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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 app also identifies 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 Blecon Agent in two ways. For prototyping and small deployments, download the app from the device's app store. For larger deployments, deploy the app to your fleet with mobile device management (MDM). In either case, you do not need to log in to enable the app.

Install the app

First, install the Blecon Agent. On the device, open blecon.app and install the app from the store it links to.

The app guides you and requests permissions to use Bluetooth, the device's camera and location data.

The app 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)

For a fleet of frontline devices, deploy the app with your mobile device management (MDM) platform. Nobody has to find and install the app on each device, and the app needs no sign-in.

  1. In your MDM platform, add the Blecon Agent from its store:

    Platform Store App
    Android Google Play app.blecon.android.ap
    iOS App Store apps.apple.com/us/app/blecon/id1527030050
    Windows Microsoft Store XP99H4NFKLSVBH

  2. On Android, grant the app its permissions in the MDM policy, so the device does not ask the user:

    • Nearby devices (Bluetooth scan and connect): to detect tags.
    • Location, precise and all the time: to record where the device detects each tag, also when the device is locked.
    • Notifications: for the notice that the app is running.
    • Camera: to scan tags in workflows. Leave it out if the device does not run workflows.
  3. Assign the app to the devices your frontline workers carry.

On Android, the app then becomes active with no set-up on the device, and starts again by itself after the device restarts.

Privacy and permissions

The app requires access to Bluetooth, location services and the camera on your device, and requests the appropriate platform permissions.

  • The app uses Bluetooth to detect Blecon tags and read their data.
  • The app uses the device's location to record where it detects each tag.
  • The app 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 Device Tracking.

Scanner

The app 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 app 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 app 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.

Questions? Contact Blecon support — we're happy to help.