The Development of Bluetooth Technology - Research Paper Example

 Blue Tooth Technology Introduction The twenty first century, is the era of advanced technology. Keeping in line with new upcoming technologies that we see every day, like Computers, laptops, and cellular phones, Bluetooth technology “came into existence” to do away with the cables that were required to attach mobiles to peripherals (Prabhu, Reddi and Reddi, 20, 2006). In this globalised world with high end technology becoming popular very fast, it is necessary that connections between PCs or mobiles are made which are fast and secure. Bluetooth technology with its wireless network technology for communicating within the local area network it “lies under Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)” (Arokiamary, 2008, 3-30), and does not require any infrastructure arrangements except for an access point. Bluetooth technology makes it possible to make short range communication more affordable, less cumbersome and much faster and yet secure. Body Bluetooth technology; its recent developments, and the industry that is providing this technology: A search at the official Bluetooth site reveals a definition that says that this technology has been created “to replace the cables connecting portable ...while maintaining high levels of security. The key features...are robustness, low power, and low cost” (Bluetooth Special Interest Group, 2010, 1). So the basic idea that went behind the invention of this technology was to remove the cumbersome cables that made movement not possible. As Kirby in his article tells us “Bluetooth technology is focused on replacing cables...[and] is based on very small, low-cost, light-weight radios that easily form ad-hoc, secure links ” (Kirby, 2000,1). Before Bluetooth came into vogue, all electronic devices had integrated infra-red wireless rays, through which communication was possible only through a ‘line of sight’ and any physical object that came within this ‘line of sight’ proved to be an obstacle to communication. Blue tooth was first developed by Ericsson Mobile Communications which started working on various alternatives to the integrated device mechanisms for connection, in 1994. Later Ericsson was joined by other giants in this line like Intel, Nokia, IBM, Toshiba, Motorola, 3COM, Lucent, Microsoft and they formed a Bluetooth forum in 1998, after which this technology gained popularity and soon came to be used in blackberry phones, to home theatres, and in many more technical devices (Dunning, 20-27, 2010). The name Bluetooth was given “to honor a 10th century Viking king in Denmark” (Muller, 15, 2001), named John Herald Blatand (940-985 A.D.), who liked eating blue coloured fruits which gave his teeth a permanent blue appearance, hence leading to the name, Bluetooth king. Since his powers for integration were well known, the Bluetooth forum decided to use his name for this wireless integrated device that looked to integrate the business sectors of computers, cellular phones and automotives. Implications of this new technological development: The main advantage of using Bluetooth technology is the replacement of all the wired cables used in connecting the computer peripherals, and making the entire system wireless. It is also inexpensive, does not need an infrastructure for its set up, and user friendly for the common man. One very popular Bluetooth device is the phone headset. Attached to the ear this device keeps one’s hands free, thus making it easier to receive calls while doing work. There are health benefits too, as a news article in CNN points out, “Some earbuds are wired to the phone; other options, like Bluetooth ear pieces, are wireless. Both put less radiation on the side of your head than a phone” (CNN, 2010). Bluetooth operates on a 2.4 gigahertz “frequency hopping spread spectrum... which consists of 79 1-MHz channels” (Bing, 476, 2008). Bluetooth optimizes this frequency hopping and has been designed to use the maximum bandwidth of each channel, and while operating on minimum power to attenuate the interfering effects from RF. Another advantage of this Bluetooth technology is its interoperability. When two devices are connected by Bluetooth, one forms the master device while the other is the slave. Here the innovativeness of the entire technology lies in the fact that it allows the Bluetooth radio to play either of the two roles. This technology also allows the device to act as a master device for one link and a slave device for another communication link simultaneously. A master can communicate with 7 direct slaves and 255 parked slaves at one time forming a network called the piconet (fig A) Fig A: Principle scheme of a piconet. Here ‘M’ is the master device while ‘S’ is the slave. (Source: Gregori, 2002, 481,) One major disadvantage for Bluetooth technology is that it operates in the same frequency as that of Wavelan. There is also another major problem faced by Bluetooth users. Considering that Bluetooth is ‘omni-directional’, in a room