How Internet of Things Making Buildings Smarter?

With the upsurge in technology, we have experienced the untold potential of smart devices.

But, when it comes to Smart buildings, it sounds startling, right?

How can buildings be smart?

YES exactly, buildings are becoming smarter and changing the market dynamics of building management.

Now, bewildered, what’s this all about?

So, let’s understand with an example.

Can you manage your buildings electricity, home and office devices, office, and home security 24X7, and turn on your ac and adjust the temperature of your home remotely?

Your most probable answer would be NO.

However, it’s possible to manage all aforementioned things via internet of things.

And even, there is a lot more that you can explore with IOT.

Before digging down, take a glance at IOT

The Internet of Things connects everything through internet. The technology based on sensors, which can be embedded in any object and when sensors sense the data, the interaction between objects become possible.

Market for Internet of Things in Smart Buildings to Rise to over $85 Billion by 2020

IOT enables the communication between machine to person, machine to machine and person to person.

Know more about the basics of Internet of Things, here.

BIOT, building internet of things controls from lighting bulb, temperature, air quality to security.

Here are some promising benefits that intelligent automation offers in the built environment

Monitoring and Control

IOT centralized the management of resources consumption. Building managers can easily monitor the resources of different buildings and properties while sitting at one place.

Embedded sensors would let them know about the current status of parking space, elevators use water system and security system. Thereby they can control utilization of assets by communicating with the crew member of connected buildings anywhere, anytime.

Fault detection and Maintenance

It’s easy to take the initiatives and manage the situation before the incident happens rather than finding the fault and then maintaining it, once it has occurred.

Attached sensors in buildings would help in detecting any type of error in the machines and alert the engineers to repair the components.

Employing this approach reduces the adversity that fault may create and also alleviate the cost and time spent for daily inspection.

Energy Management

According to the United Nations Environment Program, buildings consume 40 percent of the energy of all electricity used and are the number one contributor to global CO2 emissions.

Integrating sensors in heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems can reduce a building’s carbon emissions and costs by turning off/on air conditioning in accordance to the temperature status or manage the lights by sensing the current light.

Embracing intelligent system will cut down power consumption by 30 percent.

Enhance Security

Managing fire situation is very critical to handle. But, with integrated building system, it becomes handy to manage such situation.

For instance, as fire alarms are triggered, smoke exhaust dampers get open automatically and fans start operating. The paging system informs the occupants about fire and simultaneously, provides some instructions as well.

System unlocks the doors for evacuation and security camera provides necessary information with fire view to emergency personnel.

Last word

Smart buildings encourage economic and environmental benefits by offering an apt solution to core concerns.

According to Gartner research, Internet of Things will grow to 26 billion units installed in 2020 representing an almost 30-fold increase from 0.9 billion in 2009,

It hints, in near future, more and more buildings will become smarter.

It means large energy saving, efficient management, reduced operating cost and higher ROI.

So, what are you waiting for?

Eliminate employing redundant technology and go for green buildings.

4 Reasons, Why You Should Update iOS App From 32-Bit To 64- Bit?

World’s leading Smartphone makers are racing to make mobile phone’s processors faster.

Last year, Apple took next step towards it with A7- 64-bit processor for iPhone 5S.

And, after a few months, Apple leaps forward with another declaration of mandating all the iOS 7 and core apps to be ported to 64-bit.

blue line

64- bit and iOS 8 requirements for app updates

From February 1, 2015, new iOS apps submitted to the App store must include 64-bit support and be built with the iOS 8 SDK.

After June 1, 2015, app updates will also need to follow the same requirements.

To enable 64 bit in your project, default X-code build settings of “Standard architectures” can be used to build a single binary with both 32-bit and 64-bit code is recommended.

blue line

The pioneer step of Apple has created ripples in the market, but many considered it as an Apple’s aggressive rollout.

There is nothing illustrated like existing apps with 32- bit architecture will be removed or its performance will be affected, if they don’t comply with 64- bit.

Even, after porting to 64- bit, the app will run in both 32-bit and 64-bit.

Let’s shine some light over; why you should get updated your app to 64-bit today

Better performance

High execution speed and best graphics in apps are the demand of present era. The 64-bit processor is twice as fast as the 32-bit processor. It introduces speed gains in both performance and graphics by providing CPU boosts 42 times faster than the original iPhone, with graphics up to 56 times faster.

