WIFI VS BLUETOOTH HEADSET BLUETOOTH
Starting with Bluetooth 4.1, GAP broadened its networking abilities. That’s what happens when you connect a Bluetooth keyboard to your tablet, for example.īluetooth mesh will work hand-in-hand with Wi-Fi, with the latter continuing to serve high-bandwidth needs. Until Bluetooth Mesh, GAP had a typical parent-child network relationship, where the parent did all the routing, and the child performed its allotted task. How Bluetooth Mesh worksĪn important component of the Bluetooth protocol is its Generic Access Profile, or GAP, which controls how Bluetooth devices scan, broadcast, and connect to their peers. That creates a reliable network without the need for massive power draw or a big, beefy antennas. In a “flood network,” every device in the chain, or mesh, is multicasting to every device within its range, and so on. “ Multicast” is a form of network communication where a single sender broadcasts to multiple receivers. This “managed flood” approach to data transmission, according to the Bluetooth SIG, “is uniquely suited for low-power wireless mesh networks, especially those handling a significant amount of multicast traffic.” This means that information is passed from one device to another, and another, and so on. They connect to each other, and pass signals to peers that are within range, forming a web, or mesh, of interconnected devices capable of relaying data. It’s difficult to make a Wi-Fi signal extend more than a few hundred feet without a massive antenna and large power supply.īluetooth Mesh devices find a clever way to fix that. Wi-Fi makes that worse with an additional impediment-relatively high-power requirements. Traditional wireless networks, including one-to-one Bluetooth networks, are limited by distance between the two devices communicating. If he’s right-and industry watchers and makers of networking equipment are betting that he is-many aspects of our lives will soon be secured and simplified by this latest Bluetooth update. If they can get away with fewer antennas, it would be much better.”Ĭooley is a member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, or SIG, which oversees and develops Bluetooth technology. “People won’t put up with flaky Wi-Fi anymore. “As people’s expectations for networks go up, they demand networks capable of handling hundreds (or thousands) of IP addresses, offering Wi-Fi-level of signal performance across the house and building,” Daniel Cooley, Senior Vice President of Silicon Labs, told Digital Trends. “People won’t put up with flaky Wi-Fi anymore.”
WIFI VS BLUETOOTH HEADSET UPDATE
While the best Wi-Fi systems allow us to take baby steps into building automation, wireless security, asset tracking, and more, a new technology called Bluetooth Mesh - an update to the standard Bluetooth wireless solution that most of us know - promises a better, more efficient, and much less expensive solution. What about a more serious, or potentially life-and-death scenario, where hospital staff could track patients, staff members, and equipment from any console, PC, or tablet on the premises? How about this? When you unlock your front door, the lights in the foyer come on, the motion sensors on your alarm system turn off, the thermostat starts the air conditioning, and your entertainment system begins playing your favorite music-all before you put your keys down! But do you call that home automation, really? Isn’t it just a slightly more convenient light switch? Yes, current Wi-Fi-based smart home technology can turn on the lights with your smartphone or voice.