where there are multiple users there are problems of locating the aimed recipient. This could lead to security issues, while the intended recipient is being searched. Another disadvantage is that this technology “works along with mobile devices and hence are powered with batteries” (Palanivelu & Nakkeeran, 2009). Keeping Bluetooth enabled all the time increases the power consumption of all cellular phones and computers, hence it is advisable to keep Bluetooth disabled, when not in use. With all its future implications of providing better technological innovations, and since “Bluetooth is now in everything from consumer goods to medical devices” (Joyce Putscher, cited in Dess, Lumpkin & Eisner, 2009, 304), this technology is indeed here to stay. Bluetooth technology is developing at a very past pace bringing in new innovations by the day. On 11th February 2008 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Bluetooth SIG announced that it will make it possible for their consumers to transfer high volume entertainment data at a higher speed, like video, photos and music, at a short range, using a method called ‘radio substitution’ (Bluetooth Special Interest Group, 2008, 1). In April 2010, Japan announced that it will soon launch a pocket computer using Bluetooth technology. The CPU will have a read only memory, with a hand operated controller that will hold the virtual keyboard. This unique concept is still under development, and when launched will change the world of PC’s. So all future innovations will be in the field of computers and mobiles integrated with Bluetooth, thus benefitting business giants like Nokia, Samsung, IBM. Its impact on the 21st century business sector: Bluetooth an innovation of the twenty-first century has many far reaching implications. Businesses that will be impacted by this latest technology are the cellular phones (Nokia, Samsung), computers (IBM) and computer peripherals, the shipping industry and the automotives (Toyota). Each of the mentioned markets has business houses with global footprints like Nokia, IBM, Dell, amongst many others. Keeping in mind all its advantages, one can easily say that the application of this technology by the above mentioned business sectors will advance their uses making communications better, up-to-date, and thus, more effective, without the presence of the cumbersome cables and other associated tags. Since this technology is fast becoming extremely popular amongst the consumers, all the products will be upgraded to have integrated Bluetooth devices. Thus, an across-the-board product redesigning to include Bluetooth as a standard interface is expected. Also expected is associated software to prevent virus attacks through Bluetooth, as well as a better access control for Bluetooth interfaces. Conclusion Bluetooth century, technological innovation of the 21st century with its wireless network mode has indeed made many changes in the field of communications. It has made short range communications with the local area network cheaper, less cumbersome and faster, without compromising on the security issue. With its widespread use in today’s’ world, this technology is indeed here to stay. References Arokiamary, J. (2008). Mobile Computing. Pune: Technical publications. ISBN: 8184315074, 9788184315073. Bing, B. (2008). Emerging Technologies in wireless LANs: theory, design, and deployment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bluetooth Special Interest Group. (2010). What is Bluetooth technology? Retrieved from http://www.bluetooth.com/btmicro/whatis.html Bluetooth Special Interest Group. (2008). Bluetooth technology to harness the speed of 802.11. [Press release] Retrieved from http://www.bluetooth.com/English/Press/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?ID=35 CNN, SciTechBlog. (2010, May 17). 5 Ways to Reduce Cell-Phone Radiation. Retrieved from http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/17/5-ways-to-reduce-cell-phone- radiation/ Dess, G., Lumpkin, T., and Eisner, A. (2009). Strategic Mgmt: Text & Cases 3E. New York: Tata McGraw-Hill. Dunning, J. (2010, March).Taming the Blue Beast: A Survey of Bluetooth Based Threats. IEEE publication. 20-27. Gregori, E., Conti, M., Cambell, A. T., Omidyar, G., & Zukerman, M. (Eds.). (2002). Networking 2002. New York, NY:  Springer.  Kirby, G. (2000). Integrating Bluetooth technology into mobile products.      Intel Technology Journal, Q2, 1-8. Retrieved from http://download.intel.com/technolog/itj/q22000/pdf/art_4.pdf  Muller, N. J. (2001). Bluetooth demystified. New York, NY: Tata McGraw-Hill.    Palanivelu, T., & Nakkeeran, R. (2009). Wireless and mobile communication. New Delhi, India: PHI Learning.  Prabhu, C., & Reddi, P. (2006).  Bluetooth technology and its applications with JAVA and J2ME. New Delhi, India: PHI Learning.  Sutter, J. D. (2010, May 17). 5 ways to reduce cell-phone radiation. CNN. Retrieved from      http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/17/5-ways-to-reduce-cell-phone-radiation/ Read More