The incredible move of Apple is a great opportunity for the developers to excite their users by making the app more powerful with 64-bit support incorporation.

Support the latest device

Those iOS apps are having just 32-bit support are not compatible to run on Apple’s latest offerings of such as iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6+, iPad and iPad mini.

It won’t allow new iOS device owners to use those existing apps or permit old device owners to use apps built in iOS 8.

Apple’s recent declaration brought good news for them that enable developers to use X-code 6.1.1 version, which makes apps support almost for all devices.

Engage large audience

Huge base of Apple device enthusiasts is quickly adopting the new version of operating system. iOS 7 adoption has lagged behind that of iOS 8 due to the amazing sale of new devices and impeccable performance of the new upgrade.

Now, 72% of people are using iOS 8, while iOS 7 is reserved only by 25% and 3% is held by others.

Building or updating your app in iOS 8 SDK support and 64-bit code means your app will hit 25% iOS 7 users and 72% iOS 8 users.

Thus, it is the excellent opportunity to captivate large consumer base with latest iOS 8 SDK.
graphBecome Mandatory

Last, but not least, developers are left with no choice after the announcement made by the Apple.

They have to use Apple’s iOS 8 software development kit for engineering new project or updating the existing enterprise project if it’s in 32-bit code only.

Complying with Apple’s demand, this update requires only for the first-time submission.

Epilogue

Apple’s transition to a comprehensive 64-bit app store is prodigious. Accommodating Apple’s requirement will improve the performance of iOS application and becomes a way to reach large consumer base.

Create a big bang by including iOS 8 and 64-bit architecture in your apps.

Here, at Credencys, we have a good team of iPhone developers who have had expertise in developing and deploying world-class solutions using latest tools, OS, and SDKs.

Get in touch with us today!

How Blend Of Augmented Reality And Big Data Would Help In Energy Management?

In the U.S.A, the industrial sector, which includes manufacturing, agriculture, construction and mining, accounts for nearly one third of all energy usage.

Every year, manufacturing industries spends $200 billion on energy facilities and waste nearly 30% of it.

Inefficiency in energy management is the key reason that’s keeping the industries away from power utilization for which they are paying.

Here, big data can turn the tide!

The potent tool collects useful and huge analytical data, which optimizes production quality, saves energy, and improves equipment service.

The real-time information about production equipment and system help in real-time decision making.

But, sharing the same data with management personnel when they stand before equipment is difficult.

Let’s understand through an example.

A food manufacturing plant is set up in a 600,000 square-foot area had thousands of machines that perform various functions. The performance data, power consumption, production and pretty more information about these machines is stored at the cloud.

Just by looking at the machines, engineering personnel will not receive data or can analyze the performance of equipment in real-time and thus, cannot make real-time decision on the round.

They have to browse stored information but did not get the information when he actually needs it.

Consequently, personnel can’t manage efficiently what they can’t measure

It requires equipment and process management to be smarter.

That’s where a blend of AUGMENTED REALITY and BIG DATA has answer to this problem.

Augmented reality overlays relevant information over real world object in real-time, when viewed with any digital device

The amazing combination of technology would help in data visualization on machinery itself.

According to Arnaud Legrand, President and CEO of Energiency, inseparable solution for industries would save up to 20% more energy in a plant. With the combination of these two technologies, maintenance, raw materials, and waste management would also get benefited.

Amalgamation of enterprise tech would aid in significant cost savings, spot anomalies and potential equipment failures in a single view.

At CFIA 2015 conference, a company exhibited a new application that’s dedicated for efficient energy management in a food processing industry.

Energiency Augmented solution based on augmented reality and big data. It tracks different machine and displays relevant data when viewed with tablets or Epson Moverio BT-200 smart glasses.

In the video of app, three different machines having distinct functions that are used in dairy factory bottle production facilities are shown. When digital device points towards machine, the energy consumption information is pushed from the machine to Energiency’s cloud system.

Energiency Augmented app fetches the relevant data from the cloud and then demonstrates the same on screen. Initially, power consumption by the machine is shown, but as some error in its performance is detected, immediately on-screen diagnosis instructions appear.

Engineered solutions’ hands-free way to get data about surrounding machinery reduces the complexity, save energy and speed up the processes.

Innovative way to measure the things at right time leads to competitive advantage.

 

Epilogue

At EnergySMART 2015 conference, one thing resonated throughout the session that huge bucks are spent on wasted energy by those who are not aware of smarter energy management.

Savvy enterprises understand the importance of energy management.

Melding augmented reality and big data to serve the aforementioned purpose would be game-changer for manufacturing industries.

Data-driven approach in real-time would benefit more industries, as augmented reality has already hit numerous segments.

At Credencys, we thrive for developing excellent augmented reality and big data applications. And, now, team is all set to build and showcase the potential of this fantastic combination for your industry.

Drive your automated energy management journey with us!

Internet of Things: The Next Technology Frontier That’s Transforming Everything!

The digital world has passed impressive milestone of having number of internet connections outnumbered the number of people over the planet.

Till date, this tremendous growth has not shown any sign to slow down.

Internet connectivity has become the part and parcel of every individual’s life and changing many things.

Now, not only smartphones, desktop or tablets are connected via internet, while all objects can be connected. It spans from light bulbs to wearable to the home appliances.

This is INTERNET OF THINGS.

Take a sneak peek inside what exactly internet of things is

IOT enables connection among digital devices, all consumer objects and industrial equipment over the internet.

Information collected can be shared between person to person, machines to person or machine to machine, and data is stored and managed in the cloud.

But, what’s the magic IOT made over these static objects that they begin interacting?

Let’s shed some light on how this connected technology works

With every object, a programmed micro-controller is attached, where sensors sense the data and transmit it to the chip.

There are Different types of sensors that transmit a wide variety of data like- weather, movement, temperature, flow, location, environment, etc. Gathered information is processed and works accordingly.

Processed inputs are then sent back to other objects over the internet through sensors.

For instance, your fitness tracker can detect that you have fallen asleep and then automatically turns off the television.

Perplexed, right?

Here, IOT connected wearable and television. Sensors attached with wearable sensed that one is fallen asleep, and then sent same data to the sensors attached to television, where it is programmed to turn off the TV when it gains such information.

This way smart technology works.

Business impact

Under the umbrella of Internet of Things, a new type of application & services is recreating.

Smart thermostats, connected cars, parking sensors, activity trackers and more are already in place.

IOT world is projected to grow 200 Billion smart devices and around 26 objects, every human being will have by 2020. Source: IDC research.

Different industry verticals are hoping onto IOT bandwagon and designing compound applications to control and monitor objects anytime, anywhere.

With the upsurge in connected devices, earning potential is enormous.

According to Gartner research, by 2020, revenue opportunities for business from IOT will grow to more than $1 Trillion.

Plus, key obstacle- “The cost of connectivity” is alleviated with mitigating price of
IOT

Moreover, Smartphone penetration is sky-rocketing, that has become the personal gateway to the IOT.

Limitations are receding exponentially; the only limitation left is your imagination, so envision the possibilities and make them a reality with IOT.

Epilogue

The networked system of IOT stretched the boundaries of today’s enterprises.

The past has dictated what internet of thing is, present is perfectly harnessing the power of connectivity and future- “Everything is connected.”

Check, where do you stand?

Get in touch with our consultants & create a big bang by employing an intelligence system today.

In our next series, you will get to learn how IOT is reinventing different Industry verticals. Stay tuned with us.

Augmented Reality Goggles For Skiers: The Future Ahead!

For adrenaline junkies, skiing is bliss!

It thrives them when they descend off from mountains.

In a heavy dose of rainfall or harshest conditions, navigating resort or tracking your friend with a map in a hand ruins the real fun of the sport.

Even sometimes, glasses gets fog up that leads to major accidents.

It’s really upsetting.

Augmented reality goggles can help in bringing back the thrill of sport even in extreme weather.

Deploying augmented reality, smart glasses are developed which allow skiers do everything without taking phone out of the pocket in their field of vision.

It seems fascinating!

Anti-fog Smart goggles can make this happen just at a glance away.

They are made especially for tough environmental conditions to remove all the hurdles that are worsening the pleasure of sport.

What is augmented reality goggles?

Augmented reality goggles or smart goggles look like snow goggles that enable the user view virtual information like- audio, video, or images over real-world information in real-time.

After wearing smart goggles, one can easily interact with the distant friends without wasting time in hunting them.

Different skiing smart goggles vary as some are controlled with eyes while some with a remote on the glove.

Let’s take a look at the advantages sports person’s best companion- Augmented snow goggles brought.

