Home › News ›

Bluetooth 5.1 Adds Spatial Awareness

Article Comments

Jan 28, 2019, 8:00 AM by Rich Brome

The newest version of Bluetooth adds Direction Finding, which enables a Bluetooth LE device to determine the location of another nearby Bluetooth LE device with accuracy as good as 1cm. Direction Finding requires that one of the two Bluetooth LE devices have multiple Bluetooth antennas. Two new Bluetooth profiles enable the capability: Asset Tracking Profile (ATP) and Indoor Positioning Profile (IPP). In phones, ATP requires multiple Bluetooth LE antennas in the phone, and enables the phone to determine the direction and distance of nearby Bluetooth LE tags. Such tags might be attached to valuable or easily-lost personal property, or used in settings such as museums, to enable apps to show info on items as you point your phone at them. (Previously, phones could only determine the relative proximity of Bluetooth LE tags, not their direction or precise location.) Phones that support the new ATP profile are not expected until 2020. The IPP profile enables a form of "indoor GPS" with centimeter-level accuracy. It does not require multiple antennas in the phone, but does require new location beacons installed in indoor locations — such as malls and airports — that contain multiple antennas and explicitly support IPP. Some existing phones may be upgradeable to support IPP. Bluetooth 5.1 includes a several other minor performance improvements, but Direction Finding is the primary new feature.

source: Bluetooth SIG

Related

Samsung Upgrades its Wearables

Aug 10, 2022
Alongside its new foldable phones, Samsung has revealed its newest smartwatches and Bluetooth earbuds, each with significant engineering improvements. The new Galaxy Watch5 has a 13% larger battery and 60% more durable face compared to the Watch4.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Redefines AI in Flagship Phones

Nov 15, 2022
Qualcomm has announced its newest top-end chip, intended to power most flagship-level Android phones in 2023. As expected, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is more powerful and power-efficient across the board (compared to Gen 1), but the most impressive improvements and new features involve AI.

Qualcomm Taps Iridium for Satellite Connectivity

Jan 5, 2023
Qualcomm has revealed Snapdragon Satellite , the company's solution for connecting Android phones directly to satellites for truly global coverage. The feature uses the Iridium network, a satellite constellation that has has been in operation for 25 years.

Qualcomm's New Chips for Earbuds Include Dynamic Head Tracking

Nov 16, 2022
Qualcomm has unveiled the Qualcomm S5 and S3 Gen 2 sound platforms, chips intended to power a range of Bluetooth audio products, including high-end and mid-range earbuds, as well as Bluetooth speakers. The big new feature is Dynamic Head Tracking for Spatial Audio, which maintains the perceived positions of sounds as you move your head.

New $100 Kids Smartwatch has Step Tracking, Camera

Oct 4, 2021
Xplora's newest smartwatch for kids age 4–11, the XGO2, includes a step tracker that gamifies step tracking to encourage physical activity. Kids earn "coins" for every 1,000 steps taken, which can be redeemed in games in the company's Goplay platform.

Comments

This forum is closed.

This forum is closed.

No messages

Page 1 of 1