If you are mobile the future is blue
01 February 2007
To achieve a wireless utopia, where multimedia technologies can be truly integrated on the move, mobile devices must be capable of wireless data transfer at a very high rate with lower power consumption.
Ultra WideBand (UWB) is a technology offering theoretical data rates of 480Mbit/sec. The flavour of UWB promoted by the WiMedia Alliance, known as Multi-band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM), is the basis for the certified wireless USB (wUSB) standard. In March 2006, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) formally announced that a new generation of Bluetooth technology would also be based on WiMedia Alliance UWB.
Why develop a new version of Bluetooth if there is already another personal area networking (PAN) standard based on the same technology? And there is also 802.11 promising a maximum data rate of
540Mbit/sec and 50m range. 802.11 is a set of standards addressing the needs of LAN (local area networking) and therefore represents a wireless replacement for Ethernet. Wireless USB (wUSB) and Bluetooth are for PAN, which has different needs and priorities. The parallel development of PAN standards and 802.11n, illustrates that demand for wireless technology is not just about data rates. It is also about the integration of technology with its environment.
It is important to recognise that UWB is simply the underpinning technology for wUSB and UWB Bluetooth. It is the vehicle for wireless transfer. It is not the application itself. The main differentiator between the two standards is the use of power. The wUSB standard is a replacement for the USB cable. However, a mobile device must treat power as a scarce resource and a wUSB device will constantly be consuming energy to advertise its presence to the world while attempting to group with similar ‘beaconing’ devices within range.
A Bluetooth device will prefer to sleep and seek to establish active contact with other devices only when called upon to do so, and then usually not more than one at any one time. Having completed its duties, it reverts to an energy-saving doze.
Do not underestimate the strength of Bluetooth. It is not so much a specific technology as an evolved profile for short-range data transfer for mobile devices. Since its emergence in the late 90s, it has undergone numerous tweaks and upgrades, thanks to the work of the Bluetooth SIG that now has over 5000 members. The next release of the current generation of Bluetooth technology, Lisbon, promises further enhancements. Bluetooth is increasingly found in headsets and car information systems. According to Strategy Analytics, by 2009 more than half of all mobile phones will be Bluetooth-enabled.
Bluetooth functionality has evolved and integrated into its mobile environment. The first Bluetooth release based on UWB, codenamed Seattle, aims to improve the throughput by two orders of magnitude. However, a truly global standard needs a common global frequency range approved by the regulators worldwide. It also requires a comprehensive technical specification that can be implemented by the industry.
Furthermore, the cost of enabling a mobile device needs to be low enough to facilitate mass adoption and initiate the virtuous circle leading to economy of scale. These issues are already being addressed. The Seattle release of the UWB Bluetooth specification will combine a successful profile with a high data-rate technology. If you are mobile, the future is definitely Blue.
JOE PETRIE is marketing manager, Renesas Technology Europe and a member of the Bluetooth SIG Core Specification Working Group.
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