Get Instant information

Keeping the group together on the mountain during skiing is a hard nut to crack. Plus, tracking and locating different point of interest like- resort, lodges and more increases the difficulty of skier.

Using mobile app to track friend’s position or navigating different places along with gliding on snow is not enjoyable.

Smart snow goggles display required information in their field of view. Viewers can see the maps, find a way around and also view their friend’s position relative to the resort’s position dynamically.

Get connected without lifting a finger

In snowy winter, taking the gloves off and using mobile phone to listens songs, sending message or make a call set one’s teeth on edge.

Here, smart goggles would come to their rescue that enable calling, text messaging, sharing on social media or streaming music with gloves on.

The goggles are connected to smartphones via Bluetooth or Wi-fi and wearer can view the text messages, attend the calls and change the music playing on phone. New generation heads-up-display keep your phone safe, be connected and in control.

Track your performance

Measuring how good you are performing is nearly impossible without taking help of any guide. In addition, hiring a guide also costs pretty penny.

Snow goggles’ onboard GPS and sensors check every move, jump, run and turn the skiers made with high accuracy. One can detect the speed, distance, altitude they covered.

All the data is recorded and maintained to determine highest score and achievements of all the time. It can be shared with friends as well.

Play with yourself

Smart goggles supplement the fun of skiing on mountains by creating a virtual game play that only user can see and play.

Goggles create a virtual slalom track which remains visible to the wearer only and they can follow shadow of their favorite ski athlete.

The amazing game play engages the wearer and lets them compete against themselves or friends.

Wrap-up

Technology has gone an extra mile to whip-up the sports fans. It has not only helped in overcoming all the obstacles but enriched the skiing experience.

Some of the tech leaders leveraging the potential of augmented reality built augmented reality snow goggles like- Recon Snow2, Rideon, Oakley Airwave, Zeal Optics and pretty more.

Well, the possibilities to design new apps on these smart glasses are endless.

This knocks the opportunity at the door of developers to show their creativity and craft solutions which were never imagined before.

Here, at Credencys, the brilliant team of expertise is tuned up for building such smart snow goggle applications.

Get one solution built right away.

And, enjoy hi-tech snowboarding with AR goggles!

Leap Motion: The Technology That has Transfigured Health space!

Healthcare industry has experienced the pinnacle of innovations!

The seismic shift has occurred in the way operations are done, patients are treated, medical information is stored and yet, new inventions are on-the-go.

Medical technology and biotechnology are currently worth around £255 billion to the UK and the market is growing 10% every year

Today, operation theaters are equipped with all advanced equipment, tools, and machines required for the operation.

But, controlling all the machines like- CT scan or MRIs with hands, once physician initiated the surgery is nearly impossible unless they scrub-in in between.

And, if practitioner dares, then a little time gap and distraction may put patient’s life at stake.

That’s where the new wave of technology – LEAP MOTION comes in.

The technology provides a touchless interface to the user that is controlled by gestures. It allows people interact with computer via sensation of hands.

Leap motion controller is a piece of hardware, which is connected to the computer that tracks the movement of hands to one-hundredth of millimeter with a 150-degree field of view.

Harnessing the power of 3D technology, surgeons can use their hands in lieu of mouse.

Let’s take a glance at the potential applications of motion-tracking technology

Operation theaters become hi-tech

During the complex surgeries, surgeons are required to review and manipulate the important images before and during the surgery. It helps them to perform the operation with a great precision and accuracy while keeping patient’s safety.

For instance, while cardio surgeries, physicians have to repetitively view the implications of every step they are taking.

Plus, before taking the next step, they prefer to do that first virtually on the screens, but frequently taking gloves out is not advisable as it kills good amount of time.

Sterility concern limited the intra-operative use and manipulation of digital radiography.

Integrating leap motion in the operation theatres can wipe out all the worries of surgeons. It let them interact with the images while keeping their gloves sterile with no visible latency.

Revolutionize Rehabilitation

Well, no doubt recovering from the illness or major accident is arduous task and that’s the problem physical rehabilitation centers can solve. They help patients to get recovered by assisting and providing a set of tailored exercise that they need to do daily.

However, the burning problem- 70% of patients doesn’t do their exercise at home after rehab session.

The reason behind is physical therapy lacks enthusiasm, seems boring and do not intrigue the patients at all.

The rehab sessions last for weeks and months, and costs around $600 to $1000 a day, Connors, of the Brain Injury Association of America said.

