How Bluetooth Works - Research Paper Example

of Institute] of Discipline] ‘Bluetooth’ INTRODUCTION The information and technology boom governing the modern global arena and the human society in particular has revolutionized the entire human race as a whole. The innumerable and continuous inventions that have come up as a result of advancements in research in relation to information and communications technology have made their place in the lives of human beings and have become inevitable for their survival. One of these many inventions is the technology named as Bluetooth. The need for such a technology emerged when the fast paced lives of human beings required remaining connected to the current ongoing global arena all the time. A number of means of connection were introduced. Getting connected to the internet via a computing device meant you could get connected to each and every other person who was connected to the internet round the world. Bluetooth was just one of the many means by which connections could get established. THE CORE IDEA Bluetooth may simply be stated as a means of establishing connectivity between two or more computing devices without the need of physical connectors. Signals are transmitted via air waves in Bluetooth. It is an open protocol that established connectivity over short distances. The process involves the agreement of both the connecting devices upon a series of terms that would be followed when data would be transferred between them. These may involve the number of packets being transferred and also the size of the packets as well as the duration for which the transfer would be enabled. The technology, named after a 1000 year old king of Denmark, is one of its kinds (Mitchell, 2012). The devices get connected at usually lesser than 1Mbps over short distances around 30 feet in length at most. Stucken (2010) emphasizes the significance of the technology in the following words: “The name ’Bluetooth’ reflects the Scandinavian origins of the technology. It is named after a 10th century Danish viking, King Harald Blåtand (translating as Bluetooth in English). He united and controlled Denmark and Norway, hence the association of uniting devices through Bluetooth. Legend has it that he liked eating blueberries - so much that his teeth became stained with the colour of the fruit, giving rise to his name!” (Stucken, 2010) STRUCTURE AND OPERATION The topology supported by the connecting network is termed as the PAN or the Piconet. In this network minimum two and at most eight devices can get connected to each other at a given particular time. The protocols that are part of the Bluetooth specifications assist in the connectivity of the devices. The British Broadcasting Centre quotes the Bluetooth in the following words: “Using a special radio frequency to transmit data, it creates a short range network. It is very secure and can connect up to eight devices (items of electronic equipment) at the same time. The chip can be plugged into items such as computers, digital cameras, mobile phones and faxes.” (Stucken, 2010) CREATING A BLUETOOTH CONNECTION The Bluetooth technology removes the need for the user to get engaged in the process of establishing a connection between itself and another Bluetooth enabled device nearby. The technology embedded in a telephonic or computing device consumes immensely less power to establish connectivity. Thus it makes use of very less battery power and thus may be used without the fear of finishing up the battery of the telephonic or computing device. Specifically, each Bluetooth signal transmission consumes only one milliwatt of power. Thus the signal transmission is potentially harmless to the cellphone or computing device power backup. All the Bluetooth enabled and turned on devices within the span of a Bluetooth network may automatically transmit send and receive data if their authentication has been established. This may prove fruitful specifically within a household where the home phone, the computing system and the cell phone, for instance, may be Bluetooth enabled. The transmission network over your cell phone may link itself with the personal computer and assess your geographical location at the present moment. Any call that may then arrive on the cell phone may be routed to the home phone as the geographical location of the user has been established as being at home. The networking technology of Bluetooth is spanned over two levels. Being established as a networking standard, it does the following: Establishes an agreement of terms at the ‘Physical Level’ as it is a Radio Frequency standard, Establishes an agreement of terms at the ‘Protocol’ level. This is the point where the protocols need to agree on what would be the number of bits that would be transferred, which of the bits would be transferred, how the security of the transferred message get authenticates. WHY BLUETOOTH The first and the foremost reason is the inexpensiveness of the technology. It’s being wireless and automatic are the main two other reasons that establish its importance among its competitors. The other options of wireless connectivity that Bluetooth gains an edge over may be narrated as follows: Infrared technology This technology involves use of light rays of a lower frequency that that which can be detected by the human eye. This technology is widely in use and is used more specifically in television remote sensing system and also in air conditioning systems. Though this technology is quite reliable and may even cost very nominal the drawback that it possesses is that it works on the line of sight. The signal transmitting and receiving devices both need to be in the line of sight of each other in order to get connected via infrared technology. Moreover, another drawback that is faced if infrared is opted for is that the technology is ‘One-to-One’. This refers to the fact that one device can get connected to only one more infrared sensing device at a time. The PC or the personal computer cannot transmit data to both a laptop and a smartphone at the same time. It would have to