Google's iBeacons rival brings welcome competition to the Internet of Things

Beacons are at risk of going the way of QR codes, but a new software platform from Google might finally make the tech more appealing to marketers, writes Rosh Singh, director of digital innovation at Kinectic. Google last month unveiled Eddystone, a software platform for Bluetooth beacons that  marks a serious push into the Internet of Things. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons are small devices that use Bluetooth tech to trigger notifications or other actions in a nearby smartphone or device.