What is Bluetooth 4.2?

This article SKYLAB targets and explains bluetooth 4.2 that easily available on the Internet. If you want to install a Bluetooth module yourself, please refer to this article so that you can quickly find a Bluetooth module that meets your needs.

Bluetooth can communicate from a radius of 30m to 50m, so it can cover from private rooms to factory floors. On the other hand, Bluetooth and infrared (IrDA) modules are standards for short distances.

They require a private room and an environment where the transmitting and receiving devices are very close to each other, and the usage scene is slightly more limited than the Bluetooth transceiver module.

Why Bluetooth 4.2 transceiver module is considered good?

With LPWA, the transmission power is small and the transmission bit rate is low at the cost of a long communication distance. This is good for transmitting a small amount of data, but its real-time transmission capability is lower than Wi-Fi.

Knowing what sensing technologies are based on bluetooth 4.2is a great competitive advantage for companies. In this way, it is possible to stay ahead of the competition, innovating for the target audience the way in which purchases are made.

Why do you need bluetooth 4.2?

That's because this technology brings more convenience and convenience to consumers on their shopping journey. Investment in it has been increasingly necessary, mainly due to the accessibility that people currently have to mobile devices.

Keep reading this article to find out how this device came about, its need and how it will change your routine.

Beacons, as they are also called, are versatile technological devices that base on the user's location. This technology makes work easier and makes efforts more worthwhile. Thus, many obstacles found in marketing campaigns are obsolete due to their use.

Therefore, in this article, SKYLAB focus on Bluetooth modules, which are easy to use for IoT module design, and introduce product information.

Advantages and disadvantages of Wi-Fi

Focusing on the Bluetooth 4.2 standard itself, it has the following advantages and disadvantages: When using it for IoT, it is necessary to consider the usage scene based on these advantages and disadvantages.

Advantage# 1. High-density & high-speed communication is possible

Bluetooth is a standard that supports high-density and high-speed communication due to technological innovation. Therefore, it is possible to cover a large floor space such as a factory or gymnasium with a small number of APs. It is also suitable for large-capacity data transmission such as video and audio.

Advantage# 2. Bluetooth 4.2 compatible mobile terminals are widespread

According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 90% of households own smartphones. And almost all of them come with Bluetooth 4.2 function.

This means that IoT devices that support Bluetooth transceiver module communication will inevitably be able to use these terminals as control terminals. In that case, this part does not require hardware development, only application development, so development efficiency is good.

Disadvantage# 1. Weak in shielding

Bluetooth uses the 2.4GHz or 5GHz band. At such high frequencies, when the radio waves are blocked by obstacles, they cannot wrap around and the radio wave strength drops significantly. Just like blocking the sunlight creates shadows, the same thing happens with radio waves.

Therefore, it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to secure the line-of-sight distance between the communicating antennas. By the way, this drawback is the same for bluetooth 4.2 and IrDA.

Disadvantage #2. 5 GHz band has channels that cannot be common outdoors

Of the Bluetooth5GHz frequency band, the 5.3GHz band cannot be common outdoors. The 5.2GHz band is also limited. This is a different part from country to country and will affect the design when considering systems for outdoor use.

Since easy-to-understand materials are available to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the link is posted below. If you don't know the details, you can read it.

Disadvantage 3. Be careful about security

Bluetooth 4.2 has the same security function as other communication methods. There are multiple methods for this, with the strength increasing in the order of WEP, WPS, WPS2.0, WPS3.0. 

It is dangerous to use it in an environment where eavesdropping is possible, such as outdoors, so it is necessary to carefully consider its safety. The basic points of choosing Bluetooth 4.2 modules are as follows. It is necessary to select the product based on this.

Not only individual product specifications, but the entire development resources provided by the manufacturer involve.

Is it easy to build a development environment?

The following elements must be available for IoT system development. Necessary elements for IoT development

■ Development PC

■ Communication module

■ Processor (Built-in firmware and control communication module)

■ Various connection kits (connecting the development PC and processor module)

■ SDK (installed on development PC. Development of software part including firmware

In a nutshell, it is necessary to build a series of development environments from the development PC to the wireless antenna.

Do you need a combo with Bluetooth?

The combo with Bluetooth 4.2 (installed on the same board) is convenient for products that implement multiple communication methods such as smartphones. Bluetooth competes with 2.4GHz radio waves, but can coexist with 5GHz radio waves.

Is it built-in network middleware?

Products with built-in network middleware such as the TCP / IP protocol stack can significantly reduce the development cost of Internet communication functions. Of course, cloud support is also in view. Besides TCP / IP, there are TLS, SSL, HTTP, IPv6 and so on. Pay attention to the characteristics of the antenna!

Bluetooth transceiver module with external antennas temporarily test with some optional antenna when certified. Such an antenna call a reference antenna. If the antenna characteristics of your product are different from those of the reference antenna, be careful not to deviate from the certification standard value.