transmit data to the laptop first and then to the smartphone. This may become quite cumbersome as much time would be wasted in doing so. The two drawbacks of the infrared devices however may also be assessed as its advantages. This may be said owing to the fact that since line of sight is essential in infrared connectivity all the devices that need to be connected via it need to be aligned together physically. This becomes the cause of reduction in interference and transmission flaws. The second advantage of infrared communication is that since only one to one communication is possible there is no insecurity concern in this type of data transfer. There is confirmation that the data being received is from the intended communicator only as there is no other established connection. Even if the number of infra-red enabled devices in the vicinity is innumerable. Having stated one of the potential substitute methods of Bluetooth technology it is imperative that it should be mentioned now how Bluetooth edges over its counterparts. Curt Franklin and Julia Clayton (2012) emphasize upon the importance of the preference of Bluetooth over its counterparts in the following words: “Bluetooth is intended to get around the problems that come with infrared systems. The older Bluetooth 1.0 standard has a maximum transfer speed of 1 megabit per second (Mbps), while Bluetooth 2.0 can manage up to 3 Mbps. Bluetooth 2.0 is backward-compatible with 1.0 devices.” (Franklin, Clayton, 2012) Bluetooth replaces Wireless networking protocol? The much acclaimed wireless networking protocol standard 802.11 is adapted by Bluetooth for tis use but still this does not account for the fact that Bluetooth may be considered as a replacement for it. The reason behind it is that the technology is slower than the open wireless protocol in general. Moreover, it is restricted to the number of devices that can get connected via it in a given period of time and lastly the range that it is spanned over is also very limited as compared to the range supported by the open wireless protocol. The security concerns and interoperability issues are also two of the reasons why Bluetooth is not preferred over the over wireless networking protocol. Bluetooth and Convenience The technology comes with ease and convenience and this primarily is the reason behind its usability and popularity. The transferring of image or music files foremost telephonic or computing device to another without the need for wires is the basic reason behind the increasingly adaptability of the technology. USING BLUETOOTH The hardware that enables the Bluetooth connection to be established needs to be incorporated into the devices from which data transfer is intended. If it is not embedded in it then a Bluetooth dongle can be used. This dongle is plugged into the telephonic or computing device. Once enabled for using within the device the Bluetooth signal detects any other Bluetooth signals available in its area or scope. Once the available Bluetooth connections have been detected permission to access any one of them is sought. The acceptance of permission enables data transfers from one Bluetooth enabled device to another. APPLICATIONS OF BLUETOOTH The much acclaimed technology of Bluetooth may be used in a number of applications. This may be owing to the amazing potential that the technology possesses that establishes connectivity within localized settings. The potential of Bluetooth applications is immense. This is owing to the fact that in the corporate environment run time communication is sought mainly in locations that are nearby rather than in far off places. This can also be interpreted as a natural phenomenon of human interaction. For this purpose the presence of an application as effective and as harmless as Bluetooth is more than welcome. The following discussion narrates only a few of the applications. There are three areas overall that incorporate the applications of Bluetooth. These areas incorporate the short range wireless connectivity that Bluetooth offers. Access Points of Voice and Data Real time voice and data transfer facilitated by Bluetooth. The effortless communication it offers is wireless and can be embedded in both stationary and moving devices. Replacement of Cable Any of the two communicating telephony or computing devices that are being connected via cables may incorporate Bluetooth as a substitute of the cabling methodology. Thus the need for numerous and lengthy cables is eliminated. This is true for practically any kind of communicating devices. This application of Bluetooth is handy especially in the terms that it does not require the connecting device to be present in the line of sight. The range of each signal transfer is 10 meters but can be extended even to 100 meters if an external amplifier is used to amplify it. Spontaneous Networking This is one of the foremost applications of the said technology. A device equipped with Bluetooth radio sensor may establish contact with another similar Bluetooth radio device as soon as they both come within the connecting range of each other. If specific authentication is required then that authentication will be sought before the connection is established. Incorporating all the above mentioned generalized means of Bluetooth applications the discussion may well be put forth by specifying them in the following manner: Office Environment The installation of Bluetooth technology within devices in an office environment may well replace the tedious task of establishing physical network connections among computing devices. This application eliminates the need for the fixing of hardware locations where the network cabling would require to be done in order to establish connectivity. This ease of use would be enhanced further more when each Bluetooth enabled device would be able to connect itself to around 200 other Bluetooth enabled devices. Thus it would be possible to connect each connecting device to each other. The protocol’s application within the office environment would be at its best when the facility of both ‘point