It’s very expensive to afford.

Here, leap motion would be a game changer that gamifies the exercises and make them more enjoyable. Also, it lets patients do the exercise anywhere and distant therapist can easily tab on and measure the performance.

Employing it therapists can taste the progress of wellness of injured ones effortlessly.

A quick look at the amazing results leap motion brought at rehab.

In addition, a child suffering from neurological disorders like Cerebral Palsy which obstructs physical and mental development of child is very tough to cure.

Using leap motion technology, games like- Poo Blaster that Credencys built allow children to play with eyes and their hands’ coordination. The score of child help in checking their health status and then, they are treated accordingly.

The final words

Incorporating Leap motion in health regime appears a bit more like a magic. Budding technology has provided a high degree of freedom into the hands of practitioners and therapists.

Fascinating tech has the wider scope and will be very effective if aptly used in different segments of health space.

Maximize the benefits leveraging the enormous potential of leap motion.

If you had come across some more benefits of leap motion in the healthcare industry, then please do share in the comments given below.

Know The Pros and Cons of Using Bitcoins for Retail Space!

Bitcoin is really a tricky bubble to place the bet on!

Though tech race has fueled its adoption and the sheer number of retailers is hopping onto this bandwagon.

There is a lot of noise in the market regarding the acceptance of digital coins by the retail landscape.

Amidst several concerns like- security, charges and more, retailers struggle to decide internet-based currency is ideal to embrace or not.

However, the virtual currency has solved many problems that current payment option suffers from, but at the same time, one cannot deny the uncertainties it has put forth.

So, one should go deep down before getting their feet wet in Bitcoins.

Take a glance at the reasons that support and oppose the use of Bitcoins in retail landscape

Here are the Pros!

  • Unbeatable security

Bitcoins provide rock solid security during transactions made at any end and no fraudulent act would be possible.

Let’s see how transaction made with Bitcoins is more secured.

If Mr. James wants to transfer Bitcoins to Retailer, then

Firstly, Mr. James will inform Retailer, and then Mr. James needs to create a block that comes with a cryptographic key pair: a private key that is only retained by the Retailer and a public key for others.

Afterwards, Mr. James will tell the bitcoin client, software that mediates the transaction to transfer 10 Bitcoins to Retailer’s block. The client will transfer 10 Bitcoins to the new block.

The block can be accessed only with the private key that Retailer had and the public key for others to verify the transaction.

This way Bitcoins provide no single chance to the hackers to hack the system in any way. It will make the Bitcoins- future of money.

According to Juniper research, “Transactions via Bitcoins in retail space will double by 2017.”

Note: Retailer should use escrow services for payment transaction using Bitcoins, otherwise the transaction will remain no more secure.

  • Power cross-currency transactions

Ideally, every retailer accepts the same currency for the cross-border transactions. When the currencies are converted during the transaction, it is being said that no conversion fees is involved with foreign exchange market.

However, the truth is another way around as foreign exchange is a part of every cross-currency transaction and it incurs the cost of the conversion which adds up to as high as 10%.

Bitcoins are cost-efficient solution for the cross-currency transaction at cross-borders. They can be referred as natural payment product for the retailers across the globe and boost cross-border sale as well.

  • Low transaction rates

Truly said, money makes the world go round and when people get the same services at low or no cost, then they surely turn towards it.

And, Bitcoin comes with no exception.

Credit card companies would charge up to 3% for the transaction while Coinbase doesn’t charge anything until there is $1 million in sales. When it crosses $1 million, then it cuts just 1% only.

Low transaction fees in-person for merchants and customers enhancing its use in retail space.

For instance, Purse.io opened the bitcoin retail store in the San Francisco. The brick and mortar stores promoting the use of the currency by offering 5-20 percent discount on the items people buy using Bitcoins.

Well, using bitcoin is not all sunshine and rainbows, but there are some glaring setbacks associated with the use of Bitcoins at retail store that cannot be overlooked.

Cons

  • No chargeback allowed

Bitcoins prohibits the reversal of transaction, means no refunds are possible using this service.

For instance, if the customer made a purchase using Bitcoins from the retailer, but if the promised goods are not delivered or involved any issue, then retailer cannot send back the money.

However, the lack of chargeback option in Bitcoins turns out to be an appealing alternative for the retailers as according to Total Systems Services, credit card chargeback cost U.S. retailers an estimated $15 billion a year.

