Bluetooth Technology : An overview

Fig. 1: An Image Of Bluetooth Logo

What is Bluetooth?

Bluetooth is a wireless technology used to transfer data between different electronic devices. The distance of data transmission is small in comparison to other modes of wireless communication. This technology eradicates the use of cords, cables, adapters and permits the electronic devices to communicate wirelessly among each other.

The key features of Bluetooth technology:

· Less complication

· Less power consumption

· Available at cheaper rates

· Robustness

Bluetooth technology permits hands free headset for incoming voice calls, ability of printing and fax, and automatic synchronization of PDA. Click to now more about basics of Bluetooth Protocol.

Classification

Various types of Bluetooth technology are available in the markets which help the consumers to communicate wirelessly. The different types of Bluetooth devices are PC cards, radios, dongles, and headsets. Laptops and other Internet enabled equipments use Bluetooth technology such as wireless mouse and keyboard to communicate wirelessly. Music players like iPods, music phones, or other MP3 players make use of stereo headphones.

Applications

The first and foremost application of Bluetooth technology would be to eradicate the tangling of cables that would mess up the room.

1. Bluetooth’s biggest contribution is to provide a phone with a headset that works wirelessly. This is possible by providing the caller with an earpiece and a small microphone attached to the caller’s shirt. The mobile phone can be located in a bag or anywhere in the body. The caller can dial a number even without touching a button on the mobile phone. This technology has the advantage of eliminating the radiation hitting the cerebral region.

Fig. 2: A Typical Image Of Wireless Bluetooth Headset For Mobile

2. PDA, PC or laptop which has enabled Bluetooth can communicate with each other and update with its latest information. This technology has helped in synchronizing the data easily.

3. It is difficult to send emails while travelling in a flight. On landing of the flight, the Bluetooth enabled laptop can send the email only when it gets in touch with the user’s phone.

4. Wireless mouse and keyboards are introduced.

5. One will be alerted on his/her mobile phone when your laptop receives the mail.

6. You can try to locate a printer via laptop. You will get the printout of that document once that printer is located.

Working

Bluetooth technology was discovered to have wireless protocols to connect several electronic devices and as a solution to synchronize the data. The Bluetooth standard is maintained by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.

At the physical layer, the Bluetooth RF transceiver is positioned. At around 79 Bluetooth channels are placed with a space of 1MHz. Transmission of data and voice are achievable at short distances and thereby creating Wireless PANs.

A Bluetooth device is comprised of an adapter. A Bluetooth adapter can be available in the form of a card to connect the device or integrated into an electronic device.

Link Management Protocol (LMP) is responsible for peer – to – peer message exchange when the electronic devices interfere in each other’s radio range. This layer creates the link and negotiation of packet size. If required this layer can perform the segmentation and reassembling of the packets.

The Bluetooth device enabled by the Service delivery protocol joins the piconet and enquires with all the services available. A piconet has a star topology with one master and seven slaves. The concept of Master and Slave is used in the Bluetooth technology. Only after the master takes the initial action, the devices can begin to talk. Bluetooth GloballD is exchanged among the electronic devices and a connection is build up after the profiles are matched. Get in-depth of Bluetooth Protocol Stack here.

Frequency hopping is used in the Bluetooth technology to avoid interfering with other signals. After the packet is transmitted or received, the Bluetooth signal hops to a new frequency. Each packet can cover five time slots.

The Bluetooth technology supports asynchronous data channel, or 3 simultaneous synchronous voice channels, or a channel which supports asynchronous data and synchronous voice.

For more details, read How Bluetooth technology works

History

1998

· The birth of Bluetooth with the formation of Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG).

· Bluetooth is officially adopted as the name for the technology.

1999

· 1.0 Specification is officially released.

· Bluetooth is declared the “Best of Show Technology Award” by COMDEX.

2000

· For the first time, Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, PC card, mouse, headset and laptop are unveiled.

Fig. 3: An Image Of Bluetoth Symbol

· USB dongle prototype unveiled at COMDEX.

2001

· Bluetooth SIG Inc. is formed.

· First hands-free car kit is launched.

2002

· First GPS receiver and Bluetooth enabled digital camera.

· IEEE approves 802.15.1 specification for Bluetooth technology.

2003

· First Bluetooth-enabled MP3 player launched.

· First FDA-approved Bluetooth-enabled medical system.

2004

· Bluetooth SIG adopts Enhanced Data Rate (EDR).

· Bluetooth technology embedded in 250 million devices.

· First Bluetooth-enabled stereo headphones launched.

2006

· Bluetooth is installed in 1 billion devices.

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Latest research, Facts & Problems

Latest Research

A lot of research is currently underway to harness the power of Bluetooth technology in the healthcare domain. With the help of Bluetooth, health conscious individuals will have access to wireless devices to record information pertaining to body temperature, pressure count and metabolism. The Bluetooth enabled devices will first collect vital information with the patients and then share it with a doctor via a mobile phone or PC.

Compatible mobile phones will be better equipped with new dual-mode chips that support both traditional Bluetooth technology and other low-energy applications.

The low energy communicates with lightweight health sensors, while the traditional Bluetooth specification continues to operate with existing Bluetooth-enabled products such as hands-free headsets. This enables cell phone manufacturers to add dual-mode capabilities without significant increase in product pricing.

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Interesting Facts

· Renowned Andretti Green Racing team communicated during the race using Bluetooth devices.

· Surveys show that 1/3rd of all new cars in the world will have Bluetooth capability.
· Bluetooth-enabled medical equipment is presently being manufactured to be deployed at hospitals.

· Bluetooth lets you watch video files or pictures on your TV screen. This is possible by using a laptop as a source to relay the media files.

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Problems Faced

Just like any other technology, Bluetooth does have certain issues regarding its use.

For two Bluetooth-enabled devices to function in tandem, they should be provided with the same profile. For example, to connect a mobile phone to your headset, you will need matching profiles in both devices. In this scenario, a hand free is the correct profile. Similarly, a basic printing profile will be required if you want to print a document on your phone through a Bluetooth-enabled printer. You will have to keep ensuring that profiles match for smooth functioning of your Bluetooth devices.

To ensure that two Bluetooth devices work together, they have to be paired. Pairing would require both devices exchanging passkeys. Once paired, all data sent between the two devices gets encrypted, meaning that any device that is not paired with the other two is unable to translate the data. Pairing between two devices may fail and the most frequent reason for this is the usage of wrong password.

As the technology advances, more issues pertaining to Bluetooth are bound to pop up. Luckily, most issues are easy to deal with.