to point’ and ‘point to multipoint’ connectivity that it offers is put to use. Incorporating this facility, the actual number of connectable devices within the Bluetooth enabled area of connectivity would virtually become innumerable. Peripheral Connectivity Peripheral connectivity within the office environment becomes extremely convenient with the use of Bluetooth. All the notebooks, PCs, Printers, scanners and cameras may be connected via the Bluetooth networking protocol and do not need to be intertwined into wires for establishing connectivity. Even the mouse and the keyboards are now available with Bluetooth connectivity making the entire office environment virtually wireless. Digital Imaging The digital camera may be equipped with a Bluetooth transmitting device. This way all the imaging could easily be transmitted to the intended recipients without any hassle. This is particularly beneficial in businesses such as that of digital imaging and photography. Still or video images may be transferred from one location to another without the hassle of specifically connecting the imaging device to the device to which the data is intended to be transferred to. Multipurpose Telephony With the incorporation of Bluetooth the phone may be used in three methods. When Bluetooth is embedded into the phone it may be used in three different manners. At the home the fixed landline may also be used as a portable phone. When on the move the phone may function as a cellular telephony device. Moreover if this phone would come in range of another Bluetooth enabled telephony device then it would function as a one to one communicating device with that computing system or telephony. This way the communication between these two phones would be without any charge just like a walkie-talkie. Runtime Conference Usability During meetings or in conferences file transfer to only the selected recipients becomes possible via Bluetooth. The selected files may be transferred to selected recipients without the need for any wired connectivity. Similarly, electronic business cards may be exchanged automatically without the need for any devices connected via a wired network. Hands Free! When the Bluetooth enabled laptop, smartphone or mobile phone is turned on and enabled it may function as a hands free device. This enables the person to remain engaged in any other physical while remaining connected via Bluetooth as well simultaneously. This is particularly useful while driving or during office work. Automatic Synchronization Within an enclosed environment all the devices that are possibly needed by a working individual may be connected together via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth technology enables automatic synchronization of the personal computer, laptop, smartphone and the simple mobile phone. This is particularly feasible when working in the office. The address list of the person is updated automatically among the connected devices and any new updates and passed on to each one of them. Automatic The message delivery becomes automated with the enabling of Bluetooth. For example, if messages are composed on the laptop in a plane where the Bluetooth enabled devices are not enabled these messages would be sent automatically once the plane lands and the mobile connecting devices are switched on. Home Sensors The Bluetooth enabled sensors, if embedded into the home would synchronize them with your mobile phone and reconfirm your geographical location once you are home. Upon confirmation the lights would be turned on themselves and the door lock would also be opened automatically. These settings may also be adjusted as per convenience. Airport Portability At the airport the Bluetooth equipped devices may be connected to other devices that are all equipped with Bluetooth. SCHOLARLY WORK HIGHLIGHTING APPLICATIONS OF BLUETOOTH One of the applications of Bluetooth have been discussed in detail by studying a paper written by Thomas Djotio Ndie, Claude Tangha, Tam Sangbong and Armstrong Formenah Kufor. The paper is titled as: “Mobile Applications Provisioning Using Bluetooth Wireless Technology” Owing to the high costs involved in information transfer in the computing systems it is imperative that cost effective runtime enabled communication strategies may be incorporated. This is the core idea behind the said study. The propagation of advertisements via mobile phones embedding the Bluetooth technology as a means of the spread of the advertisement was practically implemented. This proved to be fruitful even more as it could even connect devices that were not GPRS or internet enabled and thus would result in effective marketing of goods. FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF BLUETOOTH The proposed applications of Bluetooth in the future arena of the human society may well be assessed in the following manner: Retail and Mobile e-Commerce The Bluetooth mobile technology may be incorporated as a method of payment for goods and services via mobile devices. For example, a soda machine could get connected to a mobile device over a Bluetooth link. This way it may be used to pay for the soda purchased. Similarly, the ticket buying kiosk at the theatre may be linked to the mobile device via Bluetooth and the bill may thus be deducted via it. In the very same manner the smartphone connected to the case register of a mart may be used to deduct payment for the goods bought. Even the customer benefit discounts, the loyalty card coupons and the special discounts may be handled in the very same manner. Medical The proposed applications of Bluetooth technology in the domain of medicine are vast. These may include remote patient monitoring, use of accessibility of biometric data via wireless communication and the use of Bluetooth enabled wireless medicine dispensers. The periodic recording of remote sensors of the vital signs of each patient may be reported to the health care provider automatically if the sensors are enabled with Bluetooth technology and so is the computing system to which the health care provider is connected. The