Showing papers on "Bluetooth published in 2014"

A Software Defined Networking architecture for the Internet-of-Things

Abstract: The growing interest in the Internet of Things (IoT) has resulted in a number of wide-area deployments of IoT subnetworks, where multiple heterogeneous wireless communication solutions coexist: from multiple access technologies such as cellular, WiFi, ZigBee, and Bluetooth, to multi-hop ad-hoc and MANET routing protocols, they all must be effectively integrated to create a seamless communication platform. Managing these open, geographically distributed, and heterogeneous networking infrastructures, especially in dynamic environments, is a key technical challenge. In order to take full advantage of the many opportunities they provide, techniques to concurrently provision the different classes of IoT traffic across a common set of sensors and networking resources must be designed. In this paper, we will design a software-defined approach for the IoT environment to dynamically achieve differentiated quality levels to different IoT tasks in very heterogeneous wireless networking scenarios. For this, we extend the Multinetwork INformation Architecture (MINA), a reflective (self-observing and adapting via an embodied Observe-Analyze-Adapt loop) middleware with a layered IoT SDN controller. The developed IoT SDN controller originally i) incorporates and supports commands to differentiate flow scheduling over task-level, multi-hop, and heterogeneous ad-hoc paths and ii) exploits Network Calculus and Genetic Algorithms to optimize the usage of currently available IoT network opportunities. We have applied the extended MINA SDN prototype in the challenging IoT scenario of wide-scale integration of electric vehicles, electric charging sites, smart grid infrastructures, and a wide set of pilot users, as targeted by the Artemis Internet of Energy and Arrowhead projects. Preliminary simulation performance results indicate that our approach and the extended MINA system can support efficient exploitation of the IoT multinetwork capabilities.

Face-to-Face Proximity Estimation Using Bluetooth On Smartphones

Abstract: The availability of “always-on” communications has tremendous implications for how people interact socially. In particular, sociologists are interested in the question if such pervasive access increases or decreases face-to-face interactions. Unlike triangulation which seeks to precisely define position, the question of face-to-face interaction reduces to one of proximity, i.e., are the individuals within a certain distance? Moreover, the problem of proximity estimation is complicated by the fact that the measurement must be quite precise (1-1.5 m) and can cover a wide variety of environments. Existing approaches such as GPS and Wi-Fi triangulation are insufficient to meet the requirements of accuracy and flexibility. In contrast, Bluetooth, which is commonly available on most smartphones, provides a compelling alternative for proximity estimation. In this paper, we demonstrate through experimental studies the efficacy of Bluetooth for this exact purpose. We propose a proximity estimation model to determine the distance based on the RSSI values of Bluetooth and light sensor data in different environments. We present several real world scenarios and explore Bluetooth proximity estimation on Android with respect to accuracy and power consumption.

Battery life of portable electronic devices charged by sound

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method for improving battery life of electronic devices such as Bluetooth headsets, smart-watches among others running on small batteries, for example coin batteries. The method may include wireless sound power transmission through suitable techniques such as pocket-forming, while including receivers and capacitors in the aforementioned devices. Wirelessly charged capacitors may provide sufficient power on which devices may run, and thus, battery life of such electronic devices may be enhanced.

Hybrid charging method for wireless power transmission based on pocket-forming

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a hybrid charging method for wireless power transmission based on pocket-forming. This method may extend the battery life of electronic devices such as tablets, smartphones, Bluetooth headsets, smart-watches among others. The method may include wireless power transmission through suitable techniques such as pocket-forming, while including an additional source of energy (backup battery) in the receiver attached or connected to the electronic device.

Estimating crowd densities and pedestrian flows using wi-fi and bluetooth

Abstract: The rapid deployment of smartphones as all-purpose mobile computing systems has led to a wide adoption of wireless communication systems such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in mobile scenarios. Both communication systems leak information to the surroundings during operation. This information has been used for tracking and crowd density estimations in literature. However, an estimation of pedestrian flows has not yet been evaluated with respect to a known ground truth and, thus, a reliable adoption in real world scenarios is rather difficult. With this paper, we fill in this gap. Using ground truth provided by the security check process at a major German airport, we discuss the quality and feasibility of pedestrian flow estimations for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth captures. We present and evaluate three approaches in order to improve the accuracy in comparison to a naive count of captured MAC addresses. Such counts only showed an impractical Pearson correlation of 0.53 for Bluetooth and 0.61 for Wi-Fi compared to ground truth. The presented extended approaches yield a superior correlation of 0.75 in best case. This indicates a strong correlation and an improvement of accuracy. Given these results, the presented approaches allow for a practical estimation of pedestrian flows.

