Bluetooth now supports mesh networking, ideally suited for building automation
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced today that Bluetooth technology now supports mesh networking. The new mesh capability enables many-to-many (m:m) device communications and is optimized for creating large-scale device networks. It is ideally suited for building automation, sensor networks and other IoT solutions where tens, hundreds, or thousands of devices need to reliably and securely communicate with one another.
Industrial-grade solution
Commercial building and factory automation represent major market opportunities for wireless mesh networking technologies. These markets demand true industrial-grade solutions, which Bluetooth mesh uniquely delivers.
- Reliability: Enables inherently self-healing networks with no single points of failure.
- Scalability: Supports thousands of nodes with industrial-level performance.
- Security: Provides industrial-grade security for protection against all known attacks.
Proven, global interoperability
Time and time again it has been shown that markets flourish when multi-vendor interoperability exists. Bluetooth mesh delivers proven, global interoperability that assures products from different vendors work together.
Full-stack solution: A unique full-stack approach that defines the low-level radio up to the high-level application layer, ensuring all aspects of the technology are fully specified.
Interop-centric specification: Comprehensive, multi-vendor interoperability testing is conducted during the specification development process, not after specification release.
Time-tested tools and processes: A 20-year history of delivering the qualification tools and processes needed to ensure global, multi-vendor interoperability.
“Within the building automation market, there is a growing focus on connected lighting and the role it can play as a platform for providing automation services throughout a facility,” said Szymon Slupik, president and CTO of Silvair and chairman of the mesh working group within the Bluetooth SIG. “A smart lighting platform built on top of Bluetooth mesh networking can also support asset tracking, point of interest, and way-finding services. These value-added capabilities are part of why we believe Bluetooth is an ideal technology for enabling a mesh network.”
Availability
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.