CHEWING ON BLUETOOTH (Original)
by Samuel Chua
Imagine.
Commanding your home automation from your mobile phone while
driving back home. Just a
few touches and the air-con is blowing away, the chicken in the
freezer is defrosted, the bath is filling itself with water and the
lights are switched on. Life
for the Jetsons on Cartoon Network? It could be yours if the Bluetooth
SIG has its say.
Bluetooth
technology is all about connecting various electronic peripherals
without cables. The
Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) that comprises of key industry
players such as Nokia, Ericsson, 3COM and the likes creates this
marvel. It involves
planting of a tiny Bluetooth microchip, which incorporates a radio
transceiver, into the peripherals.
Without using cables, it boasts of high rate of error-free
transmission of voice and data to other Bluetooth-enabled equipments
whether within the line of sight or not.
As the radio operates in a globally available frequency band,
it ensures full compatibility everywhere.
More
convenience for the consumers is the selling point of this technology.
Imagine:
- A busy businessman
can synchronize data from his laptop, palmtop or mobile phone to
his office desktop computer by just bringing the equipments within
transmitting range of each other.
- A game-maniac can
access internet to kill the terrorists in “CounterStrike” on
his laptop with his fellow teammates while on the MRT without the
need for wired connection to a phone or mobile phone.
- In-built encryption
and authentication routines enable sensitive data to be
transferred from the server room to the targeted laptop of the
patrolling policeman without being hitched.
- Its high connective
flexibility enables the LAN in any office to be free from cables
and enables hassle-free addition of new workstations and mobility
of existing ones.
- Its implementation
in home automation enables you to turn on the VCR or air-con while
you are at the office with just a call or through the Internet.
The
listed examples are just a small chip off the endless list of usage of
the technology.
One
interesting characteristic of this technology is that its penetration
rate of the market hinges on its ability to ensure full compatibility
with frequently used peripherals.
The SIG was convened to ensure that this is addressed from the
start. Not unlike the walkie-talkie technology, its implementation
does not require any special structures or infrastructures to amplify
and re-broadcast its signals. For
line-of-sight transmitting, the radio signals from the transceiver are
sufficient. For
out-of-sight control, this technology can be interfaced with existing
technology and be piggybacked to the designated equipment.
For example, if you use your office computer to send a remote
command to activate the air-con in your home, it will possibly follow
the following sequence:
- You sent the command through your Bluetooth-enabled
computer using the designated software.
- The computer’s transceiver sends a signal
out to the transceiver on your LAN’s point of connection to the
Internet.
- The modem encrypts your command, according to
Bluetooth protocol, and sends it out through the Net.
- Your home computer receives the command,
decrypt it and send out the command through its own transceiver.
- The Bluetooth-enabled air-con unit receives
the signal and turns it on, awaiting your arrival.
This characteristic ensures
that the technology is able to integrate into lives easily.
With all the hype, you must be wondering when you
can lay your hands on it. The
earliest stipulated date for the worldwide implementation of the
technology is by 2002. And
as the industry standards and the protocols are being standardized,
the SIG members will be churning out trial models to test the
technology. An example
will be the Smart Home Expo on 1st July, which highlighted
the possible use of the technology in home automation.
Published Version: Not Available Yet.