Blecon, in collaboration with MOKO SMART, has announced the introduction of the L02S-BCN, a next-generation smart beacon co-designed by Blecon and MOKO SMART to meet the growing demands of sensing and connectivity in industrial and commercial environments. The L02S-BCN demonstrates what’s possible when established and trusted beacon design meets Bluetooth cloud connectivity.
Classic beacons have played a key role in Bluetooth’s worldwide success, thanks to their simplicity, long battery life, and ease of deployment. They’ve become a trusted solution for asset tagging and basic broadcast use cases. However, as requirements evolve toward richer environmental data, greater visibility, mobility, and secure cloud integration, the limitations of classic beacons have become more pronounced.
This shift has made way for smart beacons, which build on the strengths of classic beacons while introducing security, context awareness and intelligence. Key capabilities include:
- Local multi‑sensor data logging with secure Cloud transmission via nearby Bluetooth‑enabled hotspots
- Bidirectional communication with acknowledgment from the Cloud network
- Secure device identity, authentication, and encrypted data transport
- Built‑in global time synchronisation and timestamped event logging
- Proximity detection of other beacons and time‑aware interactions
- Embedded AI/ML for on‑device inference
- Over‑the‑air updates for firmware and ML models
“Blecon’s Smart Beacons retain the easy-to-deploy form factor and long battery life that made Classic Beacons successful, but dramatically expand their utility,” said Nick Chen, Principal Engineer, Blecon. “They can continuously collect data offline, detect nearby Bluetooth devices to unlock insights based on proximity, process events locally using AI, and securely sync only useful information to the Cloud. And thanks to OTA updates, they can get even smarter over time.”
The L02S-BCN is powered by the Blecon network: a Bluetooth-to-Cloud architecture that removes the need for fixed infrastructure or direct pairing. It provides a new level of flexibility and scalability for connected sensing. With the Blecon Network, developers can:
- Deploy smart beacons into the field without manual configuration or gateway installation
- Automatically sync logged data to the cloud using nearby Blecon-enabled Hotspots
- Monitor assets that move across changing environments without fixed infrastructure
- Support OTA updates for firmware and ML models
- Integrate directly with Cloud platforms using developer-friendly APIs
Furthermore, the smart beacon is s powered by Nordic Semiconductor’s latest nRF54L system-on-chip (SoC).
“The nRF54L series brings together high performance, low power operation, and advanced Bluetooth capabilities in a compact footprint,” said Sam Presley, nRF54L Series Technical Product Manager, Nordic Semiconductor. “It’s a strong foundation for products like the L02S-BCN, enabling reliable cloud integration and the intelligence required for modern smart beacons.”
The L02S-BCN offers sensors for temperature, humidity, pressure, and 3-axis acceleration, all housed in a rugged IP67-rated enclosure. Powered by a CR2477 coin cell battery, it’s suited for a wide range of applications, from fixed installations to mobile assets.
“At MOKO, we’ve supported Bluetooth beacon deployments across many industries such as healthcare, warehouse logistics, and exhibitions,” said Jerry Li, Co-Founder, MOKO SMART. “With Blecon’s software and network integration, we’ve evolved our proven design into an intelligent, Cloud-connected solution.”
The L02S-BCN is designed not only to collect data, but to interpret it locally, running lightweight ML models for activity detection, anomaly detection, and context-aware automation. This Edge inference approach reduces latency, conserves power, and enables real-time decision-making, even in environments with intermittent connectivity.
Developers can train and deploy models to the L02S-BCN using Edge Impulse, which is already integrated into Blecon’s smart beacon. This streamlined workflow allows product teams to bring machine learning to ultra-low-power Bluetooth devices.
“With Edge Impulse, developers can build and deploy machine learning models directly on resource-constrained devices,” said Zach Shelby, VP, Product Management, Qualcomm Finland RFFE Oy and Co-Founder of Edge Impulse. “By combining real-time inference with Blecon’s flexible Bluetooth cloud connectivity, Smart Beacons may enable predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and asset awareness at the edge, without reliance on always-on infrastructure.”
Smart beacons like the L02S-BCN are designed to integrate easily into customer applications and analytics platforms. They provide globally identifiable, timestamped, and context-rich data through Blecon’s developer-friendly APIs, allowing product teams to build insights without managing connectivity infrastructure. The Blecon network supports integrations with platforms such as AWS, EventBridge. Memfault and more, enabling smart beacons to fit seamlessly into production workflows.
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