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Wibree and Bluetooth are complementary technologies. While Bluetooth is well-suited for streaming and data-intensive applications such as file transfer, Wibree is designed for applications where less power consumption, small size and low cost are the critical requirements.
Nokia has introduced Wibree technology as an open industry initiative, extending local connectivity to small devices. This new radio technology developed by the Nokia Research Center complements other local connectivity technologies, and consumes only a fraction of the power used by other such radio technologies, enabling for smaller and less costly implementations, easy to integrate with Bluetooth solutions.
It has launched Wibree interoperability specification together with a group of leading companies representing semiconductor manufacturers, device vendors and service providers. The technology will be made available to the industry through an open and preferably existing forum enabling wide adoption of the technology. The forum solution is under evaluation and will be defined by the time the specification is finalized. The first commercial version will be available during Q2 2007.
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Applications
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Sports and Healthcare: Sensors fixed to the human body, shoes, and other fitness gears can gather data on heart rate, distance, speed, and acceleration, and send the information to a mobile phone and/or PC for storage and further processing. Healthcare monitoring equipments and sensors in the form of Wibree stand-alone devices can send vital health related information (blood pressure, glucose level) to Bluetooth-Wibree dual-mode, which can store and process this information and send alerts to mobile phones of patients and caretakers.
Office and Mobile Accessories: They will benefit from Wibree's ability to extend battery life. They can also use Wibree to avoid non-connectivity issues, which add an extra component and raise the overall cost.
Entertainment: Devices such as remote controls and gaming accessories with sensor technology can use Wibree to interact with one another, enhance their
Sensors fixed to the human body, shoes, and other fitness gears can gather data on heart rate, distance, speed, and acceleration, and send the information to a mobile phone and/or PC for storage and further processing. Healthcare monitoring equipments and sensors in the form of Wibree stand-alone devices can send vital health related information (blood pressure, glucose level) to Bluetooth-Wibree dual-mode, which can store and process this information and send alerts to mobile phones of patients and caretakers.They will benefit from Wibree's ability to extend battery life. They can also use Wibree to avoid non-connectivity issues, which add an extra component and raise the overall cost.Devices such as remote controls and gaming accessories with sensor technology can use Wibree to interact with one another, enhance their |
Wibree's design is such that it can be implemented in a stand-alone or dual-mode. Wibree stand-alone implementation is designed for use with applications, which require extremely low power consumption. Bluetooth-Wibree dual-mode implementation is designed for use in Bluetooth devices. In this type of implementation, Wibree functionality is integrated with Bluetooth for a minor incremental cost by utilizing key Bluetooth components and existing Bluetooth RF.
It can be built into products such as watches, wireless keyboards, gaming, and sports sensors, which can then be connected to host devices such as mobile phones and personal computers. Wibree is the first open technology offering connectivity between mobile devices or personal computers, and button cell battery power devices. Wibree is designed to have a range of up to 10 meters, and support a data rate up to 1 megabit per second, which is equal to Bluetooth. It will operate in 2.4 GHz range.
Wibree technology can be easily integrated in Bluetooth devices, and allows them to connect to a wide range of tiny, button cell battery devices. Therefore, there is room for both the technologies in the marketplace, and, in many cases, they will exist simultaneously in the form of Wibree-Bluetooth dual-mode chip, which extends the range of devices to which both technologies may connect.
Sandeep Budki
sandeepb@cybermedia.co.in
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