  • At the time of tax filing

As, uptill no government body accepts bitcoin payment, so tax filing process would be a bit murky for the retailers using bitcoins. It includes complicated conversion of bitcoin into the currency, fluctuating value of Bitcoins and federal income tax confusions.

Merchants need to convert bitcoin-based earning to local currency and should accurately track all bitcoin transactions.

Plus, at the time of tax filing, real time exchange rates of Bitcoins are considered and if the market is down, then the merchant will be at loss.

  • Impossible to retarget the customer

With credit card payment, retailers can get some information about the buyers and using that they can approach the customer again, but this opportunity is impossible with Bitcoins.

Retailer embracing Bitcoins would not be able to glean any data as it discloses no information about the customer during the transaction.

Is this the future?

Bitcoin is aimed to make buying and selling goods faster, safer and more convenient. Trading with virtual currency has big potential, but it swings in both directions.

Know more about the bitcoins, here.

Well, the alternative currency has started gaining momentum but is still far away from the mass adoption.

Recently, LazyCoins demoed their killer Bitcoin app LazyPay at the BitcoinExpo 2015 and debuted Bitcoin use a part of everyday life.

This all are the flurry of ideas roaming around the retail space across the globe.

Have you ever used Bitcoins? What do you think; bitcoin will create a new horizon in your business or turn away your customers? Share your views in the comments given below.

Mobile Surveys: It’s time for brands to know what customers really want or vanish

A UN Report recently stated that 6 out of the world’s 7 billion people have mobile phones. Hand-held devices are certainly outselling PCs and laptops.

Now, this has some serious implications for brand marketers. Mobile Marketing is something that has now become an integral part of any brand’s promotion strategy.

Brands, can, however ignore the mobile space but only at their own peril.

THE FACT IS :
Customers want brands to be present in the mobile world

Your competitors are constantly seeking new ways to reach more customers and retain existing ones. And, there’s no better way than being present on their mobile devices to catch their attention.

Infact, 35% of market retailers feel that they can differentiate their position in the consumer marketplace using mobile.

So, going mobile is just not a choice but mandatory if you want your brand to be alive.

Mobile surveys, have, recently seen a lot of interest from marketers. And, why not! These allow you to get rich insights about customers including how they behave, what kind of products and services they like and what’s the best time to send promotional messages to them.

These surveys aren’t just about answering a few questions on mobile devices. There’s a lot more to these. How are these actually conducted? What’s the kind of technology that’s used to make these surveys more impactful?

Let’s explore!!

Geo-Fencing: Taking your mobile surveys to a new level

Geo-fencing, if you think about it, is self-explanatory. Forget the word geo for a second and think what fence means. It means a boundary.

So, as a marketer, you can create virtual fences (in terms of longitude & latitude) in specific areas depending on your requirements. Once a customer (having your brand’s mobile app installed in his/her own device) enters that fence, a push notification/message gets triggered on his/her device.

Acting as a virtual barrier, Geofence is a feature in your application that uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for defining geographical boundaries.

The geo-fencing feature is mainly used by marketers to send alerts on promotions like discount schemes to deliver highly targeted, personalized messages. These messages/alerts are sent by native messaging services.

Why implement these surveys?

Geo-Fencing based Mobile Surveys offer many advantages like:

  • Get feedback in real-time from your customers. This is especially helpful in restaurants and cafés. The feedback helps you improve on product offerings and services.
  • When you are able to get a customer’s shopping insight you are able to gauge their preferences better. This helps tailor your marketing messages in accordance with your customers’ liking.
  • Moreover, the kind of data that you get in real-time is simply a gold mine. It helps you make better business decisions too.

How do the surveys work?

You can easily create location aware surveys to conduct advanced research studies on your customers.

As an administrator, you can define a geographical boundary from the back-end of the application and trigger proximity-specific alerts when customers enter the pre-defined venue or area.

These surveys can be activated and deactivated depending on your need. You can even tag locations as customers move around a specific area/region.

Real World Examples

A major sporting organization used TolunaMobile™ Diary app (App by Toluna, a leading market research panel technology provider) to conduct real-time polling for gauging audience’s interest and preference in the midst of a sporting event’s interval time.

A food outlet conducted a similar survey to gather menu board feedback from customers once they are in-store. Customers could comment on their offerings, all in real-time and even upload photos for validating menu presentation and pricing.

