News and New Products

Bluetooth-UWB merger will take time

By Jeff Berman, News Editor -- EDN, 5/26/2005

The organizations shepherding Bluetooth and UWB (ultrawideband) have announced that they plan to merge their respective wireless-communication technologies, but they released few technical details and allowed that end-user products sporting the combination aren't likely to appear for at least two years. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) plans to collaborate with the WiMedia Alliance and the Ultrawideband Forum to combine the two technologies. The objective, according to the Bluetooth SIG, is to build an architecture that allows Bluetooth-enabled devices to utilize high-speed UWB data rates to transfer large amounts of data, thus enabling high-quality video applications on portable devices.

"Two years is probably a best case scenario," said Michael Foley, the SIG's executive director. "We have a lot of work to do in that area. Although UWB has already been approved by the FCC in the US, it still has not received approval in Asia and Europe."

Freescale Semiconductor, which is quick to point out that it is the only chip supplier shipping commercial UWB silicon, voiced its support for the effort. The company said it will bring its experience with the MAC (medium access control) layer specified in IEEE 802.15.3 and work with the Bluetooth SIG to develop a protocol-adaptation layer that works with Bluetooth protocols and profiles and Freescale's direct-sequence UWB technology, the company said.

"The big thing here is that the Bluetooth SIG is creating an architecture that allows other radios to be used side-by-side in conjunction with profiles it has published," said Martin Rofheart, director of UWB operations at Freescale. Consumers would have the choice of using whichever technology suited the application at hand, he said. "There are a number of ways to do this that are quick and cost-effective," Rofheart said.

Foley noted that the faster data rates afforded by UWB might also find use in Bluetooth stereo headsets. With a UWB-enabled design, an initial blast of music could be downloaded to the headphones more quickly than with a Bluetooth connection, presumably resulting in decreased power usage and longer battery life."Bluetooth 2.0 radios will be used to speak with headsets, mice, and keyboards, and UWB to talk to display-type devices and also replace cables," Foley said. "[UWB-enabled Bluetooth] could also be used in the consumer-electronics space to connect DVD players to flat-panel televisions."

Bluetooth Special Interest Group, www.bluetooth.org.

Ultrawideband Forum, www.uwbfroum.org.