Bluetooth Low Energy – A New Connectivity
Revolution (part 2)
In part 1 we
described Bluetooth Low Energy and showed why we consider it to
be a new Bluetooth revolution. Here we continue to look at
various aspects of the technology.
How much will it cost?
Naturally developing this new technology over the last couple of
years has not been cheap. In fact a huge amount of design work
has been carried out between the initial concept and the first
silicon chips, and consequently the manufacturers intend to
recoup this expenditure from selling devices.
On the other hand, one of the beauties of Bluetooth Low Energy
is that it is very cheap. In devices such as mobile phones,
Bluetooth low energy will sit alongside conventional Bluetooth
(dual mode devices); in fact they will use just a single chip
and its cost will be no more than in conventional Bluetooth.
Naturally in devices that just use Bluetooth Low Energy the
chips will have a net cost, but this will be very low.
What new gadgets will use Bluetooth Low Energy?
We have already given one example of how data collected from a
sportswatch may be transmitted directly to the internet via your
mobile phone. Bluetooth low energy may be used in many other
sports applications such as smart training shoes, sensors on a
bicycle or a canoe, even in a bat, racket or golf club. Whatever
sport you might be involved in, Bluetooth Low Energy will allow
you to monitor your performance in real time and transmit it
directly over the internet.
Other gadgets that are related to the above are in the field of
healthcare. For instance someone with diabetes could use
Bluetooth Low Energy gadgets to constantly monitor their blood
sugar levels and the data could be transmitted directly to that
person’s doctor or physician; heart data could be monitored for
any anomalies; the health of elderly people could be monitored
remotely.
Naturally there are many other applications not involving health
and fitness. For instance it will be used in remote control, in
household appliances and in entertainment systems. What is
certain is that hundreds or even thousands of new applications
will emerge over the next few years.
How will it change my life?
It is inevitable that the low cost low
energy connectivity offered by Bluetooth Low Energy will be life
changing. With conventional Bluetooth your Personal Area Network
(PAN) is restricted to a handful of devices such as your mobile
phone, your laptop and computer, your MP3 player, a Bluetooth
Headset, Bluetooth Headphones, your GPS and possibly your car.
With Bluetooth Low Energy your PAN will be extended massively to
include wearable gadgets, accessories, white goods in your home,
lights and curtains, sensors and intruder alarms, remote
controls for all your entertainment systems and all the other
functions that we have mentioned; the possibilities are huge and
limited only by your imagination.
What is the timeline?
As we have said, the first chips have been
made by semiconductor companies and are being evaluated by
gadget manufacturers. This exercise will take several months to
complete and there might be some further design iterations
before everything is finalised, but it will not be long before
the first Bluetooth Low Energy gadgets and phones appear on the
market. Before too long, all new Smartphones will incorporate
dual mode Bluetooth Low Energy. Industry analysts estimate that
by 2014 the consumption of Bluetooth chipsets incorporating
Bluetooth Low Energy will have reached two billion a year.
Final Word
Bluetooth Low Energy is on its way and it
will be a life changing technology that will permit a
revolutionary increase in the level of connectivity that can be
achieved between a new generation of devices, conventional
Bluetooth devices and the internet.
In future articles we will look in some
detail at the technologies involved, at new applications, and
any competitive solutions that might also be on the horizon.
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