Tech 101 from Symmetry Electronics: What Is Bluetooth Mesh?
About Symmetry Electronics Team
Established in 1998, Symmetry Electronics is a focused global distributor of wireless connectivity solutions, sensors, and audio-video technologies. Offering comprehensive design support and available-to-ship inventory, Symmetry is committed to helping engineers accelerate time to market, reduce costs, and offer modern solutions for their IoT designs. Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway company, TTI, Inc. in 2017, Symmetry Electronics is part of the Exponential Technology Group (XTG) – a supergroup of electronic component distributors and engineering services firms working together to advance the electronics industry. For more information, visit www.symmetryelectronics.com.
Earlier this summer, the Bluetooth SIG announced a new specification for Bluetooth Mesh. It aims to make the standard capable of carrying data for longer distances, by bouncing messages through Bluetooth devices to their eventual destination. If a signal can’t reach its destination on the first try, another device on the network can re-transmit the message. This can happen again and again, until the message finally reaches the destination.
Applications for Mesh are plentiful for smart home tech, since it allows a device in one corner of the home to send a message that reaches smart devices in all the far reaches of a house. For example, a garage door opener could send a message to turn on the kitchen lights when you arrive home, with the message hopping from one smart light to another to reach the distant bulbs.
Mesh networking is also important since these devices run on low power. Sending fast signals that stretch from one side of a house to another requires a lot of power. However, mesh devices can send out lower-power signals because they’ll get picked up and repeated. That’s important for a device like a battery-powered temperature sensor, so that it can stay running for longer without needing its batteries to be replaced.
The Bluetooth mesh networking specifications, as well as the tools required to qualify Bluetooth products with mesh networking support, are now available at the Bluetooth website. Bluetooth mesh networking operates on Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) and is compatible with core specification version 4.0 and higher.
To learn more about Bluetooth mesh, visit bluetooth.com/mesh.
Sources:
https://www.bluetooth.com/specifications/mesh-specifications
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/21/bluetooth_mesh_specs_released/
See other Tech 101 posts from Symmetry Electronics:
Tech 101 from Symmetry Electronics: What Is Z-Wave?
Tech 101 from Symmetry Electronics: What is Thread?
Tech 101 from Symmetry Electronics: What is Zigbee?
Tech 101 from Symmetry Electronics: What is LoRa?
Tech 101 from Symmetry Electronics: What is GNSS?
Tech 101 from Symmetry Electronics: What is Cat-M1?
Tech 101 from Symmetry Electronics: What is IoT?
About Symmetry Electronics Team
Established in 1998, Symmetry Electronics is a focused global distributor of wireless connectivity solutions, sensors, and audio-video technologies. Offering comprehensive design support and available-to-ship inventory, Symmetry is committed to helping engineers accelerate time to market, reduce costs, and offer modern solutions for their IoT designs. Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway company, TTI, Inc. in 2017, Symmetry Electronics is part of the Exponential Technology Group (XTG) – a supergroup of electronic component distributors and engineering services firms working together to advance the electronics industry. For more information, visit www.symmetryelectronics.com.