Bluetooth: a viable solution for IoT? [Industry Perspectives]

Abstract: The news that Qualcomm is buying the dominant Bluetooth chip vendor, CSR, is creating speculation in the industry that Qualcomm is betting Bluetooth for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Bluetooth, the technology once pronounced dead by a trade magazine journalist in 2003 [1], has enjoyed popularity and prosperity in the last 10 years for audio communications and stereo streaming. ABI Research predicts that over 3 billion Bluetooth enabled devices will be shipped in 2014, and over 10 billion Bluetooth enabled devices will be on the market by 2018. With the maturity of the technology and its strong presence in the marketplace, the Bluetooth industry is working on expanding the applications of the technology to short-range wireless communication markets other than audio and stereo communications, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. Currently, it is being used for M2M applications such as credit card readers [2]. For Bluetooth to be suitable for M2M and IoT applications, it needs to reduce power consumption so that it can be used in batterypowered devices for a longer period of time or even the lifetime of the device. To achieve that, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) introduced Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which was first specified in Bluetooth 4.0 [3] and further improved in Bluetooth 4.1 [4]. In addition, the Bluetooth stakeholders also expanded work on it, with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) working on the standardization effort of facilitating Bluetooth in exchanging IP packets.

Personal monitoring system

Abstract: A system includes a processor; a cellular, WiFi, or Bluetooth transceiver coupled to the processor; an accelerometer or a motion sensor coupled to the processor; and a sensor coupled to the processor to sense mood, wherein text, image, sound, or video is rendered in response to the sensed mood.

RSSI based Bluetooth low energy indoor positioning

Abstract: The presentation of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE; e.g., Bluetooth 4.0) makes Bluetooth based indoor positioning have extremely broad application prospects. In this paper, we propose a received signal strength indication (RSSI) based Bluetooth positioning method. There are two phases in the procedure of our positioning: offline training and online locating. In the phase of offline training, we use piecewise fitting based on the lognormal distribution model to train the propagation model of RSSI for every BLE reference nodes, respectively, in order to reduce the influence of the positioning accuracy because of different locations of BLE reference nodes. Here we design a Gaussian filter to pre-process the receiving signals in different sampling points. In the phase of online locating, we use weighted sliding window to reduce fluctuations of the real-time signals. In addition, we propose a distance weighted filter based on triangle trilateral relations theorem, which can reduce the influence of positioning accuracy due to abnormal RSSI and improve the location accuracy effectively. Besides, in order to reduce the errors of targets coordinates caused by ordinary least squares method, we propose a collaborative localization algorithm based on Taylor series expansion. Another important feature of our method is the active learning ability of BLE reference nodes. Every reference node adjusts its pre-trained model according to the received signals from detecting nodes actively and periodically, which improve the accuracy of positioning greatly. Experiments show that the probability of locating error less than 1.5 meter is higher than 80% using our positioning method.

VeCure: A practical security framework to protect the CAN bus of vehicles

Abstract: Vehicles are being revolutionized by integrating modern computing and communication technologies in order to improve both user experience and driving safety. As a result, vehicular systems that used to be closed systems are opening up various interfaces, such as Bluetooth, 3G/4G, GPS, etc., to the outside world, thus introducing new opportunities for cyber attacks. It has been recently demonstrated that modern vehicles are vulnerable to several remote attacks launched through Bluetooth and cellular interfaces, allowing the attacker to take full control of the vehicle. The common root cause of these attacks is the lack of message authentication for the vehicle's internal bus system, called Controller Area Network (CAN). In this work, we propose VeCure - a practical security framework for vehicular systems, which can fundamentally solve the message authentication issue of the CAN bus. VeCure is designed to be compatible with existing vehicle system architectures, and employs a trust group structure and a novel message authentication scheme with offline computation capability to minimize online message processing delay and deployment cost. We built a proof-of-concept prototype on a testbed using Freescale's automotive development boards. The experimental results show that VeCure only introduces 50us additional delay to process a message, which is at least 20-fold faster than any existing solution.

Presence detection using bluetooth and hybrid-mode transmitters

Abstract: Presence detection using Bluetooth and hybrid-mode transmitters is disclosed. In some embodiments, one or more transmitters are configured to transmit an iBeacon broadcast and a proprietary Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) broadcast, wherein at least one of the transmitted broadcasts includes an identifier that specifies a venue. The broadcasts are captured by a handset and decoded to infer presence of the handset at the venue.

