How Bluetooth Works

hoto courtesy 'ealTime Jabra FreeSpeak BT250 Bluetooth headset There are lots of different ways that electronic devices can connect to one another. For example:

Many desktop computer systems have a C ! unit connected to a mouse" a key#oard" a printer and so on. $ personal di%ital assistant & '$( will normally connect to the computer with a ca#le and a dockin% cradle. $ T) will normally connect to a )C* and a ca#le #ox" with a remote control for all three components. $ cordless phone connects to its #ase unit with radio waves" and it may have a headset that connects to the phone with a wire. +n a stereo system" a C' player and other audio devices connect to the receiver" which connects to the speakers.

When you use computers" entertainment systems or telephones" the various pieces and parts of the systems make up a community of electronic devices. These devices communicate with each other usin% a variety of wires" ca#les" radio si%nals and infrared li%ht #eams" and an even %reater variety of connectors" plu%s and protocols. The art of connectin% thin%s is #ecomin% more and more complex every day. We sometimes feel as if we need a h.'. in electrical en%ineerin% ,ust to set up the electronics in our homes- +n this article" we will look at a completely different way to form the connections" called Bluetooth. Bluetooth is wireless and automatic" and has a num#er of interestin% features that can simplify our daily lives.

The ro#lems
When any two devices need to talk to each other" they have to a%ree on a num#er of points

#efore the conversation can #e%in. The first point of a%reement is physical: Will they talk over wires" or throu%h some form of wireless si%nals. +f they use wires" how many are re/uired 00 one" two" ei%ht" 12. 3nce the physical attri#utes are decided" several more /uestions arise:

+nformation can #e sent 4 #it at a time in a scheme called serial communications" or in %roups of #its &usually 5 or 46 at a time( in a scheme called parallel communications. $ desktop computer uses #oth serial and parallel communications to talk to different devices: Modems" mice and key#oards tend to talk throu%h serial links" while printers tend to use parallel links. $ll of the parties in an electronic discussion need to know what the #its mean and whether the messa%e they receive is the same messa%e that was sent. +n most cases" this means developin% a lan%ua%e of commands and responses known as a protocol. 7ome types of products have a standard protocol used #y virtually all companies so that the commands for one product will tend to have the same effect on another. Modems fall into this cate%ory. 3ther product types each speak their own lan%ua%e" which means that commands intended for one specific product will seem %i##erish if received #y another. rinters are like this" with multiple standards like C8 and ost7cript

Companies that manufacture computers" entertainment systems and other electronic devices have reali9ed that the incredi#le array of ca#les and connectors involved in their products makes it difficult for even expert technicians to correctly set up a complete system on the first try. 7ettin% up computers and home entertainment systems #ecomes terrifically complicated when the person #uyin% the e/uipment has to learn and remem#er all the details to connect all the parts. +n order to make home electronics more user friendly" we need a #etter way for all the electronic parts of our modern life to talk to each other. That:s where Bluetooth comes in.

Bluetooth Basics
Bluetooth is a standard developed #y a %roup of electronics manufacturers that allows any sort of electronic e/uipment 00 from computers and cell phones to key#oards and headphones 00 to make its own connections" without wires" ca#les or any direct action from a user. Bluetooth is intended to #e a standard that works at two levels:

+t provides a%reement at the physical level 00 Bluetooth is a radio0fre/uency standard. +t also provides a%reement at the next level up" where products have to a%ree on when #its are sent" how many will #e sent at a time and how the parties in a conversation can #e sure that the messa%e received is the same as the messa%e sent.

hoto courtesy Bluetooth 7+; Bluetooth wireless PC card The companies #elon%in% to the Bluetooth 7pecial +nterest ;roup" and there are more than 4"<<< of them" want to let Bluetooth:s radio communications take the place of wires for connectin% peripherals" telephones and computers.

3ther Wireless Connections

There are already a couple of ways to %et around usin% wires. 3ne is to carry information #etween components via #eams of li%ht in the infrared spectrum. Infrared refers to li%ht waves of a lower fre/uency than human eyes can receive and interpret. +nfrared is used in most television remote control systems" and with a standard called +r'$ &+nfrared 'ata $ssociation( it:s used to connect some computers with peripheral devices. For most of these computer and entertainment purposes" infrared is used in a di%ital mode 00 the si%nal is pulsed on and off very /uickly to send data from one point to another. +nfrared communications are fairly relia#le and don:t cost very much to #uild into a device" #ut there are a couple of draw#acks. First" infrared is a =line of si%ht= technolo%y. For example" you have to point the remote control at the television or ')' player to make thin%s happen. The second draw#ack is that infrared is almost always a =one to one= technolo%y. >ou can send data #etween your desktop computer and your laptop computer" #ut not your laptop computer and your '$ at the same time. These two /ualities of infrared are actually advanta%eous in some re%ards. Because infrared transmitters and receivers have to #e lined up with each other" interference #etween devices is uncommon. The one0to0one nature of infrared communications is useful in that you can make sure a messa%e %oes only to the intended recipient" even in a room full of infrared receivers. The second alternative to wires" cable s nchroni!in"" is a little more trou#lesome than infrared. +f you have a alm ilot" a Windows C? device or a ocket C" you know a#out

