In the long term Bluetooth is set to become very inexpensive compared with other wireless networking systems. Its outstanding features are its especially small components and a present maximum data transfer rate of 1 Bit/s. Thanks to its low transmission power, its energy requirements are also low, but its range is also correspondingly short at up to 10 metres.
There are already plans for up to 2 Bit/s in Release 2.0 of the Bluetooth standard, however, and for special requirements it is possible to extend the range of Bluetooth to as much as 100 metres by increasing transmission power. SHARP can already supply components conforming to Bluetooth standard V1.1, as documented on the certification website http://qualweb.opengroup.org. Measuring only 15.5 x 15.5 x 2.5 mm, the SMD modules DC2D1BZ001 (UART port) and DC2D1BZ003 (USB port) under Bluetooth standard 1.1 permit data rates of either 433.9 kBit/s symmetric or 723.2 kBit/s / 57.6 kBit/s asymmetric at an output power of 0 dBm.
The supply voltage at 100 mA (typical) is in the region of 3.3 V for complete modules with HF unit, quartz, flash memory, baseband processing and modulator/demodulator plus UART or USB interface. The module DC2D1BZ002 includes only quartz and HF component without flash memory and modulator/demodulator. This reduces power consumption to barely 40 mA (typ.) and the dimensions to 16.0 x 13.8 x 2.5 mm. A special feature of this receiver is its great sensitivity of -85 dBm. The DC2C1BZ001 is a plug-in Bluetooth module of Compact-Flash design which is based on the technologies outlined above and can be used for uncomplicated wireless networking of PDAs and other mobile devices such as digital cameras or MP3 players.
Bluetooth components use frequency hopping spread spectrum technology with up to 79 separate channels. 1600 hops per second guarantee interference-free communication. As well as the consumer equipment market, there are also countless applications in trade and industry, such as barcode scanners in the material management sector or in the checkout field with wireless links to the electronic stock management system: as soon as a purchased article is scanned at the point of sale it is deducted from the stock level. In this way the system can be set to initiate replenishment orders in good time.
Areas of application include not only logistics, but also security systems, industrial automation, automotive applications, audio/video, sensor technology. In fact, wherever information transfer by cable can be replaced by SHARP Bluetooth modules.
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