The new Bluetooth adopted specification is set to improve privacy and increase speed, further establishing the technology as the wireless standard for the Internet of Things.
The standout update announced by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is the Internet connectivity, which will allow Bluetooth Smart sensors to access the Internet directly via IPv6/6LoWPA.
This feature is ideal for ‘smart home’ scenarios that need personal and wide area control, and will be ratified by the end of the year.
“If you have sensors to your doors and windows at home for example, you’ll be able to query the state of your home security using standard http from your mobile phone or your web browser, whilst you’re travelling abroad,” Martin Woolley, Technical Program Manager at the Bluetooth SIG, told E&T.
The new industry-leading privacy settings in Bluetooth 4.2 puts control back into the hands of the consumer, by making it impossible to track the movement of given Bluetooth devices across different environments.
Woolley emphasised the importance of making privacy a top priority, saying that any responsible manufacturer needs to address security concerns as far as humanly possible.
“I think is very healthy that users and customers are sufficiently aware to be concerned.”
Increased speed of data transfers between Bluetooth Smart devices has also been made possible by increasing the capacity of Bluetooth Smart packets, now transferring data up to 2.5 times faster than with previous versions.
James Chapman, VP Product Marketing at wireless innovators CSR, said: “Bluetooth 4.2 solidifies Bluetooth Smart’s position as the most flexible wireless protocol for Internet of Things applications.”
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