CSR Demos Bluetooth Low Energy in a Handset

(Top News, 10 Jul 2008)

CSR has given what is said to be the world's first public demonstration of Bluetooth low energy technology provided by its BlueCore7 in a mobile phone handset. The demonstration took place at the San Francisco meeting of the Bluetooth SIG Medical Working Group and consisted of a set of weighing scales and a temperature sensor connected via Bluetooth low energy to a cell-phone.

The demonstration showed the two Bluetooth low energy devices transferring data to the handset using a Bluetooth low energy advertising packet without any prior configuration or pairing. When a button is pressed on the weighing scales the embedded Bluetooth low energy radio wakes up and sends a short burst of data to the handset. The temperature sensor transmits data continuously. The name and value of both sensors are then simultaneously displayed on the phone. The application automatically updates the display with the new value each time a new advertising packet is received.

The mobile phone handset was modified for the purpose of the demonstration to incorporate CSR's BlueCore7 dual mode silicon (Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth v2.1), and a Java API and MIDlet application to provide a simple user interface for displaying the information received.

This is a major step towards establishing a standard low power wireless technology and reinforces CSR's commitment to driving the development of Bluetooth low energy products, particularly for applications in the medical sector. The Bluetooth SIG expects final adoption of Bluetooth low energy technology in the first quarter of 2009.

Bluetooth low energy (previously known as Ultra Low Power Bluetooth or Wibree) is a robust complementary Bluetooth technology designed to be used to transfer simple data sets between compact devices. The technology uses fewer frequencies (three rather than 32) to make connections compared with standard Bluetooth, resulting in lower power consumption when connectable. Compact devices featuring Bluetooth low energy, such as sports equipment, can have battery life standby times measured in years, not just days or weeks.

CSR first demonstrated its Bluetooth low energy technology in April at the Continua Health Alliance medical conference in Luxembourg, where it proved that its low power silicon consumes 10 times less power and transmits data packets 50 times quicker than standard Bluetooth. This enables very low power and low latency applications such as remote controls. CSR's BlueCore7 silicon, the world's first product to integrate Bluetooth low energy technology which it has integrated as part of its connectivity centre, will be in volume production from Q4 2008.

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