Last week, the Bluetooth SIG hosted the first Bluetooth World conference in Shanghai, China. Normally reserved for members, the conference opened its doors to non-members who were interested in learning more about Bluetooth technology and trends.
While a portion of the conference was tied to the existing markets for Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy like health and fitness devices and proximity tags, overwhelmingly the theme of the conference was that this is just the beginning. More traction worldwide. More applications. More devices.
Where the growth is
At the center of this growth is that Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy have an important role to play in the Internet of Things (IoT). While it might not seem intuitive at first because Bluetooth does not connect to the Internet, the technology complements the other work horses of the IoT, namely Wi-Fi and ZigBee.
Wi-Fi has established itself for home automation and networking applications and is starting to make inroads in connected cars. Likewise, ZigBee is finding success in smart grid and home automation as well as lighting because of its mesh networking and low power capabilities.
So where does Bluetooth fit? With low power modes and low cost, Bluetooth/Bluetooth low energy can connect the last 10 meters—for advanced remote controls to operate TVs and set-top-boxes, to obtain data from a basketball, pill bottle or other home electronics, portable devices, sporting and medical equipment and share that data with a smartphone or tablet to upload to the Internet.
Sensors, Bluetooth and the IoT
The use of sensors is also expanding the use of Bluetooth in the IoT. Sensors used to determine temperature, movement, humidity, light and more are being paired with Bluetooth/Bluetooth low energy connectivity to gather more information from the billions of devices that have yet to be connected. To this point, TI showed off its Bluetooth low energy SensorTag kit at Bluetooth World in a standing room only training session. The SensorTag is a development tool that can get a sensor-based app up and running in minutes. TI also demonstrated the industry’s only Bluetooth/Bluetooth low energy dual-mode solution – the CC2564– and several customer products during the vendor showcase and one-on-one with the hundreds of attendees at the show.
What the next year will bring
Bluetooth is quickly expanding into new applications, while it is also gaining traction in new regions around the world. Shanghai was a perfect backdrop for the 2013 event since China is embracing Bluetooth connectivity. The number of companies focused on making consumer products for the China market is growing rapidly, as is the demand for technologies that are simple, cheap and already integrated in the smartphones (i.e. Bluetooth low energy) because of the familiarity for consumers.
The possibilities are endless in terms of what Bluetooth can be connected to thanks to its battery friendly, low cost and fairly ease of design compared to other RF technologies. And when added to the Wi-Fi and ZigBee networks at the foundation of the IoT, Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy become a true extension to connect battery-powered devices. We look forward to the next year of Bluetooth developments and the new and exciting applications that are changing how we live. How are you using Bluetooth technology?
-- Sid