First public demo of Bluetooth low energy in a handset First public demo of Bluetooth low energy in a handset

CSR gave the world’s first public demonstration of Bluetooth low energy technology provided by the BlueCore7 in a mobile phone handset. The demonstration took place at the San Francisco meeting of the Bluetooth SIG Medical Working Group and consisted of a set of weighing scales and a temperature sensor connected via Bluetooth low energy to a cellphone. This is a major step towards establishing a standard low power wireless technology and reinforces CSR’s commitment to driving the development of Bluetooth low energy products, particularly for applications in the medical sector. The Bluetooth SIG expects final adoption of Bluetooth low energy technology in Q1, 2009.

The demonstration showed the two Bluetooth low energy devices transferring data to the handset using a Bluetooth low energy advertising packet without any prior configuration or pairing. When a button is pressed on the weighing scales the embedded Bluetooth low energy radio wakes up and sends a short burst of data to the handset. The temperature sensor transmits data continuously. The name and value of both sensors are then simultaneously displayed on the phone. The application automatically updates the display with the new value each time a new advertising packet is received. The mobile phone was modified for the purpose of the demonstration to incorporate CSR’s BlueCore7 dual mode silicon (Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth v2.1), and a Java API and MIDlet application to provide a simple user interface for displaying the information received.

Bluetooth low energy (previously known as Ultra Low Power Bluetooth or Wibree) is a robust complementary Bluetooth technology designed to be used to transfer simple data sets between compact devices. The technology uses fewer frequencies (three rather than 32) to make connections compared with standard Bluetooth, resulting in lower power consumption when connectable. Compact devices featuring Bluetooth low energy, such as sports equipment, can have battery life standby times measured in years, not just days or weeks.

Bluetooth is the most successful short-range wireless technology in use today, embedded in over 50 percent of cellular handsets. Bluetooth low energy is the natural evolution of this successful technology. Because of its low power requirements and because Bluetooth is already deployed across a wide range of handsets, the technology is set to open up a whole new range applications for Bluetooth across sectors including medical, sports equipment and well-being when the low energy specification is finalized.