Ble Push Ir Retire

 

Will Bluetooth low energy wireless technology finally push IR into retirement? By Alf Helge Omre, Business Development Manager, Bluetooth low energy wireless technology, Nordic Semiconductor Remote control support in the upcoming Bluetooth low energy specification promises a new generation of interoperable remote controls RF has several inherent advantages over infrared for domestic remote controls. For example, contemporary ultra-low power (ULP) consumption RF transceivers can be powered for months or even years by AA or AAA batteries, and offer 10 metre (plus) ranges while operating in the global licence free 2.4GHz band. Moreover, RF offers high bandwidth bi-directional communication through walls and doors (albeit with a reduction in range). In comparison, IR has limited range and is restricted to line-of-sight-operation. And, while it is possible to create bi-directional communication with IR, it’s far from an ideal solution. The cost rapidly escalates and there are performance challenges caused by (light) interference and low data rates. Unfortunately, the big disadvantage of today’s RF remotes is that the radios and protocols are proprietary, effectively ending any possibility that a mainstream CE manufacturer will embrace the technology for fear of being held hostage by a single supplier. What’s needed is an interoperable standard for RF remote control RF remote control using Bluetooth low energy In June 2007, the Bluetooth SIG announced Bluetooth low energy wireless technology (formerly known as ultra low power Bluetooth and prior to that as Nokia’s Wibree). The Bluetooth low energy specification details a short-range RF communication technology featuring ultra-low power consumption, a lightweight protocol stack and integration with Bluetooth wireless technology. (However, it is important to note that Bluetooth low energy will not communicate with legacy Bluetooth chips adhering to the current v2.1 + EDR standard or older versions. Communication will require Bluetooth chips to be revised to include additional circuitry and software to ensure compatibility with Bluetooth low energy. It is expected that this revision will become common in “dual-mode” devices – chips that include both traditional Bluetooth circuitry and the additional circuitry to communicate with Bluetooth low energy “single-mode” devices - as the addition of Bluetooth low energy to existing Bluetooth devices requires minimal effort. The full specification is currently being drafted for release in the (northern) summer of 2009. BLUETOOTH SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP 500 108TH Avenue NE, Suite 250 Bellevue, WA 98004

 

 

Bluetooth low energy will be power and cost optimised to provide compact, low-cost and ultra-low power (ULP) transceivers for sport, wellbeing and HID product categories. What’s more, Bluetooth low energy wireless technology will feature a stack meeting the requirements of the consumer products industry for interoperable, universal remote controls. Bluetooth low energy will be available as an open standard, encouraging many vendors to manufacture the chips, thus ensuring the multiple sources of supply the CE makers crave. The Bluetooth SIG says the standard will allow the remote control to be designed as a low cost, non-intelligent peripheral. The target receiver product, whether it’s a TV, DVD player, set-top box, or media player, can control the operation of the remote control so that it learns to work with each new device that’s purchased. Unlike conventional IR remote controls, each Bluetooth low energy remote control always uses a secure, unique link to the device it’s controlling. It’s also fast, interference immune and bi-directional.

ULP RF operation will be critical to maintain reasonable battery life for a remote control with high duty-cycle operation. (Courtesy: Bluetooth SIG.)

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Lowering the power While RF has some inherent advantages over IR as a modern remote control solution, there are some engineering challenges to overcome when developing the optimum RF remote control. In summary, these are: • • •

Low power consumption – so that batteries last a reasonable time; Low latency – so that the user is unaware of any delay between button press on the remote and the response from the appliance being controlled even if the transceiver has to wake up from an ULP ‘deep sleep’ mode; The ability to control several devices simultaneously in a point-to-multipoint Personal Area Network (PAN) – so that the user is able to employ just one remote for all appliances.

Bluetooth low energy silicon has two characteristics that meet the ULP requirements for remote controls: a modest peak current requirement and wide bandwidth. The Bluetooth SIG says the chip’s peak current consumption will be less than 15mA when transmitting at 0dBm (sufficient for a range of up to 10 metres while obeying the authorities’ power restrictions for operation in the licence-free 2.4GHz band) and slightly less than this when receiving. (See Table 1.) Putting the RF transceiver into a deep sleep mode if it is inactive for long periods can further reduce power consumption in the remote.

