The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the first aquarium in the world to utilise new proximity-based technology in its facility as part of the visitor attraction.

For scientific purposes, high-tech, almost microscopic, wire-coded tags are implanted in aquarium-reared fish to monitor the health of wild populations and measure the success of restoration efforts. Visitors to the aquarium will now be able to replicate this experience on a smaller scale using their smartphones or tablets to track animals as they approach them inside the aquarium.

The Beacon technology – developed by Chattanooga-based technology company CloudBeacon – uses Bluetooth to transmit information over short distances. The Beacons allow the mobile app to understand with great accuracy where the fish are.

To use the tracking system, guests download the free Tennessee Aquarium app. After accepting Bluetooth notifications and push notifications, the smartphone or tablet becomes a walking radar for some of the aquarium’s creatures. As visitors reach each creature, the app will offer fun facts about them, with learning challenges for kids. As the CloudBeacon platform makes content easily changeable, the aquarium is planning to offer new beacon programmes at different times throughout the year.

“We’re using Beacon technology to put our guests in a more active role during their time with us,” said Thaddeus Taylor, senior educator at the aquarium. “I’m excited about adding another layer to our experience, one with a game-play feel that increases learning about our animals because it’s so much fun.”

The Beacon technology itself has further applications for visitor attractions in general, with the technology able to send targeted information to customers directly to their phones as they walk past certain hotspots, essentially turning handheld devices into tour guides or advertising boards.

While still a new technology, a February analysis on the impact of beacons by Business Insider hailed it as “one of the biggest developments since WiFi”, with the report adding that if used as an advertising tool in the retail industry, it could have an impact of up to US$4bn (€3.8bn, £2.7bn) in the next year.