Most of us use Bluetooth on a daily basis in some form or another, usually for connecting things like cell phones, smartwatches, headphones, mice and keyboards. In fact, Bluetooth has become so popular that the SIG, the consortium that oversees it, predicts that by 2022, 5.2 billion Bluetooth devices will be shipped.
Amidst all the excitement surrounding Bluetooth in the consumer space, the fact that Bluetooth is also well suited for smart industrial uses has attracted less and less attention. We wanted to shed some light on this, so we've come up with seven reasons why those designing industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems and networks should use Bluetooth as their communications backbone.
1. Bluetooth is highly resistant to interference
Despite using the busy 2.4GHz ISM band (which it shares with the likes of Wi-Fi and ZigBee), Bluetooth has clever ways of ensuring that messages successfully reach their destination.
Adaptive frequency hopping helps ensure that data successfully passes through the noise. Individual messages are broken down into small packets that are sent through different channels in a predetermined order known only to the sending and receiving devices. Up to 1600 channel switches can be performed per second. Any packets that do not reach their destination correctly will be retransmitted, and if the problem was caused by the channel, it will be flagged so that it can be avoided in the future.
2. Bluetooth enables you to operate many wireless devices in the same space
A combination of Bluetooth features ensures that you can operate a large number of devices in your neighborhood. Its short data packets - ideal for industrial measurement and control applications - spend only a short time on the radio waves. Just as importantly, Bluetooth's automatic power control ensures that data is broadcast at the desired intensity, so there's no shouting without noise. Both of these factors help free up radio waves for use by other devices. Finally, it's essential for IIoT use. Bluetooth is optimized to coexist with Wi-Fi.
3. Bluetooth can detect and correct bit errors
In noisy environments, or where data is transmitted over longer distances, there is a risk of mis-coding into the message. Bluetooth can detect these causes and take steps to avoid unreliable channels. It can also use so-called "Forward Error Correction" (FEC) to correct errors once the data reaches the receiver.
4. Bluetooth can be integrated with your existing industrial systems
Serial ports are widely used in industrial applications. And, thanks to its Serial Port Profile (SPP), Bluetooth can be used with your existing designs. the SPP emulates the complete serial interface and performs hardware handshaking via Bluetooth. As a result, you can replace serial cables with wireless Bluetooth links through multipoint or point-to-point operation.
5. Bluetooth's range is wider than you think
Perhaps due to the influence of Bluetooth technology in the consumer sector, many people think that the technology can only work within a range of a few meters. However, Bluetooth can actually operate over greater distances, even in harsh industrial conditions. And the latest generation of the Bluetooth 5 standard supports remote mode, which we've used to transmit messages up to 1.7 kilometers. Mesh networks can pass data from one node to another until it reaches its destination, which can also help extend range, especially in dense environments.
6. You can use Bluetooth anywhere
The Bluetooth standard is global, which means you can use the same device anywhere on the planet-no need to source different components for industrial facilities in different markets. Additionally, because it is so common in smartphones and other handheld devices, you can interact with Bluetooth-enabled IIoT devices using devices you may already own.
7. With Bluetooth, security is designed in
Three inherent features of Bluetooth make it an extremely secure way to share data wirelessly. First, adaptive frequency hopping, which we discussed earlier, means that the transmitter sends data over a pseudo-random sequence of channels. Only it and the receiver know about these channels. Therefore, if someone were to try to intercept the message, they would need to listen on all channels and then try to combine the correct packets together to form the complete message.
Second, devices using Bluetooth 4.2 or later use a pairing mechanism to prevent interception of data in transit in a man-in-the-middle attack (LE Secure Connection).
Third, Bluetooth devices can be set to be "invisible", which means that hackers won't actually know they're there. In this way, a connection can only be established between pre-paired devices.