Combining UWB and BLE radios can create efficient secure entry systems. To understand why this is so, it is important to have knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the two underlying radio technologies and how they fit together to create practical and secure entry systems.
The “Internet of Things” is something of a catch all term, but at heart it is all about providing connectivity between electronic devices and the internet. In a large fraction of cases that involves wireless connectivity, because frequently the connectivity is being added to existing devices, and adding a wireless connection is an order of magnitude simpler than adding a wired infrastructure.
On 9th December 2020, the Bluetooth SIG released revision 5.2 of Bluetooth. One of the key upgrades was the addition of BLE Audio (“Bluetooth Low Energy Audio”). Releasing a spec is just the start of a process. It is only today that real IOT devices are finally available with BLE Audio capability.
We increasingly manage our lives via a bewildering array of technological devices and services. The IOT revolution offers us the promise of “everything connected” to make our lives simpler, freer and healthier. However, our reliance on technology could also be a threat if malign actors can gain control of our devices and systems.
Anyone following the development of Bluetooth Low Energy will have heard about Bluetooth Low Energy Audio. But what is it, exactly?
The market for wearable electronic devices has undergone dramatic growth over the last decade, from a small starting point in 2010 to a major segment of the electronics industry. Precise figures vary, but a CAGR in excess of 20% seems common to most reports with an overall market size of multiple billion dollars under a broad definition of the sector.
Bluetooth “Angle of Arrival” was included in the Bluetooth 5.1 Core Specification, which was released in January 2019. As with all Bluetooth updates, there were several changes within the specification, but Angle of Arrival (AoA) was the only one that gained any real attention.
Over the last decade, processors used in embedded systems have become increasingly sophisticated. Not long ago, simple 8 or 16-bit microprocessors were common. Now ARM core 32-bit processors are almost standard.
Designers often want to test the performance of RF products such as Bluetooth modules as part of the product selection process. However, they may find the final performance of their products in the field bears little relationship to their lab tests. This article discussing some of the issues around testing RF products and in particular the way the antenna and system interact to make an impact on any measurements.
There has been an explosion in the use of Short Range Wireless Solutions in recent years, driven principally by the arrival and development of the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard. Whilst plenty of short range wireless solutions existed previously, their uptake was limited. This was either because they focussed on narrow niches such as Zigbee or ANT or were ill-suited to battery powered or intermittent use such as Bluetooth “classic”. BLE fulfilled the original general “cable replacement” objectives of the original Bluetooth standard. With BLE quickly becoming natively available on phones, laptops and tablets, there was a ready-made market of devices to connect to.