Tips for success

Implementing geo-fencing based mobile surveys can be tricky. Keep in mind these points before planning such surveys.

  • Make sure that the virtual fence you create for your survey is between 50-100 feet for best results.
  • Considering the length of the survey is equally important. Too lengthy survey can dissuade your customers to complete the entire survey. Keep maximum 10 questions in your survey. Also, give no more than 7 answers to choose from.
  • Keep the size of your question to the size of a tweet (140 characters).
  • Don’t forget to reward your customers for their valuable time. Give reward points or similar another incentive for participation.
  • Respect their privacy and ask for their consent before the survey starts. Don’t divulge personal information and keep it safe and protected.

Conclusion

Research studies state that consumer expectations increase on an average 20% every year. However, brands fulfill these only upto 5%. This implies a huge gap but equally presents an opportunity also for every brand. Geo-fencing based mobile surveys can help you bridge this gap phenomenally with real-time insights and rich data.

Incorporate mobile surveys in your market research activities to understand your customers better and deliver an awesome experience to them.

3 Retailers That Gained An Extra Edge Using Bitcoins

Society is going cashless!

In the USA, only 7% of transactions are made with physical cash.

Don’t be too surprised!

Increasingly popular plastic money like credit cards, debit cards, gift cards and loyalty cards eliminating the transactions made through actual cash.

However, these cards also had some downsides. It involves the risk of fraud, optimum processing fees and pretty more.

So, what’s the solution?

That can keep transaction mechanism more safe, accessible and seamless.

BITCOINS, the decentralized cryptocurrency is the panacea!

The global digital currency worth eight billion dollars market value is reinventing the payment transaction world.

And now, it is catching many retailers’ eye.

According to Juniper research, 8% of the North American Retailers will begin accepting Bitcoin as full means of payment in 2015.

Let’s understand first, what is Bitcoins?

Bitcoins are a kind of digital coins that are not created by any bank, government or financial institution, but regulated by open-source software. The virtual currency can be exchanged through direct peer to peer transaction over the internet.

Bitcoins can be purchased or sold using different currencies through various bitcoin exchanges.

The Bitcoins are stored in digital wallets (virtual bank accounts) that are on the user’s computer or cloud location.

Thumb through the PPT to know more.
Also, the rate of virtual money fluctuates in the market depending on the number of Bitcoins in circulation.

Take a quick look at three retailers who stretch their reach to bitcoins

  • Overstock.com

The US-based leading online retailer Overstock.com that sells everything right from jewelry to furniture was surprised with the amazing growth in sales after accepting bitcoins.

Within 24 hours of the announcement, retailer had made $130,000 in Bitcoin sales spread over 840 orders from new customers. And, now its daily earning is $15,000 a day from bitcoin sales alone.

Overstock was the first to exceed $1 million in online bitcoin sales and saw 50% increase in sale after embracing the digital currency.

Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne said, “We are expecting jaw dropping $8 million sales with the digital currency by the end of the year.”

  • TigerDirect

Florida-based Tigerdirect, computers and consumer electronics e-retailer has taken the interest not only in using bitcoin as payment option but also sold bitcoin mining product on its site.

The retailer has brought in whopping $250,000 worth bitcoin payment just in the matter of 17 hours. It comes with a greater surprise when company broke the $1 million mark of Bitcoin sale in only three months.

Now, 80% of TigerDirect’s Bitcoin users are new customers, and they spend more per order than customers using traditional payment methods.

  • Newegg

Computer hardware and software e-retailer was partnered with Bitpay to roll out its transaction using bitcoins and allowed its customers to pay for more than 10.5 million products with virtual currency.

As, no chargeback is possible using bitcoins, so retailer declared that orders will be paid by Bitcoin, but cannot be returned for Bitcoin or hard currency. Instead, returns can be made to the consumers in the form of a Newegg Gift Card.

Well, no such number of unprecedented sales is disclosed by the firm, but Soren Mills, the company’s chief marketing officer said, “We’ve doubled our run-rate over the last three months. Bitcoin has brought us some new customers. It’s got a group of people that it’s really important to.”

Outlook

The digital currency has made a huge room in the market and more retailers are jumping on this bandwagon. The e-retailers who chased the digital spark are really paying off.

Widespread adoption of Bitcoins would be a game-changer for the firms.

The success story of online retailers shared above reveal the same fact.

