Book Image

Building Bluetooth Low Energy Systems

By : Muhammad Usama bin Aftab
Book Image

Building Bluetooth Low Energy Systems

By: Muhammad Usama bin Aftab

Overview of this book

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a Wireless Personal Area network technology aimed at novel applications for smart devices. High-tech BLE profiles and services are being increasingly used by application developers and hardware enthusiasts to allow devices to interact with the surrounding world. This book will focus on a technical introduction to BLE and how it is reshaping small-distance communication. We will start with IoT, where many technologies such as BLE, Zigbee, and IEEE 802.15.4 Mesh will be introduced. The book will present BLE from an engineering perspective, from which the protocol stack, architecture, and layers are discussed. You will learn to implement customized projects for Peripheral/Central communication, BLE Beacons, indoor navigation using triangulation, and the Internet gateway for Bluetooth Low Energy Personal Network, all using various code samples and APIs on Android, iOS, and the Web. Finally, the book will conclude with a glimpse into future technologies destined to be prominent in years to come.
Table of Contents (14 chapters)
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface

Beacon protocols


Just like any other technology, Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons work with a protocol set. It is like a profile that tells how a beacon is broadcasting information. This information is then handled by a device (typically a cell phone) with the same protocol. Both ends should know the definition of the broadcast data if they want a successful transmission. This is why the broadcast data type is defined by the type of protocol the beacon is using. In some cases, it broadcasts a UUID-based URI, while in other cases, it broadcast URLs or telemetry packets.

The protocol gives a definition to the data broadcast. 

The broadcast data type is defined by the type of protocol the beacon is using. In some cases, it broadcasts a UUID-based URI, while in other cases, it broadcast URLs or telemetry packets. In this section, we will discuss two widely used beacon protocols: Eddystone by Google and iBeacon by Apple.

Note

This protocol standard is not to be confused with the Bluetooth Low Energy...