Signature - Q2, 2008 - (Page 30)

Bluetooth Technology in Motion | Q2 ’08 Working Groups at a Glance The Bluetooth SIG currently has 14 Working Groups that tackle every aspect of wireless communications. Audio/Video: Enhance, create and maintain speciﬁcations for multimedia applications. Automation: Develop an Automation Transport Proﬁle and ultra low power Sensor Proﬁle to standardize Bluetooth wireless implementations for sensors and controllers in industrial, home and building applications. Bluetooth Embedded Control Interface: Lower Medical Devices: Enable Bluetooth wireless medical, health and ﬁtness device scenarios through the creation of the Medical Device Proﬁle. OBEX: Enhance the Bluetooth Object Exchange (OBEX) speciﬁcations to allow OBEX to run directly over Logical Link Control & Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP) without the use of RFCOMM protocol. Personal Area Networking: Enable mobile barriers to Bluetooth technology adoption so manufacturers and application programmers will invent new embedded applications. Car: Create proﬁles for accessing e-mail and text messages, VoIP and Push to Talk. (This Working Group created the proﬁles for hands-free calling, headsets and phone book access.) Core Speciﬁcation: Enhance the Bluetooth technology core speciﬁcation; enhancements in progress include high speed Bluetooth technology through the integration of MB-OFDM ultra wideband. Global Navigation Satellite Systems: Develop a proﬁle that allows satellite receivers to transmit GPS data to any GNSSenabled device. Human Interface Device: Ensure compatibility of Bluetooth enabled keyboards, mice, game controllers and other devices. Bluetooth wireless ad-hoc IP networks for data, voice, video and other forms of communication. Remote Display: Create proﬁle to transfer data to wireless display devices, such as a watch face displaying a cell phone’s Caller ID information. Telephony: Smooth handoffs between telephony and multimedia devices, enable VoIP services and minimize interference between Bluetooth technology and WiMAX. UDI: Develop new proﬁle that enables 3G cell phones to transmit Unrestricted Digital Information to external devices. Ultra Low Power: Incorporate ultra low power Bluetooth technology into the Bluetooth wireless speciﬁcation to extend the life of battery-operated devices such as keyboards, medical monitors, sensors, toys, watches and game controllers. —C.A.B. To integrate Wibree into the Bluetooth core speciﬁcation, the Bluetooth SIG formed two new Working Groups. The Ultra Low Power Working Group will determine how ultra low power radios communicate with other devices, transmit data securely and manage power consumption. Another group, Remote Display, will create a proﬁle that allows devices to remotely display information based on low power data transmission – for example, enabling users to see caller ID on their wristwatch’s LCD. But the impact of ultra low power Bluetooth technology will be so dramatic that it will affect the charters for several of the other Working Groups, according to Peter Cook, Bluetooth SIG speciﬁcation program manager. For example, the Medical Devices Working Group will be busy incorporating ultra low power Bluetooth technology into devices that measure glucose levels and monitor blood pressure and body temperature. The group will also bring the technology to sports and ﬁtness devices, such as pedometers in running shoes that measure and report speed and distance. In cars, the new ultra low power speciﬁcation will enable the use of sensors embedded in the car’s internal systems to monitor and report on everything from tire pressure to air bag system status to security. The job of nailing down the specs for these embedded sensors will fall to the Automation Working Group. The Bluetooth SIG’s Human Interface Device Working Group will focus on bringing ultra low power Bluetooth technology to keyboards, mice and gaming controllers, reducing the power consumption of these devices. Ultimately, dual-mode devices that employ both standard and ultra low power Bluetooth technology may have the greatest potential for changing how we live, work and play. For instance, sensors could transmit data via a PC or a mobile phone to the Internet and back, enabling real-time remote monitoring of people and devices connected via a personal area network. Working for the Cause The continued vitality of the Bluetooth wireless speciﬁcation is due in large part to the individual Bluetooth SIG members who participate in Working Groups. Joining a group allows you early access to information as well as the chance to affect how the technology is ultimately deployed. To join a group, you must work at a company that is a Promoter or Associate member of the Bluetooth SIG. Each group has a link on the Working Groups page at Bluetooth.org, where you can apply for membership by uploading your resumé and qualiﬁcations. (You may be able to forgo the approval process and subscribe automatically if your company has membership in a Working Group.) Once a member, you’ll collaborate face to face and online with other group members. Together, members create a Market Requirements Document, which describes the particular application of the technology, and a Feature Requirements Document that lays out technical requirements and enhancements. Joining a Working Group is the only way to get in on the ground ﬂoor of exciting new applications like ultra low power Bluetooth technology and remote display devices. “If you want to have direct inﬂuence on how Bluetooth technology develops, you need to be in a group,” says Cook. C.A. Burnett writes about technology for PC World and Popular Science. 30 | SIGnature | Bluetooth.org http://www.bluetooth.org

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