Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Enhance Your Capabilities with Bluetooth: Connect Wirelessly

As the popularity gadgets like cellphones and players increased, it was a demand among people that these devices should transfer data easily. At the beginning, there was the facility of 'infrared' in these gadgets. Infrared can easily transfer data between two devices within short distance provided that they are in line of sight of each other. Infrared had somewhat slow data transfer rate and so many other drawbacks. So, with the arrival of new technologies. Infrared quit from this industry permanently. Some of the new advanced technologies invented were Bluetooth and WLAN. We will discuss about WLAN later on. Let's turn towards our main subject, Bluetooth. We are using Bluetooth from last few years with the arrival of multimedia smartphones. We always use it for transferring files from one phone to another or to play music with wireless headphone. But right now, I am going to tell you about new interesting advantages of this technology.

Bluetooth is an open wireless technology for exchange or streaming of data over short distances (usually upto 100 metres) with fixed devices like cellphone, PC, laptop etc. Bluetooth creates Personal Area Connection with these devices. Bluetooth is a very secure technology. Bluetooth was invented by Ericsson in 1994. There is misunderstanding among people with word 'Blue' that the radio technology uses waves of wavelength nearer to 'Blue'. But, actually the name 'Bluetooth' is related with 'Halard Bluetooth' who was the name of son of King 'Gorm the Old' of Denmark in A. D. 935. Currently, Bluetooth is managed by 'Bluetooth SIG' (Bluetooth Special Interest Group).

Let me tell you some technical specifications about Bluetooth. Bluetooth is a packet-based protocol. Bluetooth implements a separate radio technology called as FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) which is a rapid method of transmitting radio signals among many frequency channels. In FHSS, the data being sent to other device is 'chopped' into small pieces and these pieces are transmitted upto about 80 bands each of bandwidth 1 MHz. Bluetooth has frequency range from 2400 MHz to 2483 MHz. This frequency range is reserved from Bluetooth or Wi-fi like technologies. The data rate possible is Bluetooth system is 1 Mbps. Bluetooth uses master-slave structure for communication. Bluetooth has range upto 100 metres.

There are three versions of Bluetooth which are most common in use. Bandwidth is enhanced in every upgrade. Version 1.2 has data transfer rate of 1 Mbps. 2.0 has 3 Mbps. Bluetooth 2.0 is currently very common in use in almost all devices. The most recent version Bluetooth 3.0 has highest bandwidth of 24 Mbps. The following picture shows a handy 'Bluetooth Dongle' connected in PCs or laptops via USB port which have no in-built Bluetooth reciever.

In order to implement this technology, that particular device must be compatible with Bluetooth Profiles for the use of desired services. So, Let us discuss about some of these profiles which is the main purpose of today's article.

A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile): This profile allows a stream of high bitrate audio to transfer over a Bluetooth connection from source device to handy wireless headset. The device like cellphone encodes the stream of audio into Bluetooth-friendly format and this signal is transferred wirelessly to wireless headset which recieves these signal and again decodes them into original audio. Today, almost all cellphones support A2DP. The audio codecs allowed are- MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3) and AAC.



File Transfer Profile (FTP): This profile allows to transfer files within two devices in range. This profile is most commonly used in cellphones and is well known to all of us. It also allows one device to browse file system in other device.

Basic Printing Profile (BPP): This profile allows to send text and images to Bluetooth supported printer wirelessly for easier printing jobs.

Cordless Telephony Profile (CTP): This profile allows cordless phones to work using Bluetooth which increases efficiency of signal and audio quality.

Dial-up Networking Profile (DUP): It is one of the most important profiles of Bluetooth. It allows the Internet access over a Bluetooth connection. It is most common in cellphones. A laptop can easily access Internet by creating a regular GPRS connection using cellphone.

Remote Control Profile (RCP): Most TV remote controllers work with infrared and suffer many drawbacks like 'line of sight'. The remote control profile of Bluetooth allows TV remote controllers to work with Bluetooth. It covers almost all functions of TV.

Basic Imaging Profile (BIP): The profile allows to send images within devices. This profile is most common in digital cameras.

Human Interface Device Profile (HID): This profile allows devices like mouse, keyboard, joystick to work wirelessly using Bluetooth. For this purpose, a small device called 'Bluetooth HID' is inserted in USB port of personal computer which decodes these signals and sends to PC.

Hands-free Profile (HFP): There are many car accidents due to mobile phone. This profile of Bluetooth will save several lives avoiding this danger without rejecting the incoming call. A 'Bluetooth Hands-free kit' is installed withing car. If phone notices any incoming call, it routs this call to Hands-free via Bluetooth. Hands-free is connected to main speaker of car, so that one can talk without disturbing hands from driving.

Phonebook Access Profile (PBA): This profile allows to exchange 'phonebook' within devices. This is often used in 'Hands-free' kit of car to display the name of incoming caller.

SIM Access Profile (SAP): Many cars have in-built GSM receivers so that a car itself can act as a phone. This profile allows these receivers to access a SIM card within a phone via Bluetooth. Thus, car doesn't require separate SIM.

Video Distribution Profile (VDP): This profile allows to transfer a 'streaming' video (recorded or live) from one device to another. This profile also has application in 'videoconferencing'. This profile supports any of these two mandatory codecs- H.263 or MPEG-4 Visual Simple Profile. I think this profile will have better work in version 3.0

Bluetooth also uses a process called as 'pairing'. The two Bluetooth supported devices can be 'paired' so that they can remember each other and can transfer data without the permission.
The Bluetooth technology is leading day by day with increasing its application. I hope with the use of this information you will really try to get best of this technology.

Thanks and regards,
Nitish R. Muley

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