Though, it’s not true bitcoins will always work like pro.

As, there are pros and cons associated with the potential use of bitcoins in retail space. In our next series, we will discuss the reason to favor and oppose the use of this cryptocurrency. So, keep in touch with us.

5 Ways Apple’s ResearchKit is Empowering Medical Research

It’s impossible to imagine clinical trials without humans. To introduce new drugs into the market, it’s imperative to test their effectiveness on humans.

However, this is easier said than done.

The challenge lies in finding volunteers who will risk their lives to see whether a particular drug is impactful or not.

According to Center Watch, 86% of US clinical studies fail to recruit the required number of subjects on time.

Professor Kathryn Schmitz from the University of Pennsylvania recently sent about 60,000 letters for participation in a breast cancer study.

Only 0.005% signed up.

That’s heartbreaking.

This is not something new for researchers and scientists. It has been going on for decades now.

Fortunately, this is also set to change. Thanks to Apple’s new baby ResearchKit.

This open source platform for medical research will make it easier for scientists to build apps that collect health-related data from volunteers via smartphones.

The sensors in iPhone and similar other devices (personal trackers) act as catalysts. Apps built using platforms like ResearchKit will deliver real-time data on health conditions and symptoms. This will help in clinical trials and developing custom therapies for various ailments.

Researchkit taps into the pool of data generated by Healthkit and making it accessible for medical studies.

Healthkit is Apple’s another platform for developers to build apps that gather health related data from healthkit compatible apps which track heart rate, calories burnt, blood sugar and cholesterol levels etc.

Learn more about HealthKit here.

Here’s how ResearchKit will revolutionize the medical research space

  • Access to Precise Data

In traditional researchers, researchers don’t have any proof of accuracy other than the snapshots of a participant’s health who wears a heart monitor for two or three times during a 24-hour period.

Also sometimes participants don’t provide correct data because of financial compensation issues.

While using iPhone, researchers may have more accurate data as ResearchKit the leverages the advantages of HealthKit to collect information on heart rate, activity level, and more in real-time

It also helps scientists avoid incurring extra money that needs to be paid to participants to extract right information.

  • Reduce The Research Timeframe

Well, moving to different hospitals or labs, and then completing the paperwork is very time-consuming process for a large-scale research. Moreover, it’s quite difficult to reach the large user base and collect data in less time.

Apps built using ResearhKit allow people to take part anytime, anywhere. The device (iPhone or iPad) is virtually in their pocket and they can volunteer easily.

Also, when it becomes easier to participate in the research, automatically larger sample sizes can be available.

LifeMap Solutions and Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine recently joined hands for a research. Using the Asthma Health App developed with ResearchKit, they ensured that over 3500 people participated in their research study in less than 72 hours. This, otherwise, would have been impossible.

  • Enable global research

Conducting the research across the globe is tricky. At many places, due to some restrictions or unfavorable conditions, participants won’t step in for clinical study.

With ResearchKit, geography and distance matter no more. Anyone, anytime and anywhere in the world can provide health-related data concerning specific problems or symptoms.

Also, the data from such apps helps researchers in understanding lifestyle and health behaviors of different people and its influence on their life.

  • Take actions swiftly

Medical research takes a long time to establish any result or draw out any conclusion. In that meantime, it may be possible the cause of the disease may increase at large scale and no appropriate action can be taken.

However, with iPhones when organizations get the data and if it requires any immediate action, then using iPhone’s GPS, it will become easy to track the pathogen’s location. And finally, prompt action and timely decision can be made accordingly.

  • Personalize the treatment

Self-managing the diseases and precautions to be taken by the patients is not an ordinary job. Also, they are sometimes walled off from the critical health information by the doctors.

For instance, asthma patient can consult the doctor and take the prescriptions provided by them, but unable to track which place they should not visit because of the poor quality of air or forget to take the medicines at right time.

Here, Asthma app on iPhone would help them by analyzing the GPS data, weather, air quality, and other factors to identify a probable cause. Also, reminds about the medicine that they have to take.

Conclusion

Apple’s latest offering not only eases the research, it even helps examine the patients in a far better way. Five apps as a part of Researchkit have already gone viral.

Well, there are many more possibilities yet to be discovered!

At Credencys, a proficient team of developers has expertise in crafting iOS apps and dealing with advanced technology, latest SDKs, APIs and much more.

Get ready to add new dimensions to your research with us!