The world we live in is growing increasingly connected. And one of the early technologies — that still remains relevant today — is Bluetooth technology. You can find this technology on several devices, including your android smartphones and laptops. This amazing wireless technology helps us in numerous ways – like connecting your smartphone to the car or to smartwatches.
Bluetooth Connections
Wireless communication is getting involved in our lives at a rapid pace. Speaking of Bluetooth connectivity, the Bluetooth devices communicate with each other directly, thus keeping power consumption extremely low and increasing the battery life. Low-power radio waves are used by Bluetooth devices to communicate; the frequency band for these low-power radio waves is anywhere between 2.400 GHz to 2.483 GHz. Several devices, including garage door openers, baby monitors, and the latest models of cordless phones, use the aforementioned frequency band.
Etymology: Tracing The Origin of Word “Bluetooth”
The nordic king who united Norway and Denmark into a single kingdom was none other than Harald Bluetooth. Though he was killed in 986 by his son, the unification still led to greater integrity between the different nordic nations. Now take into account the number of communication behemoths coming from the Nordic countries. Yes, you got it right. This is where this amazing wireless device derived its name.
How Bluetooth Technology Works?
Bluetooth devices pair with each other, establish a secure connection, and exchange data using encryption. Speaking of BR/EDR devices, electronic conversions mean that Bluetooth devices trust each other for data sharing. When it comes to electronic conversions, the user usually does not have to give a command or press buttons — the conversion occurs automatically. After the conversion is successful, devices form a network and can now share data.
When it comes to LE Bluetooth devices, they work differently. An LE device broadcasts messages to indicate that it wants to be discovered – this process is called advertising, whereas the message is broadcasted in packets, and they contain information about the LE device that wants to be discovered/paired. The second device will scan all advertising packets in range (this scanning procedure is triggered by the user usually by pressing the button). After scanning, the user sees a list of all discovered devices, and he picks the one he wants to pair with.
Other peripherals like a smartwatch or an activity tracker are connected to some central device (usually smartphones these days) via a personal-area network, aka piconet. The range of piconet varies, ranging from an entire building to a distance not more than a watch on your wrist and smartphone in your pocket.
To ensure efficient connectivity, Bluetooth devices follow a procedure called adaptive frequency hopping. Using this process, Bluetooth devices can differentiate between those radio channels that are working well and those that aren’t. Thanks to this process, Bluetooth technology works extremely well, even in those environments where there are huge numbers of devices operating at the same time.
The Range of Bluetooth Devices
Usually, Bluetooth devices come in a very short range. However, there are the latest devices out there on the market that have a range as long as 3,280 feet or well over a kilometer.
Factors That Affect Bluetooth Devices
There are several factors that affect the range of Bluetooth devices. These include radio spectrum, physical layer, receiver sensitivity, transmission power, antenna gain, path loss, among several others.
