Bluetooth SIG unveils 3-yr roadmap

BANGALORE: With the purpose of helping manufacturers plan for future products and setting industry expectations, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) unveiled a three-year roadmap outlining a series of enhancements to the Bluetooth specification. Updates in the areas of performance, security, power optimization and usability are expected to help maintain Bluetooth technology's position as the leading personal connectivity technology and establish a role in new markets.

Bluetooth technology is currently being used widely for personal area networking with devices like mobile phones, PCs, PDAs, headsets, and automotive hands-free systems. While Bluetooth technology is designed for personal area network applications, planned enhancements increase Bluetooth technology's applicability in new areas such as sensor scenarios, streaming audio applications, multi-player gaming and ad-hoc file sharing.

Building on Bluetooth technology's inherent strengths of low power, low cost, built-in security, robustness, ease-of-use and ad-hoc capabilities, the SIG plans the following advancements for the technology. In 2005, the Bluetooth SIG will test and release a new version of the specification that will further enhance the usability of multi-device scenarios, improve overall security, and improve power consumption, enabling Bluetooth sensors to last for multiple years on a single battery. In the 2006 update to the Bluetooth specification, the Bluetooth SIG will continue to improve on usability, security and performance.

Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR was also announced (ADD URL) after a six-month prototyping phase. Products with EDR are expected in the next six to nine months. The next two versions of the specification are expected to have similar timing with testing completed and the specification available at the end of each year.