Developing Practical Wireless Applications

Bluetooth: A Cable Replacement Technology 161

Chapter 11

New Protocols

In a need to evolve and provide better use cases, the Bluetooth SIG have architected

additional protocols that underlie a new range of profiles, as illustrated in our previ-

ous section. You will notice that a significant number of protocols now surround the

audio/video-base of applications, as shown in Table 11.9.

Conclusion

The furor and the push into a wireless existence for the consumer perhaps stems from

the plethora of Bluetooth applications and a vision of Bluetooth wireless technology

that seems to have been muted. But, what happened? Who tripped along the way and

shattered a vision that was perceived to be all clear and all knowing? At one point in

time, Bluetooth was accused of being the “jack of all trades” and “master of none.”

And, perhaps it was also guilty of losing its path, its direction of the basic premise, in

that it was merely a cable replacement technology. Today, it seems to have been

demoted to a technology that merely serves a cable replacement for a cellular phone

and its headset and perhaps the automobile. Its destination and future is still unclear,

at the time of writing, even with its recent alliance with UWB, which to be honest

seems a desperate endeavor to hold on to a dream of sustaining dominance.

Bluetooth wireless technology needs a type of genius that allows it to sustain a

perception of need and this may have been successfully portrayed in a US advertise-

ment of a very well-known brand of consumer electronics. In the advert we see a small

girl preparing herself for her first stage performance. In her excitement she continu-

ally seeks the approval of her parents who are filming the event. It appears that the girl

seems to be upset as she assumes her parents who are set away back from the stage will

not be able to effectively capture her performance. But, upon arriving home, the

family view the film together and the little girl is astonished and excited when she per-

ceives the film to be singularly about her, as all you can hear is the little girl’s dialogue.

Protocol Acronym Version

Audio/Video Control Transport Protocol AVCTP v1.2

Audio/Video Distribution Transport Protocol AVDTP v1.2

Bluetooth Network Encapsulation Protocol BNEP v1.0

Table 11.9 A summary of the new protocols which provide the foundation to a number of

adopted Bluetooth Profiles