Bluetooth in Communication and Connection

Bluetooth wireless technology is a short-range radio technology. Bluetooth wireless technology makes it possible to transmit signals over short distances between telephones, computers, and other devices and thereby simplify communication and synchronization between devices.

Bluetooth eliminates wires and cables between both stationary and mobile devices; facilitates both data and voice communication; and it offers the possibility of ad hoc networks and delivers the ultimate synchronicity between all your personal devices.

Bluetooth radio uses a fast acknowledgement and frequency-hopping scheme to make the link robust, even in noisy radio environments.

A master Bluetooth device can communicate with up to seven (7) devices. This network group of up to eight (8) devices is called a piconet.

A piconet is an ad-hoc computer network, using Bluetooth technology protocols to allow one (1) master device to interconnect with up to seven (7) active devices. Up to 255 further devices can be inactive, or parked, which the master device can bring into active status at any time.

At any given time, data can be transferred between the master and one (1) other device. However, the devices can switch roles and the slave can become the master at any time. The master switches rapidly from one (1) device to another in a round-robin fashion.

Bluetooth specification allows connecting two (2) or more piconets together to form a scatternet, with some devices acting as a bridge by simultaneously playing the master role and the slave role in one (1) piconet. These devices are planned for 2007.

Many USB Bluetooth adapters are available, some which also include an IrDA adapter. Older (pre-2003) Bluetooth adapters, however, have limited services, offering only the Bluetooth Enumerator and a less-powerful Bluetooth Radio incarnation. Such devices can link computers with Bluetooth, but they do not offer much in the way of services that modern adapters do.

Siti Sarah Herman (2007239704)