Device detection in Bluetooth PANs

Abstract

A Personal Area Network consists of a number of personal and usually small devices that are carried by the user. These devices may be equipped with wireless communication interfaces, and can through these interfaces share services and collaborate to improve the user experience. These devices form the Personal Area Network. There are several technologies that might be used in such a Personal Area Network (PAN) such as Bluetooth, Wireless LAN, Low-Rate Wireless LAN and Infrared. The thesis considers them all with a special focus on Bluetooth. Before any of these devices can communicate they need to detect the presence of any other device in the vicinity. Various methods for device detection exists and are used in dierent ways by each of the short range wireless technologies. This thesis gives a thorough study and comparison of all these device detection algorithm. To analyse and evaluate the Bluetooth device discovery, Inquiry, a simulator was build. The main concept of the simulator program is to implement a dummy device that carries out the detection of all the simulated devices in the PAN. It is possible to define the number of devices in the inquiry scan state. The various Bluetooth versions and methods for Inquiry was tested and compared. The device detection of Bluetooth version 1.1 has shown to be unacceptably time consuming. However, the improved Bluetooth version 1.2 Inquiry will make the detection time better.