X

At CES, hunting the show floors for hidden beacons (photos)

Attendees at CES 2014 were tasked with tracking down nine hidden iBeacons that were scattered around Las Vegas. CNET's Daniel Terdiman found all nine and some unexpected surprises along the way.

Daniel Terdiman
Daniel Terdiman is a senior writer at CNET News covering Twitter, Net culture, and everything in between.
Daniel Terdiman
IMG_7329.jpg
1 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Congratulation

LAS VEGAS -- The Consumer Electronics Show is one of the world's biggest trade shows, but while tens of thousands of people flock to the largest companies' booths, most never hit some of the lesser-known areas.

That's why the Consumer Electronics Association, which puts on CES, added a scavenger hunt to its official mobile app this year -- to give people a fun reason to go exploring some of those otherwise ignored areas.

And scattered around the city, were nine iBeacon transmitters that called out to the app once a user was in range. CNET's Daniel Terdiman took time out of a busy day of keynotes and panels to track down all nine. And in the end, he won a prize for his efforts.

IMG_7288.jpg
2 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Blank slate

Players who took part in the scavenger hunt started out with a blank slate. All they'd see is nine greyed-out circles telling them which areas of the show to visit. Once there, they'd have to pinpoint the actual iBeacon location.
IMG_7291.jpg
3 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Nearby

If you wandered near an iBeacon, an alert would pop up letting you know one was in the area.
IMG_7289.jpg
4 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Distance from the treasure

The app would tell you (approximately) how far you were from an iBeacon. However, this information was usually an approximation, and would fluctuate wildly. Sometimes you would be standing in front of an iBeacon, and the app would think it was many feet away.
IMG_7321.jpg
5 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Found!

If you found an iBeacon, the app would let you know you'd located your treasure.
IMG_7295.jpg
6 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

The iBeacon itself

One of the nine iBeacons, hidden behind a wall at a CES location.
IMG_7296.jpg
7 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Transmitter

A look at an example iBeacon transmitter.
IMG_7294.jpg
8 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Selfie with an iBeacon

CNET's Daniel Terdiman poses for a selfie in front of one of the nine iBeacon locations.
IMG_7318.jpg
9 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Fellow traveler

Fellow scavenger hunt participant Jason Auger of Uneekgeekworld.com poses in front of an iBeacon sign, although his mobile device had trouble recognizing the transmitter.
IMG_7310.jpg
10 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Pleo

Playing the scavenger hunt provided some unexpected surprises. In the robotics section of the CES show floor, attendees could check out Pleo, a robotic dinosaur. What was a surprise was that Pleo was first introduced in 2007, but its developer, Ugobe, went out of business in 2009. Now, a new company is selling the creature.
IMG_7312.jpg
11 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Found beacons

When you find a beacon, the app reflects it by filling in the previously greyed-out badges.
IMG_7302.jpg
12 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

Tucked away

The signs representing the iBeacon locations were usually mounted on a pillar or a wall. In this case, it was in an area far away from where it was supposed to be, meaning many people had trouble finding it.
IMG_7328.jpg
13 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

9 of 9

Success! CNET's Terdiman found all nine iBeacons after just a couple of hours of playing.
photo_3.jpg
14 of 14 Daniel Terdiman/CNET

The prize

The first three people to finish won substantial prizes -- said to be a "tablet." Those that finished afterward got T-shirts and hats.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos