World Colleges Information

          History of the particular topic should be in order when we discuss a new technology or any other topic. Bluetooth is not an exception. A group of Engineers from Swedish Telecommunications Manufacturer Ericsson in 1994 developed a new technology to connect the mobile phones to their accessories without wire. Then in 1998, one independent group was formed by namely The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) which includes Nokia, Intel, IBM, and Toshiba who then joined hands with Ericsson on developing an open standards specifications that would make compatibility functionality   across multiple hardware and software not just mobile phones. These multinational alliance of companies  started the project which was code named as “BLUETOOTH” after King Harald Blatand who ruled Denmark during 20^th century and reportedly he was responsible for the uniting Norway and Denmark as well as spreading Christianity to the Scandinavian Countries. Blatand in his name when translated, it gives “BLUETOOTH”.

          Later stage of the project the Bluetooth SIG was joined with Motorola, Lucent, 3Com and Microsoft, Bluetooth as a result capturing its identity in PCs, handhelds, headphones, Printers, DV Camcorders and other pheripherals. And this is at the end now as the standard for exchanging information across short distances without any wire.

 How it functions?

• Unlike Infrared devices(IrDA), which uses a beam of light to transmit data and is found in many wireless keyboards, PDA Devices and Remote controls. For communication between the devices Bluetooth uses a radio frequency (2.4 GHz). The major advantage over the Infra Red, Bluetooth enabled devices doesn’t need to be in the line of sight which are made to communicate with. So it can work through floors and walls. For example, with IR, if somebody walks between your Remote control and TV set, the ray from remote control is broken resulting the operation lost until the barrier removed. Whereas in Bluetooth it is not like that.
• A cool feature of this technology is that, without the user’s interaction the Bluetooth enabled devices can find each other and make connection within them.  For example, when two devices which are Bluetooth enabled comes within a particular range they immediately begins to connect with each other to share the data. This network is known as Piconet or personal area network (PAN for short). Up to eight devices can be networked in a piconet. Therefore if you want to take a print out from a printer and a Laptop in hand both have Bluetooth then connection is automatically made without using wires.

 The Piconet:

• Bluetooth devices can interact with one or more other Bluetooth devices in several different ways. A Piconet is a collection of devices connected via Bluetooth technology in an adhoc fashion. A Piconet starts with two connected devices, such as a portable PC and cellular phone, and may grow to eight connected devices. All Bluetooth devices are peer units and have identical implementations. However, when establishing a Piconet, one unit will act as a master and the other(s) as slave(s) for the duration of the Piconet connection.
• A diagram of a Piconet is provided here for your reference.
• Bluetooth devices are depends on a set of rules or profiles to communicate with each other. Typical profiles include a FAX profile which allows a PC to use a Mobile phone as wireless modem,  a headset profile,  a serial port profile for connecting devices such as Scanners and Printers, a synchronization profile for PDA sync operations, an object push profile for moving data between devices. Therefore we can connect an entire small office theoretically.

The Scatternet:

• When two Piconets are overlaps the coverage areas when they placed close to each other, This scenario is referred to as a scatternet  and is provided for in the Bluetooth specification
• Slaves in one Piconet can take part in another Piconet as either a master or slave. This is accomplished through time division multiplexing.
• Bluetooth technology can give you too many facilities. A Bluetooth enabled car key can unlock the car door at a distance. A headset of a mobile phone, no need a wire – you can hear songs wirelessly or calls can be transmitted to your earpiece wirelessly. When your mobile phone is in your pocket you can browse the Internet with your laptop with this wonderful  technology.
• When you go to a Photo center, you can copy the photos taken with your camera or mobile phone to the computer in the center wirelessly.

 Future of Bluetooth:

• When you entered into a crowded bus, your fare is automatically paid by your mobile phone. How is it?  Very much useful for the people in Chennai city, India. You can receive automatic text message from your children’s school van or bus notifying that your children are reached safely when the bus or van crosses your home.
• Bluetooth technology has already become a global de facto standards for wireless connectivity. It will likely to be a standard in hundreds of millions of cell phones, PCs, Laptops and a complete range of electronic devices. As a result, the consumer market is going to demand new innovative applications, value added services and end-to-end solutions.

For further information, please don’t hesitate to contact the author S. Sivakumar, B.E by email siva567.be@gmail.com or please visit www.gurusoft.co.in