automated data transfer from one Bluetooth enabled device to another becomes may convenient this way. Some of the medical tests such as electrocardiograms that require wires to be attached to the patient’s body may be eased up if those wires are replaced by Bluetooth enabled sensors. Thus the measurements would be taken more conveniently in a remote manner without distressing the patient. Medicine dispensing devices may also make use of the Bluetooth technology. They may incorporate the Bluetooth technology in order to transmit the patient’s response to a particular dosage of a particular medicine to the medical facility. The dosage and time of the dispensed medicine may also be noted to the medical facility for future record. The response of the patient, when recorded into the system would enable the getting of a runtime response from the medical facility for the subsequent dosages. The use of wireless biometric medicines is easily practically observed in this scenario. Travel The travel industry could get enhanced with the use of Bluetooth in it. This is owing to the fact that the use of e-ticketing is becoming common both in the airline and in the train industry. The concept of ‘ticketless travel’ as the use of e-ticketing is referred to as, would get assisted greatly by the incorporation of Bluetooth in it. If a current or a proposed traveller possesses a Bluetooth enabled device then his personal credentials could get entered into the Bluetooth ticketing system of the travelling means when the traveller would check in into the system. This could enable the issuing of an electronic boarding pass. This pass would get stored in the Bluetooth device. The same device may be used to present the boarding pass when the traveller boards the respective train or plane. The hotel industry may also make use of the Bluetooth technology. A proposed customer may have the ability to check into a hotel automatically if his Bluetooth device gets connected to the Bluetooth enabled reservation system of the hotel. The issues of room availability and the entrance of the customer’s credentials could all get resolved by the connections established via the Bluetooth only and no physical data entry would be needed. This would result in the lessening of the time spent in data entry and verification. This may even eventually eliminate the need for hotels to incorporate front desks. These may well be replaced by Bluetooth enabled kiosks. The guest messages may well be retrieved using the Bluetooth links. Moreover, the in- room information services such as the telephone, internet, the satellite television, printers and the fax machines would all get authenticated for use if the Bluetooth enabled smartphone would verify the checking in of the customer into the specific hotel room. This would even permit the information facilities of the hotel to be used with the personal Bluetooth enabled computing or telephony device of the customer. The Bluetooth enabled communication linking may even enable the use of Bluetooth enabled door locks that would get unlocked only if the personal credentials of the entrant would get authenticated via his Bluetooth enabled device that would be accompanying him. Home Networking The proposed usage of Bluetooth may also be in the home. This is owing to the fact that in-home networks are becoming common with every passing day. These networks possess enhanced security. This further promotes the use of Bluetooth technology in home networks as it eliminates the use of wires. For example of the cell phones and the Personal computers and the laptop are all embedded with Bluetooth enabled devices then the mobile use may be used as a cordless phone using a Bluetooth access point. Portable computers may also be connected to the network via wireless networking established via Bluetooth. This would be similar to the wireless networking established when connected to the common wireless networking protocol. All the home appliances that are enabled with electricity may be embedded with Bluetooth sensors. For example, all the audio visual equipment, home security appliances, mobile phones and personal desktop assistants may be embedded with Bluetooth. This would enable the establishment of synchronization. This would eventually help in the controlling of all the devices with only one Bluetooth enabled sensor may it be the refrigerator or the cloth washer or the dryer, the lighting of the house, the home security system, the stereo system etcetera. CONCLUSION Conclusively it may be said that Bluetooth has a number of potential uses. It is due to its increased adaptability and usability that it is also being applied at various levels of both corporate and personal environments. The low cost and effectiveness of its use further enhances its usage. The future of Bluetooth technology is sound and would most probably result in it becoming prevalent in line with the proposed applications mentioned in the research done in the report. REREFERCES Mitchell, B. 2012. ‘Bluetooth’. About.com Wireless/Networking.[Online] Available at Accessed on [March 11, 2012] Stucken, A. 2010. ‘What is Bluetooth’. WebWise. [Online]. Available at Accessed on [March 9, 2012] Franklin, C, Clayton, J. 2012. ‘How Bluetooth Works.’ How Stuff Works. [Online] Available at Accessed on [March 6, 2012] Berry, M, & Hamilton, M 2010, Mobile Computing Applications: Bluetooth for Local Voices, Journal Of Urban Technology, 17, 2, pp. 37-55, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 March 2012. Ndie, T, Tangha, C, Sangbong, T, & Kufor, A 2011, Mobile Applications Provisioning Using Bluetooth Wireless Technology, Journal Of Software Engineering & Applications, 4, 2, pp. 95-105, Computers & Applied Sciences Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 11 March 2012. J. Michael Tarn (a, ⁎, Chuan Pang, (, David C. Yen, (, & Jon Chen, ( 2009, Exploring the implementation and application of Bluetooth technology in the shipping industry, Computer Standards & Interfaces, 31, pp. 48-55, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 11 March 2012. Read More