Blecon Agent
The Blecon Agent turns your frontline devices into hotspots that detect nearby Blecon tags, provide data about their location and securely relay sensor data to the cloud. The Agent also enables identifying tags to support registration and other workflows.
Compatibility
| Platform | Minimum version |
|---|---|
| Android | 10 |
| iOS | 18 |
| Windows | 10 |
| macOS | 15.0 |
Set up
You can set up the Agent in two ways. For prototyping and small deployments, download the Agent from the device's app store. For larger deployments, deploy the Agent to your fleet with mobile device management (MDM). In either case, you do not need to log in to enable the Agent.
App stores
First, download the Agent from the relevant app store. To open the right store page, scan the QR code in Settings → Network → Agent in Blecon Track.
The Agent guides you and requests permissions to use Bluetooth, the device's camera and location data.
The Agent then shows as active and runs in the background. If that's not the case, follow Check 1 in the troubleshooting guide.
Mobile device management (MDM)
You can also deploy the Agent to your fleet of frontline devices using your preferred mobile device management platform. Your MDM platform can grant the Agent's permissions automatically on your managed devices to simplify deployment.
When you deploy the Agent with MDM, it becomes active with no initial set-up.
Privacy and permissions
The Agent requires access to Bluetooth, location services and the camera on your device, and requests the appropriate platform permissions.
- The Agent uses Bluetooth to detect Blecon tags and read their data.
- The Agent uses the device's location to record where it detects each tag.
- The Agent uses the camera when you scan a tag's barcode (1D or QR code).
Blecon collects location data in pseudonymised form for the purpose of locating Blecon tags. Blecon keeps a device's location data for up to 60 days for troubleshooting purposes. Only the device's user can reveal the device's identifier and send it to Blecon support.
A workspace can track the frontline device only after an explicit opt-in, and only within the constraints of a policy. See Agent Tracking.
Scanner
The Agent can identify tags to register them or support workflows. When you scan a registration or workflow QR code, or open a scanner link from a scan session, the Agent opens the scanner. The scanner identifies Blecon tags with the device's camera. In a workflow, it also reads labels and barcodes, and on an Android handheld with a built-in barcode scanner it can use that scanner.
Trade-offs
The Agent works best when it can provide high-accuracy location data in order to precisely locate tags. When indoors, consider improving this accuracy by setting up anchors or hubs which provide constant visibility within their coverage area.