Bluetooth Wireless Technology

Bluetooth wireless technology is a specification designed to enable wireless communication between small, mobile devices. The inspiration behind this was the elimination of the need for proprietary cables, for device connectivity. So now if you want to communicate between deviceslike laptop PC there is no need for cables to transfer data. Expanding that idea to include all the hand held mobile electronic devices is, in a nutshell, the Bluetooth wireless technology vision.

Characteristics of bluetooth technology:
1.Bluetooth is a high-speed, low-power microwave wireless link technology.
2.It is designed to connect phones, laptops, PDAs and other portable equipment together with little or no work by the user.
3.The technology uses modifications of existing wireless LAN techniques but is most notable for its small size and low cost. The current prototype circuits are contained on a circuit board 0.9cm square, with a much smaller single chip version in development. When one Bluetooth product comes within range of another, (this can be set to between 10cm and 100m) they automatically exchange address and capability details. They can then establish a 1 megabit/s link (up to 2 Mbps in the second generation of the technology) with security and error correction, to use as required. The protocols will handle both voice and data, with a very flexible network topography.
4.Bluetooth can support an asynchronous data channel, up to three simultaneous synchronous voice channels, or a channel, which simultaneously supports asynchronous data and synchronous voice. Each voice channel supports 64 kb/s synchronous (voice) link. The asynchronous channel can support an asymmetric link of maximally 721 kb/s in either direction while permitting 57.6 kb/s in the return direction, or a 432.6 kb/s symmetric link.

Working of Bluetooth Technology:

This technology achieves its goal by embedding tiny, inexpensive, short-range transceivers into the electronic devices that are available today. The radio operates on the globally-available unlicensed radio band, 2.45 GHz (meaning there will be no hindrance for international travelers using Bluetooth-enabled equipment.), and supports data speeds of up to 721 Kbps, as well as three voice channels. The bluetooth modules can be either built into electronic devices or used as an adaptor. For instance in a PC they can be built in as a PC card or externally attached via the USB port.Each device has a unique 48-bit address from the IEEE 802 standard. Connections can be point-to-point or multipoint. The maximum range is 10 meters but can be extended to 100 meters by increasing the power. Bluetooth devices are protected from radio interference by changing their frequencies arbitrarily upto a maximum of 1600 times a second, a technique known as frequency hopping. They also use three different but complimentary error correction schemes. Built-in encryption and verification is provided.

Advantages of the technology :
1.Bluetooth devices won't drain precious battery life. The Bluetooth specification targets power consumption of the device from a "hold" mode consuming 30 micro amps to the active transmitting range of 8-30 milliamps (or less than 1/10th of a watt). The radio chip consumers only 0.3mA in standby mode, which is less than 3 % of the power used by a standard mobile phone. The chips also have excellent power-saving features, as they will automatically shift to a low-power mode as soon as traffic volume lessens or stops.
2.Bluetooth radio technology provides a universal bridge to existing data networks, a peripheral interface, and a mechanism to form small private ad hoc groupings of connected devices away from fixed network infrastructures.
3.Designed to operate in a noisy radio frequency environment, the Bluetooth radio uses a fast acknowledgment and frequency hopping scheme to make the link robust. Bluetooth radio modules avoid interference from other signals by hopping to a new frequency after transmitting or receiving a packet. Compared with other systems operating in the same frequency band, the Bluetooth radio typically hops faster and uses shorter packets. This makes the Bluetooth radio more robust .
4.Bluetooth guarantees security at the bit level. Authentication is controlled by the user by using a 128 bit key. Radio signals can be coded with 8 bits or anything upto 128 bits. The Bluetooth radio transmissions will conform to the safety standards required by the countries where the technology will be used with respect to the affects of radio transmissions on the human body. The Bluetooth module will not interfere or cause harm to public or private telecommunications network.