA Beacon is a product available only for LINKA Fleets

Overview

The LINKA beacon assists the locks to pinpoint their GPS location. This is especially useful in areas with poor GPS reception, including indoor areas, areas under a canopy or overpass, or without direct access to GPS satellites in the sky. The beacons can also be in outdoor areas with good GPS reception, to further improve GPS accuracy.

In the following example, 6 locks are indicated on the map with the grey pins. Since a beacon is not used, the pins are scattered on the map. This is due to poor GPS accuracy, as the locks are indoors and unable to obtain strong GPS signal. By using a beacon, the location of the locks can be pinpointed.

Note: The LINKA beacon does not have cellular capabilities. The lock must have existing cellular connectivity, as this is required to send the beacon information to the LINKA system. Additionally, using a beacon will not improve the locks cellular reception.

Beacon Specifications

• Compatible with LEO 2, firmware 2.3.193+

• Dimensions: 73.8 x 47 x 24.5mm

• Beacon comes with

  • 3M adhesive tape

  • Mounting screws

• Battery Requirements Two replaceable AA batteries Alkaline AA batteries - battery life 2+ years Li/FeS2 AA batteries - battery life 3+ years

• IP66 Waterproof & Dustproof

• Operating Temperature: -20 to 60℃

Beacon Setup

1. Determine location that the beacon should be placed. The range of the beacon is 10 meters (30 feet), meaning locks within a 10 meter radius of the beacon can communicate with the beacon. More than one beacon would be required for a distance greater than 10 meters. There are two station types: Fixed Station: A station is located at a specific location. Vehicle: The beacon is placed inside a moving vehicle. This allows the locks to recognize when they are on a vehicle.

2. On the “Stations” page on Fleetview, register the beacon. Press on “New Station” or select an existing station.

• Enter the station name

• Optionally, enter the number of spaces available at that station. This allows Fleetview to identify when a station is about to get full, by comparing the number of bikes at a station to the total number of spaces at that station.

• Indicate the type of station - Fixed Station or Vehicle.

• Drag the red pin on the map to the actual location of the station

• Enter the beacon ID. The beacon ID is the 12 character ID printed on the side of the beacon. A beacon is optional for a station - A station can be created even without attaching a beacon.

3. Once the beacon is registered, assemble the beacon with batteries, and then attach the beacon to the station. The beacon can be placed on the ground, attached to a wall or fixed object, or hidden inside an object. Avoid placing the beacon inside metal objects as this will affect the bluetooth range.

4. On Fleetview, click on a station to see when a beacon was last detected, and its last battery percent. Once a beacon’s battery goes below 20%, the battery should be replaced.

Beacon Technical Implementation

The beacon advertises its battery information, as well as a unique Eddystone UID, using bluetooth protocol. The locks perform a bluetooth scan to detect nearby beacons matching the UID. Once a beacon is detected, the locks send the beacon information to the LINKA system which matches the beacon UID to an existing beacon registered with a station.

The beacon only uses bluetooth advertising, and it does not perform any bluetooth scanning. The beacon does not have cellular or GPS functionality.