Signature - Q2, 2008 - (Page 12)

Perspectives | Q2 ’08 I think we’re going to start seeing chip companies adding an additional microprocessor onto Bluetooth wireless chips so that a single chip can handle the wireless communication as well as drive the actual functionality of the device. In some cases they’re already close to doing that. It means it will become easier and less expensive to manufacture these products, which will enable consumer-to-machine and business-to-machine connectivity like never before. It’s why so many people are looking at Machine to Machine or M2M as the next great growth opportunity. Members of the Bluetooth SIG should be seriously thinking about how the technology can enhance their current and future products. Ultra low power Bluetooth technology will enable a whole new range of consumer and industrial devices that haven’t been connectible in the past. What manufacturers really need to ask is this: What would my product do if it could be connected – if it didn’t live in isolation? How much more value could it offer to the user? That, I think, is the real benefit of ultra low power Bluetooth technology: allowing devices to connect that previously could not. And once you’ve connected something, you can start to look at the intelligence it offers and the value of that intelligence to the consumer. Ultimately, this phase of Bluetooth technology’s evolution brings Web 2.0 to machines, whether medical, consumer or industrial. It takes us into the data age – a critical step in achieving a true information age. Nick Hunn is chief technology ofﬁcer for Ezurio Ltd., a U.K.-based supplier of Bluetooth wireless technology, 802.11 and embedded wireless modules. Nick is also an executive director of the Mobile Data Association. High on Ultra Low Power An Interview with Ben Wood Bigger and better? Not so interesting. Smaller, more efficient and less expensive? Now you’re talking. With ultra low power Bluetooth technology merged into the Bluetooth core specification and with adoption rates ever increasing, prices are falling as dramatically as power consumption. What once cost an estimated $3 per electronic device can now be had for less than half that. You can expect an explosion of new Bluetooth enabled consumer devices in the near future as a result. “You could call this a watershed moment in the history of Bluetooth,” says Ben Wood of CCS Insight, a U.K.-based firm providing market information, analysis and intelligence for companies in the telecommunications and IT sectors. “It’s truly exciting.” Wood already wears a watch linked to his mobile phone via Bluetooth technology. When an incoming call or a text message arrives, the watch vibrates. Its display shows Wood the caller’s ID; he can then touch a button on the watch to reject or mute the call, or accept it by pressing the answer key on the phone. The watch can also control the MP3 player in his phone. With consumer demand up and power consumption and prices down, Wood expects the range of low-power and sensor applications to increase. 12 | SIGnature | Bluetooth.org He anticipates the first major wave of new ultra low power Bluetooth enabled products to appear by the second half of 2009, with mass shipments in 2010. “You are really looking at a technology that will work with very small amounts of power, so it will transition, for example, from cell phones into watches, games, sports equipment and health care sensors,” Wood says. Health care, in particular, is an industry worth watching. “I think this is an area where there is a huge opportunity,” says Wood. People with chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease or diabetes, for example, can keep a closer eye on their condition – and keep their doctors informed – with Bluetooth enabled medical monitoring devices. Caregivers could even use pill containers that remind patients to take their next dose on time. Wood envisions a range of other applications, some of which are already in development: • Compact pulse monitors, pedometers and other fitness sensors or displays • A new wave of interactive wireless toys and entertainment devices • Home security and maintenance devices and sensors for controlling lights, locks and HVAC systems • Automotive telemetry, with tiny sensors that monitor tire pressure and engine systems and send alerts of imminent problems, and increasingly sophisticated onboard entertainment and communications systems • Identification verification systems As the Bluetooth wireless chips continue to come down in price and consume less power, Wood says, “you can see their uses are only limited by your imagination. It’s exciting, especially when you think about how pervasive the cell phone has become in society. We have some 3 billion people using cell phones now, and because of that, wireless technology has become very much accepted – and people expect it to do more. (With) ultra low power, the cell phone can become more of a hub. … ultra low power Bluetooth technology could (even) breathe new life into the watch market.” Ben Wood, research director for CCS Insight, is quoted in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. He spoke with Pat Pawling, who writes technical articles for clients such as Cisco Systems and Xerox. Making the Medical Case By Jayant Parthasarathy, Ph.D. Wireless technology is ubiquitous in clinical settings today. Paramedics leap from ambulances clutching wireless sensors, premature babies receive soothing “kangaroo care” minus the irritating wires, adult hospital patients have freedom to move about and operating rooms have gone high-tech with wireless telemetry. A second wave of wireless innovation in health care began with the announcement late last year of the Bluetooth Medical Device Profile. I was privileged to serve then as co-chair of the Medical Devices Working Group. The profile clears a path to seamless interoperability never seen before in medical applications. Now it’s possible for inconspicuous wireless sensors

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Signature - Q2, 2008

Signature - Q2, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.