synchroni9in% data. +n synchroni9in%" you attach the '$ to your computer &usually with a ca#le(" press a #utton and make sure that the data on the '$ and the data on the computer match. +t:s a techni/ue that makes the '$ a valua#le tool for many people" #ut synchroni9in% the '$ with the computer and makin% sure you have the correct ca#le or cradle to connect the two can #e a real hassle.

The Bluetooth 7olution

Bluetooth is intended to %et around the pro#lems that come with #oth infrared and ca#le synchroni9in% systems. The hardware vendors" which include 7iemens" +ntel" Toshi#a" Motorola and ?ricsson" have developed a specification for a very small radio module to #e #uilt into computer" telephone and entertainment e/uipment. From the user:s point of view" there are three important features to Bluetooth:

It#s wireless$ When you travel" you don:t have to worry a#out keepin% track of a #riefcase full of ca#les to attach all of your components" and you can desi%n your office without wonderin% where all the wires will %o. It#s ine%pensi&e$ 'ou don#t ha&e to think about it$ Bluetooth doesn:t re/uire you to do anythin% special to make it work. The devices find one another and strike up a conversation without any user input at all.

hoto courtesy Bluetooth 7+; Bluetooth(enabled Palm Pilot P)*

Bluetooth Frequency
Bluetooth communicates on a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz, which has been set aside by international agreement for the use of industrial, scientific and medical devices (ISM).

$ num#er of devices that you may already use take advanta%e of this same radio0fre/uency #and. Ba#y monitors" %ara%e0door openers and the newest %eneration of cordless phones all make use of fre/uencies in the +7M #and. Makin% sure that Bluetooth and these other devices don:t interfere with one another has #een a crucial part of the desi%n process.

+h is it called Bluetooth,
Harald Bluetooth was kin% of 'enmark in the late @<<s. He mana%ed to unite 'enmark and part of Aorway into a sin%le kin%dom then introduced Christianity into 'enmark. He left a lar%e monument" the Bellin% rune stone" in memory of his parents. He was killed in @56 durin% a #attle with his son" 7vend Fork#eard. Choosin% this name for the standard indicates how important companies from the Baltic re%ion &nations includin% 'enmark" 7weden" Aorway and Finland( are to the communications industry" even if it says little a#out the way the technolo%y works.

$voidin% +nterference: 8ow ower

3ne of the ways Bluetooth devices avoid interferin% with other systems is #y sendin% out very weak si%nals of 4 milliwatt. By comparison" the most powerful cell phones can transmit a si%nal of C watts. The low power limits the ran%e of a Bluetooth device to a#out -0 meters" cuttin% the chances of interference #etween your computer system and your porta#le telephone or television. ?ven with the low power" the walls in your house won:t stop a Bluetooth si%nal" makin% the standard useful for controllin% several devices in different rooms.

hoto courtesy Bluetooth 7+; Bluetooth(enabled cell phone With many different Bluetooth devices in a room" you mi%ht think they:d interfere with one another" #ut it:s unlikely. 3n the next pa%e" we:ll see why.

$voidin% +nterference: Hoppin%

+t is unlikely that several devices will #e on the same fre/uency at the same time" #ecause Bluetooth uses a techni/ue called spread(spectrum fre.uenc hoppin". +n this techni/ue" a device will use D@ individual" randomly chosen fre/uencies within a desi%nated ran%e" chan%in% from one to another on a re%ular #asis. +n the case of Bluetooth" the transmitters chan%e fre/uencies 4"6<< times every second" meanin% that more devices can make full use of a limited slice of the radio spectrum. 7ince every Bluetooth transmitter uses spread0 spectrum transmittin% automatically" itEs unlikely that two transmitters will #e on the same fre/uency at the same time. This same techni/ue minimi9es the risk that porta#le phones or #a#y monitors will disrupt Bluetooth devices" since any interference on a particular fre/uency will last only a tiny fraction of a second.

