Bluetooth Broadcasting
Bluetooth wireless technology (IEEE 802.15.1) is a short-range
communications technology originally intended to replace the cables
connecting portable and/or fixed devices while maintaining high levels
of security. The key features of Bluetooth technology are threefold:
robustness, low power, and low cost. Bluetooth has been designed in a
uniform way. This way it enables a wide range of devices to connect and
communicate with each other by using the Bluetooth wireless
communication protocol. The Bluetooth technology has achieved global
acceptance in such a way that any Bluetooth-enabled electronic device,
almost everywhere in the world, is able to connect to other
Bluetooth-enabled devices in its proximity. Bluetooth-enabled electronic
devices connect and communicate wirelessly through short-range, ad hoc
networks known as piconets. Each device can simultaneously communicate
with up to seven other devices within a single piconet. Each device can
also belong to several piconets simultaneously. Piconets are established
dynamically and automatically as Bluetooth-enabled devices enter and
leave radio proximity. One of the main strengths of the Bluetooth
wireless technology is the ability to handle data and voice
transmissions simultaneously. This enables users to use a hands-free
headset for voice calls, printing, fax capabilities, synchronizing
PDA’s, laptops, and mobile phone applications to name a few.
An important aspect of this thesis is about the scalability of Bluetooth broadcasting. Since scalability can sometimes be a rather vague concept, we give a short explanation of the term. An important aspect of software products is how they are able to cope with growth. For example, how does the system handle an increase in users or data traffic? This property of a software system is usually referred to as scalability. A more detailed specification of the concept is given by André Bondi, who defines it as follows: ‘Scalability is a desirable attribute of a network, system, or process. The concept connotes the ability of a system to accommodate an increasing number of elements or objects, to process growing volumes of work gracefully, and/or to be susceptible to enlargement.’ Whenever a system meets these requirements we can say that thesystem scales. In this thesis scalability comes down to the question if the system is capable of dealing with large groups of users equipped with Bluetooth enabled devices capable of receiving simple text messages.
An important aspect of this thesis is about the scalability of Bluetooth broadcasting. Since scalability can sometimes be a rather vague concept, we give a short explanation of the term. An important aspect of software products is how they are able to cope with growth. For example, how does the system handle an increase in users or data traffic? This property of a software system is usually referred to as scalability. A more detailed specification of the concept is given by André Bondi, who defines it as follows: ‘Scalability is a desirable attribute of a network, system, or process. The concept connotes the ability of a system to accommodate an increasing number of elements or objects, to process growing volumes of work gracefully, and/or to be susceptible to enlargement.’ Whenever a system meets these requirements we can say that thesystem scales. In this thesis scalability comes down to the question if the system is capable of dealing with large groups of users equipped with Bluetooth enabled devices capable of receiving simple text messages.
Passive Broadcasting
The first type of business deals with broadcasting from a central
location, which we will call passive broadcasting. Most of these
companies sell both the hardware and software to enable this. For
example, BlueCasting by Filter WorldWide, one of the major players in
the market which made the news in August 2005 when they distributed
merchandise for the British pop band Coldplay, offers a product family
divided into four types of systems. They offer solutions for small
retail shops, one-off events such as music festivals, and even larger
areas such as airports and train stations. The latest descendant in the
family is a system that provides an interactive touchscreen allowing
users to interact directly with the system. BlueCasting is an example of
a product that comes with both hardware (one or more BlueCast Servers)
and software (BlueCast Campaign Management System) which is used to
provide remote setup, maintenance and reporting.
Besides this type of companies, i.e. the ones that are selling the total package, other companies have dedicated themselves to providing just the hardware. An example is BlueGiga. According to their website their BlueGiga Access Servers are used by more than 350 Bluetooth Marketing companies in more than 65 countries. They sell two lines of products: Bluetooth Modules and Bluetooth Access Servers. The modules are described as ‘completely integrated, certified, high-performance Radio Frequency products including all needed Bluetooth profiles’. Access Servers are sold in the form of Access Points (up to 7 connections) and Access Servers (up to 21 connections). Besides this they also sell the BlueGiga Solution Manager (BSM). This is a web-based remote management and monitoring platform for BlueGiga Access Servers that can be used to simultaneously upgrade, monitor and configure a large number of BlueGiga Access Servers, instead of configuring each device one-by-one.
Besides this type of companies, i.e. the ones that are selling the total package, other companies have dedicated themselves to providing just the hardware. An example is BlueGiga. According to their website their BlueGiga Access Servers are used by more than 350 Bluetooth Marketing companies in more than 65 countries. They sell two lines of products: Bluetooth Modules and Bluetooth Access Servers. The modules are described as ‘completely integrated, certified, high-performance Radio Frequency products including all needed Bluetooth profiles’. Access Servers are sold in the form of Access Points (up to 7 connections) and Access Servers (up to 21 connections). Besides this they also sell the BlueGiga Solution Manager (BSM). This is a web-based remote management and monitoring platform for BlueGiga Access Servers that can be used to simultaneously upgrade, monitor and configure a large number of BlueGiga Access Servers, instead of configuring each device one-by-one.
Bluetooth Core System Architecture :
The transceiver operates in the globally unlicensed ISM band at 2.4
GHz. The bit rateis 1 Megabit per second and can be boosted to 2 or 3
Mb/s with Enhanced Data Rate[EDR]. The 79 channels in the band are
ordered from channel number 0-78 and arespaced 1 MHz beginning at 2402
GHz. Bluetooth-enabled devices that arecommunicating share a radio
channel and are synchronized to a common clock andfrequency hopping
pattern. Frequency hopping is used to make the protocol morerobust to
interference from other devices operating in the same band. The
physicalchannel is sub-divided into time units known as slots. Data is
transmitted betweenBluetooth-enabled devices in packets. These packets
are situated in the slots. Packetscan fill one or more consecutive
slots, allowing larger data chunks to be transmitted ifthe circumstances
admit this. Bluetooth is primarily designed for low power consumption
and affordability and hasa relatively short range (1, 10 or 100 meters).
It makes use of low-cost transceivermicrochips that are embedded in
each device.
