Many people think of Bluetooth as the technology that allows them to connect their headphones to a smartphone wirelessly. That’s just half the story. You see, Bluetooth is a far more comprehensive and advanced technology! That’s why we decided to show you some of the most interesting Bluetooth capabilities that change how we live and work. Let’s get down to business!
What do you know about Bluetooth? It’s a wireless technology – correct. It works short-range – right (although we need to say here that the Bluetooth signal can be transmitted over a one-kilometer radius, is that still “short-range”?). It can be used to connect diverse devices together (e.g., headphones and a smartphone, a smartphone and a car, or a printer and a computer) – that’s also true. Is that all? Of course not!
Take a look at this infographic provided by Bluetooth. It comprises all the major usages of this technology, both when we think of classic Bluetooth and so-called Low Energy Bluetooth (a form of Bluetooth that’s designed for low power operation):
Image source: https://www.bluetooth.com/learn-about-bluetooth/tech-overview/
Audio streaming
Today, Bluetooth powers almost all wireless audio devices. You can easily connect your earbuds or headphones, your speaker, and your car audio system to your smartphone or laptop and play all the tunes you like.
Image source: https://www.bluetooth.com/2022-market-update/
Connection between devices
Thanks to Bluetooth, the number of devices that can communicate with each other is simply mind-boggling. All the smartwatches, smart wrist bands, PC accessories (e.g., wireless keyboards and mouses), and even home appliances are based on this technology. It’s the same in the professional environment, too! More and more logistics and manufacturing companies use Bluetooth-powered devices to improve their work and make it safer. The best example is warehouses. Screening all the delivered parcels and products is time-consuming. Thanks to intelligent wearables (usually based on Bluetooth), warehouse workers can scan more packages, ship more products, and organize them in a warehouse in a more efficient manner.
Take a look at one of such devices, the Zebra RS5100 Bluetooth wearable scanner, and see how it works in real-life conditions:
And there’s yet another fascinating technology – the Internet of Things. In short, it’s a technology that enables various devices that usually operate offline to use the Internet connection. That’s how almost all the smart fridges, washing machines, and robot vacuums work. In 2022, as much as 35% of all IoT-connected devices rely on Bluetooth technology!
Location-based services
One of the features that not everyone knows Bluetooth offers is the direction-finding capability. Granted, it’s rather a new option (introduced back in 2019) but it’s certainly worth your interest. With this new feature, you can enhance almost all location-based services. That’s because Bluetooth direction-finding enables devices to use this technology to determine the direction of a Bluetooth signal.
In practice, it can be used in POI information solutions, real-time locating of a place or a person, and finding lost items. This technology can even be used in indoor positioning systems. Imagine a typical situation at the airport. You need to locate your gate. You turn on the Bluetooth feature, and your smartphone directs you precisely to it, much faster than you would do on your own.Smart buildings
With Bluetooth, you can turn ordinary buildings into smart ones. That’s thanks to the so-called Bluetooth Mesh. You see, Bluetooth-enabled devices can combine multiple components and functions. This technology enables you to create a fully-functional multi-purpose network of devices that work and communicate with one another. As a result, such smart buildings can operate all the basic functions, from lighting to security (what do you think of the option of turning your smartphone into a digital key?). Plus, you have access to a whole range of other Bluetooth-enabled services, including tracking assets and items and wayfinding. On a larger scale, the same solutions can be used to create smart cities.
Image source: https://www.telink-semi.com/bluetooth-mesh-safer-smart-city/
Additionally, many smart home devices use the same method of communication. For example, Amazon Echo and all the Google Home devices use Bluetooth to connect with your phone so that you can easily control these devices.
Safer and improved production plants
Modern production plants and other industrial facilities are just filled with modern technology. That’s why today, we speak of Industry 4.0 – a new era in manufacturing where the vast majority of work is automated or at least monitored by intelligent technologies. A lot of those intelligent devices are powered by Bluetooth technology. For instance, the WSN technology (wireless sensor networks) is based on Bluetooth, and it can be used to monitor all the important indexes and markers, including temperature, humidity, and employee occupancy. And as we mentioned earlier, with Bluetooth, you can automate various production plants’ functions, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and security.
Summary: Benefit from Bluetooth technology
In this article, we showed you five of the most essential and interesting Bluetooth capabilities you can benefit from today. Of course, based on your current situation and requirements, many of these features and applications can be tailored to your business to make it more effective, easy to find, and secure.
If you’d like to know how Bluetooth can improve your everyday work, drop us a line! At NeedCode, we specialize in the development, delivery, and providing support for embedded systems. And yes, Bluetooth is one of our core working tools. We will gladly show you more and help you implement Bluetooth-based solutions in your company.