When Bluetooth0capa#le devices come within ran%e of one another" an electronic conversation takes place to determine whether they have data to share or whether one needs to control the other. The user doesn:t have to press a #utton or %ive a command 00 the electronic conversation happens automatically. 3nce the conversation has occurred" the devices 00 whether they:re part of a computer system or a stereo 00 form a network. Bluetooth systems create a personal0area network & $A(" or piconet" that may fill a room or may encompass no more distance than that #etween the cell phone on a #elt0clip and the headset on your head. 3nce a piconet is esta#lished" the mem#ers randomly hop fre/uencies in unison so they stay in touch with one another and avoid other piconets that may #e operatin% in the same room.

?xample: Aetworks
8etEs take a look at how the Bluetooth fre/uency hoppin% and personal0area network keep systems from #ecomin% confused. 8etEs say youEve %ot a typical modern livin% room with the typical modern stuff inside. ThereEs an entertainment system with a stereo" a ')' player" a satellite T) receiver and a televisionF there:s a cordless telephone and a personal computer. ?ach of these systems uses Bluetooth" and each forms its own piconet to talk #etween main unit and peripheral. The cordless telephone has one Bluetooth transmitter in the #ase and another in the handset. The manufacturer has pro%rammed each unit with an address that falls into a ran%e of addresses it has esta#lished for a particular type of device. When the #ase is first turned on" it sends radio si%nals askin% for a response from any units with an address in a particular ran%e. 7ince the handset has an address in the ran%e" it responds" and a tiny network is formed. Aow" even if one of these devices should receive a si%nal from another system" it will i%nore it since itEs not from within the network. The computer and entertainment system %o throu%h similar routines" esta#lishin% networks amon% addresses in ran%es esta#lished #y manufacturers. 3nce the networks are esta#lished" the systems #e%in talkin% amon% themselves. ?ach piconet hops randomly throu%h the availa#le fre/uencies" so all of the piconets are completely separated from one another. Aow the livin% room has three separate networks esta#lished" each one made up of devices that know the address of transmitters it should listen to and the address of receivers it should talk to. 7ince each network is chan%in% the fre/uency of its operation thousands of times a second" itEs unlikely that any two networks will #e on the same fre/uency at the same time. +f it turns out that they are" then the resultin% confusion will only cover a tiny fraction of a

second" and software desi%ned to correct for such errors weeds out the confusin% information and %ets on with the networkEs #usiness.

?xample: HalfGFull 'uplex

Most of the time" a network or communications method either works in one direction at a time" called half(duple% communication" or in #oth directions simultaneously" called full( duple% communication. $ speakerphone that lets you either listen or talk" #ut not #oth" is an example of half0duplex communication" while a re%ular telephone handset is a full0duplex device. Because Bluetooth is desi%ned to work in a num#er of different circumstances" it can #e either half0duplex or full0duplex. The cordless telephone is an example of a use that will call for a full0duplex &two0way( link" and Bluetooth can send data at more than 6H"<<< #its per second in a full0duplex link 00 a rate hi%h enou%h to support several human voice conversations. +f a particular use calls for a half0duplex link 00 connectin% to a computer printer" for example 00 Bluetooth can transmit up to D14 kilo#its per second &I#ps( in one direction" with 2D.6 I#ps in the other. +f the use calls for the same speed in #oth directions" a link with HC1.60I#ps capacity in each direction can #e made.

Bluetooth 7pecs
Here are some specification details from the Bluetooth We# site

The devices in a piconet share a common communication data channel. The channel has a total capacity of 4 me%a#it per second &M#ps(. Headers and handshakin% information consume a#out 1< percent of this capacity. +n the !nited 7tates and ?urope" the fre/uency ran%e is 1"H<< to 1"H5C.2 MH9" with D@ 40MH9 radio fre/uency &*F( channels. +n practice" the ran%e is 1"H<1 MH9 to 1"H5< MH9. +n Bapan" the fre/uency ran%e is 1"HD1 to 1"H@D MH9 with 1C 40MH9 *F channels. $ data channel hops randomly 4"6<< times per second #etween the D@ &or 1C( *F channels. ?ach channel is divided into time slots 612 microseconds lon%. $ piconet has a master and up to seven slaves. The master transmits in even time slots" slaves in odd time slots. ackets can #e up to five time slots wide. 'ata in a packet can #e up to 1"DH2 #its in len%th. There are currently two types of data transfer #etween devices: 7C3 &synchronous connection oriented( and $C8 &asynchronous connectionless(. +n a piconet" there can #e up to three 7C3 links of 6H"<<< #its per second each. To avoid timin% and collision pro#lems" the 7C3 links use reserved slots set up #y the master. Masters can support up to three 7C3 links with one" two or three slaves. 7lots not reserved for 7C3 links can #e used for $C8 links. 3ne master and slave can have a sin%le $C8 link. $C8 is either point0to0point &master to one slave( or #roadcast to all the slaves. $C8 slaves can only transmit when re/uested #y the master.