July 24, 2017 at 18:13Bluetooth Mesh - Development of the standard for data transfer for IoT
The Bluetooth SIG group of companies, which controls the development of Bluetooth technologies, announced on July 18 that the Bluetooth standard from now on supports the functionality of mesh networks. This news was especially warmly received by enthusiasts of the IoT concept. / Flickr / JCT 600 / CC The
current version of the Bluetooth standard, known for more than 10 years as the leading technology for low-power wireless communications, is Bluetooth 5.0 today . Compared to its predecessor - 4.2 - it provides four times more coverage, doubled speed and eight times the width of the communication channel.
And now that Bluetooth is able to connect devices in the whole building, the standard has got a new way to make connections. Mesh networks, or otherwise mesh networks, are decentralized networks based on a number of devices connecting to each other. Each of the nodes in them acts as a switch. The concept is based on the form of relaying messages, ready for scalability by adding new nodes - devices.
This approach is used by Google Wi-Fi technology , which builds a mesh-network on a building scale. To cover areas that are outside the scope of traditional Wi-Fi, the only router on the network is replaced by several points that act as routers. If we talk about the standard Bluetooth, such points are connected devices.
Bluetooth Mesh networks are based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) protocol and are compatible with devices that support the basic specifications of version 4.0 and higher.
To create Bluetooth-enabled networking products, you need compatible hardware and software. In other words, any device (including smartphones and tablets) that supports Bluetooth LE is likely to be able to be used on the mesh network after updating the software. For a process called initialization, you will need an application that runs on a smartphone, tablet or computer with Bluetooth support. New devices, whether home appliances, industrial sensors, or security cameras, will need to download encryption keys in order to join the network as a host.
Regarding specific devices capable of participating in the deployment of mesh networks using the Bluetooth protocol, it is already known that they will become devices equipped with all Qualcomm microprocessors that support Bluetooth LE, starting with QCA4020 and QCA4024. This became known from the official statement of the manufacturer Qualcomm on the day of the announcement of the Bluetooth SIG. QCA4020 and QCA4024 are used to create smart home or industrial devices: drones, robots, and so on.
It is known that mesh-functionality was originally laid down in the standard Bluetooth 5.0 as a platform for deploying scalable smart systems. In a domestic scenario, the concept can be applied as follows: when the user enters the house, data from the sensors at the entrance are transmitted simultaneously to turn on the light sources and the heating system.
The same model is suitable for building automation and other IoT solutions, where dozens, hundreds or thousands of devices must reliably interact with each other.
Mesh networks for IoT enable devices to share common data across the enterprise. For example, a security system can communicate with a fire detector or camera directly using Bluetooth without having to exchange data via a wired or Wi-Fi connection through a central router.
“Adding a mesh topology to the Bluetooth standard will open up significant opportunities for building automation and bring a new wave of innovation with many IoT applications,” commented Bob Morris, vice president of marketing for Wireless Business Unit, ARM.
Bluetooth will be able to play a special role in the industrial IoT (IIoT) segment. Devices such as robots and connected devices equipped with sensors produce a huge amount of data and are difficult to transmit using standards and protocols like LoRaWan or Narrowband-IoT. At the same time, Bluetooth can process more data than these protocols, and now that the network can be expanded with additional nodes, the solution can become a tool for combining, for example, all equipment in a specific production.
In light of the increasing attacks on Bluetooth IoT devices, SIG also had to focus on the security of mesh networks, which also allows us to consider them as the main platform of smart cities. All messages sent via Bluetooth networks will be encrypted and authenticated using three types of keys.
One of the important advantages of the new Bluetooth SIG networks is the proven global interoperability, which ensures the collaboration of products from different vendors.
According to Andrew Zignani, senior analyst at ABI Research, the introduction of a mesh network will help Bluetooth overcome a number of existing restrictions on the range and size of the network.
/ Flickr / skys the limit2 / CC
“The mesh topology represents a new stage in the development of Bluetooth and will be an important factor in the transition from a personal network and pairing technology to a more scalable, reliable and energy-efficient IoT connection with the ability to connect to things around us,” he said.
It is important that the introduction of mesh functionality in the Bluetooth network occurs at a time of significant growth in the industry - ABI Research expects that by 2021, 48 billion IoT-compatible devices will be installed, of which almost a third will support Bluetooth. BI Intelligence estimates that international manufacturers will spend $ 267 billion on IoT solutions by 2020 and install over 24 billion IoT devices.
