Signature - Q2, 2008 - (Page 45)

A big plus for UWB is its very low average power consumption compared with 802.11. With the fast data rates used to move large files or stream video, UWB could help to conserve battery life. With slower rates, though, the current Bluetooth wireless radio could be just as efficient. As Linsky explains, “Bluetooth wireless will choose the most efficient radio technology to do the job at hand.” Once 802.11 and UWB are incorporated into the Bluetooth core specification, the Bluetooth wireless protocol stack will start its communication with another device by asking the device which radios it has. Based on the radios they have in common, the two devices will find the best match for the use case at hand. “If both devices have ultra wideband and you want to move a very large file, then you would use ultra wideband,” explains Linsky. “But if you’re only moving something small, or maybe it’s audio, which has a low data rate, then you might use the regular Bluetooth wireless radio.” Products will be able to automatically select the best available radio based on transfer needs, he says. High-Speed Road Map As phones, laptops and other devices add new radio standards, Bluetooth technology is poised to adapt to the changing landscape by drawing on the relative strengths of technologies already in the marketplace. “Bluetooth technology has established itself as a very good ad hoc wireless technology, and 802.11 has not,” Linsky explains. “Bluetooth wireless could take advantage of the fact that 802.11 is already here to bring ad hoc technology to a wireless LAN. We could have the same use cases we have now over a wireless LAN.” However it takes shape, there’s no doubt that UWB and 802.11 will soon be included in the Bluetooth core specification. “We’re pushing for it to be in 2008,” says Linsky, who notes that past experience has shown that when a large feature is added to the specification, it usually takes at least three prototyping sessions to find the bugs and sort out the nuances. “Right now, my expectation is that after the October UnPlugFest, the spec will be pretty close to being done,” Linsky says, although he cautions that any timeline is subject to change. “If anything major comes up in the October test session, then we won’t make 2008. The goal is to try to get all those issues worked out earlier in the year. Then the test session in October would be more of a finalization.” To help advance both the forthcoming and future specifications, Linsky adds, Promoter and Associate member companies are encouraged to join the Core Specification Working Group. Log in to Bluetooth.org for details. Of all the features that were approved as part of the Seattle core specification road map, Linsky says, “the alternate MAC/PHY feature is by far the feature that has the most support because it brings something really compelling and new to Bluetooth wireless technology, which is high speed. That feature will certainly be there, and it’s moving fast.” David English is a technical writer whose articles have appeared in publications such as CNET, Forbes, Fortune, PC Magazine and ZDNet. “We’re trying to make multiradio systems into one user experience, as opposed to having different protocol stacks and user interfaces.” — Joel Linsky, chairman, Core Specification Working Group Bluetooth Special Interest Group | 45 http://www.bluetooth.org

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