Table 1: Provisional specifications of Bluetooth low energy chips In addition, the Bluetooth SIG says Bluetooth low energy chips will have a bandwidth of 1Mbps. Bluetooth low energy chips running at 1Mbps only have to transmit at the peak current of 15mA for one quarter of the time of a typical IEEE 802.15.4 radio running at

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250kbps and a transmission current of 28mA, to send the same amount of data. (Although some lower power, higher bandwidth IEEE 802.15.4 radios are available.) However, low power consumption in the remote control is only part of the challenge. Several countries, including Australia, Japan and the US, are voluntarily adopting the International Energy Agency’s One-Watt program. This program is designed to encourage manufacturers to develop products that consume less than one watt when in standby mode. Appliances with a one watt or less standby restriction will have little power to spare for the built-in RF transceiver required to ‘pair’ with an RF remote control. This means that the transceiver in the appliance will have to spend much of its life in a stand-by mode to save power, waking up periodically to check if the remote is trying to communicate. A Bluetooth low energy chip will be able to wake up, for example, every 10ms, listen for transmissions (consuming around 15mA for very short period) and then return to a deep sleep state while maintaining an average current consumption as little as some tens of microamps. Trusting the Bluetooth brand While the first Bluetooth low energy chip is still some way from shipping, Bluetooth low energy will inevitably benefit from commercial and consumer awareness of the Bluetooth brand (reported to be above 80 percent in recent Bluetooth SIG surveys). For example, Bluetooth low energy seems likely to enjoy the confidence of the CE makers who will rightly regard it as an extension of the established, interoperable classic Bluetooth technology with which they are familiar, and consumers will feel comfortable about buying Bluetooth low energy products carrying the familiar Bluetooth trademark. The maturity of Bluetooth technology means the 9000 plus members of the Bluetooth SIG including industry heavyweights such as Ericsson, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia and Toshiba - have many years of design expertise with Bluetooth chips. That experience will accelerate Bluetooth low energy chip manufacturing (including the revised Bluetooth chips with the additional circuitry need to communicate with Bluetooth low energy - ensuring security of supply for the CE manufacturers – and a wide range of OEM products, including many variations on the RF remote control, for the consumer. The remote control on your wrist Bluetooth wireless technology’s ubiquity in portable products such as cell phones, PDAs and laptops provides a platform for Bluetooth low energy wireless technology to change remote control from dedicated device to an extremely useful added function of existing portable products (as these portable products migrate to dual-mode plus Bluetooth low energy). In other words, it promises to change the way people use remote controls.

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Consider, for example, the wristwatch powered by a coin cell battery. Apart from being able to connect to a range of peripheral devices, such as heart rate monitors or speed & distance monitors, a wristwatch with a Bluetooth low energy chip will also be able to operate as a remote control for a suitably Bluetooth-equipped cell phone or MP3 player. And a Bluetooth low energy equipped-wristwatch will also be able to talk to the Bluetooth chip in a cell phone to let the user know who’s calling, display e-mails, SMS and much more. Hands up who wants one? Because Bluetooth low energy wireless technology enables interoperability, a suitably equipped cell phone or MP3 player will be able to control the TV, DVD, hi-fi and more. A compact device that everybody carries everywhere with them already will suddenly be able to replace a multitude of clunky remotes. In a second example, imagine a smart phone with mobile browsing capabilities. These devices will inevitably migrate from conventional Bluetooth connectivity to dual-mode devices that will be able to communicate directly with Bluetooth standalone low energy chipequipped devices. It’s not hard to imagine a user browsing the web while on the move for the schedules of their favourite TV programmes. Then, with one press of a button when the user returns home, the Bluetooth dual-mode chip in the cell phone will connects wirelessly with the Bluetooth low energy chip in the set-top box and/or TV, and the week’s viewing will be automatically programmed. Bluetooth low energy wireless technology has the technical capabilities and interoperability to liberate the remote control from a dedicated device to become a function of the portable devices we already carry in our pockets or wear on our wrists. What’s more, not only will Bluetooth low energy be the obvious choice for the new remote control standard, it will also be the missing link enabling a merger between PC and TV.

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