Do you know the difference between Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy?
Developed by Swedish manufacturer Ericsson in 1994, it was only 5 years later, in 1999, that the first Bluetooth specification (1.0) was released. Supported by the Special Interest Group (SIG), made up of a number of major companies including IBM, Intel, Toshiba, Microsoft and Motorola, Bluetooth wireless communication technology became very popular in the early 2000s, as it was deployed on many everyday devices, starting with smartphones. However, it was not until 2010 that Bluetooth 4.0 appeared, incorporating the low-power Bluetooth variant known as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Bluetooth LE or Bluetooth Smart.
In this article, you’ll find out more about the differences between Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the advantages and disadvantages of each of these variants, and how they work. Here we go!
Bluetooth, used in our daily lives to transfer data such as music, photos and videos, is defined as a short-range wireless connection technology for linking digital devices together. It can be used with a variety of devices, including telephones, computers and wireless headphones. This wireless communication protocol is designed to connect devices automatically, quickly and without cables.
Bluetooth has enabled considerable technological progress. In fact, mobile phones have undergone major developments in terms of their ability to interact with each other, as well as with various accessories. This wireless technology has literally transformed the way we use our phones, and has contributed to the explosion of connected objects in the home in recent years.
Manufacturers were quick to see the potential of this technology, but technical developments were needed before Bluetooth could really be used in industrial environments, so it was not until version 4.0 that widespread deployment was possible. And so Bluetooth Low Energy was born.
Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth smart is a variant of ‘classic’ Bluetooth that enables small amounts of data to be sent. The main difference between Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy is the latter’s low energy consumption. Hence the name ‘Low Energy’. Among other things, this technical specificity means that connected objects can run considerably longer by reducing their activity time. Because of the way it works, Bluetooth Low Energy seems to be better suited to industrial use. The majority of industrial applications do not require too high a frequency of transmission, or the transmission of a large amount of information.
Bluetooth Low Energy is therefore perfectly suited to transmitting data such as temperature, luminosity, a movement threshold, an identifier or a time. What’s more, unlike conventional Bluetooth, BLE does not require master/slave pairing to operate, making it considerably easier to use on a large scale.
Since the introduction of Bluetooth 5.0 in 2016, BLE has benefited from significant improvements, even more so with Bluetooth 5.1 and Bluetooth 5.2. Among other things, these new specifications have made it possible to improve transmission speed and range, as well as enabling Bluetooth to be used as a location technology by adding angle-of-arrival detection for traditional Bluetooth and the ability to determine the direction of the signal for BLE… These advances open up new applications, such as precise location in indoor environments (Indoor Positioning System, IPS), using BLE beacons.
Bluetooth LE Audio (2019) introduces new capabilities for low-power audio devices. The Bluetooth SIG is working on the possibility of creating audio profiles in BLE, which until now have been reserved for traditional Bluetooth.
To enable devices to communicate, Bluetooth and BLE operate using UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio waves on frequencies between 2.4 GHz and 2.483 GHz, in the same way as WIFI and other systems such as Zigbee.
The Bluetooth standard (including BLE) uses the FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) technique, which consists of dividing the frequency band into 39 channels each 1MHz wide. It then transmits the information using a combination of channels. By changing channels up to 1,600 times per second, the Bluetooth standard avoids interference with signals from other radio modules, which can be very useful in industrial environments.
Let’s take a closer look at the technical operation of Bluetooth. As we mentioned earlier, the Bluetooth standard is based on a master/slave mode of operation requiring pairing, which can take varying amounts of time. For example, if you want to send music from your smartphone to a connected speaker, in this configuration the smartphone is the ‘master’ and the connected speaker is the ‘slave’.
The master will pick up the presence of peripherals around him. This forms what is known as a ‘pico network’. A master can be connected to just one active device at a time, but will switch very quickly before establishing the connection to give the illusion of a simultaneous connection to several devices.
Establishing a connection between two devices involves a number of steps to ensure a certain level of security:
Once connected, the two devices can communicate. Although the security key is registered, pairing is still necessary to facilitate subsequent exchanges.
The Bluetooth Low Energy communication protocol is based on a number of layers that are essential for data exchange, including : Generic Access Profile (GAP), Generic Attribute Protocol (GAAT) and Attribute Protocol (ATT) and the Link Layer (LL).
The GAP (Generic Access Profile) layer introduces the different roles that a BLE connected object can have: broadcaster, observer, central and peripheral. This layer is the one that makes BLE devices visible to the outside world and determines the way in which two devices can (or cannot) interact.
The role will be defined by the manufacturer, who will decide the nature of it according to the use and the functions he wishes to give to his product.
It is important to note that in Bluetooth Low Energy, there are two ways for two devices to communicate with each other: advertising mode and connected mode. In advertising mode, objects connected in BLE will send information at regular intervals without being able to receive any information in return. Connected mode, on the other hand, enables connected objects to communicate and exchange information with each other. This link can be authenticated and encrypted to increase security.
The GATT layer (Generic Attribute Profile) is a data presentation method used by BLE devices. This method is based on the client/server relationship (ATT), where the connected object plays the role of the server offering its services to the terminal (smartphone, computer and other gateways) which will connect to it as a client. The connected object will periodically transmit a frame to signal its presence to the nearby ‘client’. Once the connection has been established, the client and server can connect.
The Link Layer (LL) introduces ‘master’ and ‘slave’ modes. The ‘central unit’ will play the role of ‘master’ and the peripherals will play the role of ‘slave’. The ‘master’ can give an order or send a command to one or more ‘slaves’, while the peripherals, the ‘slaves’, can connect to only one ‘master’ at a time.
Here we go into more detail about the technical operation of Bluetooth Low Energy. This information is particularly aimed at integrators of IoT solutions. For end users, the connection between Bluetooth devices and servers is totally transparent. Bluetooth Low Energy is very easy to use and fully compatible with smartphones, PCs and tablets on the market.
The Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy communication protocols, while sharing a common base, are not at all aimed at the same audiences and do not meet the same needs. The summary below will help you narrow down your choice and understand the difference between Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy.
Discover our wide range of BLE beacons
renowned for their sturdiness and high autonomy
Key facts:
“Classic” Bluetooth will be used more by the general public for its ability to send large amounts of data continuously, such as music or videos.
BLE will be aimed more at industry, enabling a small amount of information to be transmitted non-continuously over time. What’s more, its low power consumption ensures low acquisition costs, enabling businesses to deploy IoT projects quickly and simply.
Discover its evolution, its role in the IoT, how Bluetooth Low Energy works and the challenges it presents.
ELA Innovation • All rights reserved
Contactez-nous directement en utilisant le formulaire ou cliquez sur le bouton ci-dessous pour faire une demande de devis :