Bluetooth Special Interest Group was founded in 1998. It includes Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Toshiba and Nokia. Later, the list of participants was replenished by such companies as Lenovo, Microsoft and Apple. The Bluetooth SIG oversees the development of Bluetooth standards and the licensing of technology and brand names by manufacturers.
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And now that Bluetooth is able to connect devices in the whole building, the standard has got a new way to make connections. Mesh networks, or otherwise mesh networks, are decentralized networks based on a number of devices connecting to each other. Each of the nodes in them acts as a switch. The concept is based on the form of relaying messages, ready for scalability by adding new nodes - devices.
This approach is used by Google Wi-Fi technology , which builds a mesh-network on a building scale. To cover areas that are outside the scope of traditional Wi-Fi, the only router on the network is replaced by several points that act as routers. If we talk about the standard Bluetooth, such points are connected devices.
Bluetooth Mesh networks are based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) protocol and are compatible with devices that support the basic specifications of version 4.0 and higher.
To create Bluetooth-enabled networking products, you need compatible hardware and software. In other words, any device (including smartphones and tablets) that supports Bluetooth LE is likely to be able to be used on the mesh network after updating the software. For a process called initialization, you will need an application that runs on a smartphone, tablet or computer with Bluetooth support. New devices, whether home appliances, industrial sensors, or security cameras, will need to download encryption keys in order to join the network as a host.
Regarding specific devices capable of participating in the deployment of mesh networks using the Bluetooth protocol, it is already known that they will become devices equipped with all Qualcomm microprocessors that support Bluetooth LE, starting with QCA4020 and QCA4024. This became known from the official statement of the manufacturer Qualcomm on the day of the announcement of the Bluetooth SIG. QCA4020 and QCA4024 are used to create smart home or industrial devices: drones, robots, and so on.
Bluetooth Mesh and Internet of Things
It is known that mesh-functionality was originally laid down in the standard Bluetooth 5.0 as a platform for deploying scalable smart systems. In a domestic scenario, the concept can be applied as follows: when the user enters the house, data from the sensors at the entrance are transmitted simultaneously to turn on the light sources and the heating system.
The same model is suitable for building automation and other IoT solutions, where dozens, hundreds or thousands of devices must reliably interact with each other.
Mesh networks for IoT enable devices to share common data across the enterprise. For example, a security system can communicate with a fire detector or camera directly using Bluetooth without having to exchange data via a wired or Wi-Fi connection through a central router.
“Adding a mesh topology to the Bluetooth standard will open up significant opportunities for building automation and bring a new wave of innovation with many IoT applications,” commented Bob Morris, vice president of marketing for Wireless Business Unit, ARM.
Bluetooth will be able to play a special role in the industrial IoT (IIoT) segment. Devices such as robots and connected devices equipped with sensors produce a huge amount of data and are difficult to transmit using standards and protocols like LoRaWan or Narrowband-IoT. At the same time, Bluetooth can process more data than these protocols, and now that the network can be expanded with additional nodes, the solution can become a tool for combining, for example, all equipment in a specific production.
In light of the increasing attacks on Bluetooth IoT devices, SIG also had to focus on the security of mesh networks, which also allows us to consider them as the main platform of smart cities. All messages sent via Bluetooth networks will be encrypted and authenticated using three types of keys.
One of the important advantages of the new Bluetooth SIG networks is the proven global interoperability, which ensures the collaboration of products from different vendors.
According to Andrew Zignani, senior analyst at ABI Research, the introduction of a mesh network will help Bluetooth overcome a number of existing restrictions on the range and size of the network.
/ Flickr / skys the limit2 / CC“The mesh topology represents a new stage in the development of Bluetooth and will be an important factor in the transition from a personal network and pairing technology to a more scalable, reliable and energy-efficient IoT connection with the ability to connect to things around us,” he said.
It is important that the introduction of mesh functionality in the Bluetooth network occurs at a time of significant growth in the industry - ABI Research expects that by 2021, 48 billion IoT-compatible devices will be installed, of which almost a third will support Bluetooth. BI Intelligence estimates that international manufacturers will spend $ 267 billion on IoT solutions by 2020 and install over 24 billion IoT devices.
About Bluetooth SIG
Bluetooth Special Interest Group was founded in 1998. It includes Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Toshiba and Nokia. Later, the list of participants was replenished by such companies as Lenovo, Microsoft and Apple. The Bluetooth SIG oversees the development of Bluetooth standards and the licensing of technology and brand names by manufacturers.
PS Related content from our blog: