dist/dans is an iBeacon app that lets you see and hear people around you based on their proximity to you.
We are constantly experiencing the world through our mobile devices. At any given time we could be notified to updates from people half way around the world. We often know more about that someone, whom we may have never met, than someone who is sitting right next to us.
dist/dans brings you to your immediate surroundings through sound. By turning mobile devices into ibeacons, we use bluetooth strength to determine the distance of our users' phones to each other when they are in physical proximity. When one person is near another, they are notified and can hear each other's unique sounds and see each other's profiles.
Made in collaboration with Jason Sigal.
How it works
See people around you when they are in proximity. Tap on them to see their information and hear their sound. Update your information in your cover page. And see who has been around you during the day in the pocket page.
Wireframes
Testing iBeacon app with Estimotes
We first started by modifying a Cordova app that monitors data from Estimotes, small wireless sensors that broadcast radio signals which includes its proximity to the phone.
Testing iBeacon app with phones
Then we reprogrammed the app to advertise and monitor data to and from phones, so any phone with the app can simultaneously broadcast to other phones and monitor/range those phones.
To learn more about how iBeacons work, check out this presentation I put together.