Historical Analysis – Bluetooth

Today, Bluetooth wireless technology has incorporated billions of chips into thousands of applications and devices  and the low energy use from Bluetooth longevities its usefulness to a huge level of new technology. Bluetooth technology may not be the oldest tech to be praised but yet forgotten by society and has been one of the most used and implemented programs for most of the tech companies in the world.  When talking about the future with Bluetooth’s newly developed technology, we have no exact clue where the function of Bluetooth may take us. 50 years from now we might be able to connect our devices via Bluetooth to other devices that are miles away. For example, we’ve all had a time where we’ve left the house in a rush and may have forgotten to turn the TV off, feed your dog, etc. But with unlimited or long distance connection strength, you may be able to do amazing things like turn your bedroom light on for intruders, lock any doors you may have left unlocked, or turn up your thermostat when you want your house to warm up as your’e heading home.  These are just a few small expansions that can possibly develop from this historical “Secret Communication System” called Bluetooth.

The radio frequency technology that we use today called Bluetooth originally derived from the discovery and patent of frequency hopping spread spectrums (FHSS). The patent was issued 1942, in August and was originally named the “Secret Communication System”. The patent contained a unique technique for radio controlled  torpedoes. The FHSS was mainly used as a counter-jammer, disabling enemies from being able to jam the control signal of the incoming torpedo. The actual concept of wireless play between devices wasn’t discovered until 1994, when the concept caught the interest of Sony Ericson and he had the idea of what if you could connect your accessories with your cellphones and computer using wireless links. Sony Ericsson continued the research of Bluetooth and made minimal improvements as other technologies were advancing as well. After some years the development of Bluetooth SIG came out in 1998.

Bluetooth wasn’t fully  adopted by society and tech companies who wanted the tech for  their product (cellphone, computers, PDAs, etc.) until 1999. Then the main objective of Bluetooth was to pitch the idea that we can easily communicate at universally lower costs while cutting the use of cords. The ability of wireless link and play between the devices you own helps makes things a lot easier with the lack of cords being around.

Today, we utilize Bluetooth more and more in order to help make our lives easier because it’s a basic and simple program that’s user-friendly. With the development and advancement of Bluetooth we must take in consideration of the limits and security/vulnerability of Bluetooth. Where will Bluetooth take us in 50+ years? Could we extend the distance of Bluetooth connection?

 

Works Cited

  • Wieland, Ken. “Bluetooth Starts to Bite.” Telecommunications International, vol. 37, no. 6, 2003, p. 31