Bluetooth innovations are largely related to the Internet of Things. Bluetooth 5, the latest version of the wireless protocol now available, goes twice as fast for a four times greater range. These two improvements are particularly interesting for applications with low energy requirements.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the protocol that benefits most from the new Bluetooth 5 specification, can now reach speeds of 2Mb/s (bits per second) and is capable of covering an entire house or the entire floor of a building, as stated yesterday by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). These features could enable the BLE to become the reference network for connected homes and some corporate sites. According to Avi Greengart, an analyst at ABI Research, "the domestic IoT market remains fairly open because consumers have not yet purchased products such as thermostats or connected locking systems. According to the analyst, "Bluetooth has a clear advantage over competing systems because it is already integrated with most smartphones and tablets". This is not the case with alternative solutions such as ZigBee and Z-Wave. "It is easy to predict that in two to three years, almost all phones will be equipped with Bluetooth 5," said Avi Greengart. "Often, the adoption of a standard depends more on ubiquity than on specifications.
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When the protocol is available on mobiles, users should be able to control Bluetooth 5 devices without using a hub. It is gradually moving in two directions. The most "classic" is the one that has been used for years to connect a mobile phone to car on-board systems and a wireless mouse to a PC. Another variant, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which, as its name suggests, consumes less energy, is more suitable for small battery-powered devices that have to operate for long periods without human intervention. "BLE devices now outnumber traditional Bluetooth products and most processors can handle both protocols," said Steve Hegenderfer, director of developer programs at the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). "The arrival of Bluetooth 5 brings the BLE to the same level as the old protocol, and manufacturers could even gradually opt for the low-energy version," he added.
Four times the range
In addition, Bluetooth 5 extends its range, now four times wider, so users will no longer need to get closer to their smart devices to control them. In addition, according to Tom Kerber, an analyst at Parks Associates, "home security systems, which often serve as the first point of entry for intelligent systems into the home, will be able to communicate with other Bluetooth 5 devices around the house.
Another specification of version 5 of the protocol will also allow companies to use Bluetooth beacons for location applications. Indeed, thanks to a mechanism included in the BLE, the devices will be able to broadcast information indicating to other devices their location and skills and allow other devices to coordinate with them. Until now, this type of message could not exceed 31 bytes. The new version multiplies this capacity by eight and makes it possible to share information on the location and condition of the company's assets. This may apply, for example, to hospital medical devices. Note that Google's Physical Web concept, which should allow users to interact easily with objects, is based on BLE tags.
Source: Le Monde Informatique / December 2016 / Copyright Le Monde Informatique.fr 1997-2016