Lawn lamp with Bluetooth applying and mosquito killing functions

Abstract: The invention relates to a lawn lamp with Bluetooth applying and mosquito killing functions. The lawn lamp comprises a lamp post body, a light source window, a fixed base, a control module, a power grid, a Bluetooth module and a horn, wherein the light source window is arranged on the periphery of the lamp post body and equipped with the power grid on the periphery; the control module is mounted at the top of the lamp post body; the fixed base is arranged at the bottom of the lamp post body; the Bluetooth module is embedded in the top of the lamp post body; and the horn is mounted on one side of the lamp post body. The multipurpose lawn lamp product can provide functions of mosquito killing and Bluetooth talking while providing illumination.

Networking solutions for connecting bluetooth low energy enabled machines to the internet of things

Abstract: The next wave driving the expansion of the Internet will come from the Internet of Things. Bluetooth LE is a rapidly emerging ultra-low-power radio technology expected to be incorporated in billions of IoT devices in the next few years. Consequently, it is particularly important to specify Internet connectivity solutions for Bluetooth LE. In this article we present such solutions based on the ongoing standardization work in the IETF and Bluetooth Special Interest Group. We prove the feasibility of a complete IP-based protocol stack on constrained devices and illustrate its performance, highlighting key trade-offs. In addition, we discuss gateway operation covering global IPv6 connectivity and proxy-cache functionality.

I know your MAC address: targeted tracking of individual using Wi-Fi

Abstract: This work is about wireless communications technologies embedded in portable devices, namely Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GSM. Focusing on Wi-Fi, we study the privacy issues and potential missuses that can affect the owners of wireless-enabled portable devices. Wi-Fi enable-devices periodically broadcast in plain-text their unique identifier along with other sensitive information. As a consequence, their owners are vulnerable to a range of privacy breaches such as the tracking of their movement and inference of private information (Cunche et al. in Pervasive Mobile Comput, 2013; Greenstein in Proceedings of the 11th USENIX workshop on hot topics in operating systems, pp 10:1–10:6. USENIX Association, Berkeley, 2007). As serious as those information leakage can be, linking a device with an individual and its real world identity is not a straightforward task. Focusing on this problem, we present a set of attacks that allow an attacker to link a Wi-Fi device to its owner identity. We present two methods that, given an individual of interest, allow identifying the MAC address of its Wi-Fi enabled portable device. Those methods do not require a physical access to the device and can be performed remotely, reducing the risks of being noticed. Finally we present scenarios in which the knowledge of an individual MAC address could be used for mischief.

Low-dimensional signal-strength fingerprint-based positioning in wireless LANs

Abstract: Accurate location awareness is of paramount importance in most ubiquitous and pervasive computing applications. Numerous solutions for indoor localization based on IEEE802.11, bluetooth, ultrasonic and vision technologies have been proposed. This paper introduces a suite of novel indoor positioning techniques utilizing signal-strength (SS) fingerprints collected from access points (APs). Our first approach employs a statistical representation of the received SS measurements by means of a multivariate Gaussian model by considering a discretized grid-like form of the indoor environment and by computing probability distribution signatures at each cell of the grid. At run time, the system compares the signature at the unknown position with the signature of each cell by using the Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KLD) between their corresponding probability densities. Our second approach applies compressive sensing (CS) to perform sparsity-based accurate indoor localization, while reducing significantly the amount of information transmitted from a wireless device, possessing limited power, storage, and processing capabilities, to a central server. The performance evaluation which was conducted at the premises of a research laboratory and an aquarium under real-life conditions, reveals that the proposed statistical fingerprinting and CS-based localization techniques achieve a substantial localization accuracy.

Adaptive data transfer using bluetooth

Abstract: Biometric monitoring devices, including various technologies that may be implemented in such devices, are discussed herein. Additionally, techniques, systems, and apparatuses are discussed herein for utilizing two different Bluetooth communications interfaces, one that provides Bluetooth classic (base rate/enhanced data rate) communications functionality and one that provides Bluetooth low-energy communications functionality, in a common device. The techniques, systems, and apparatuses may elect to use a particular Bluetooth interface based on various criteria.

Method and device for controlling peripheral devices via a social networking platform

Abstract: A method and device for transmitting data between a peripheral device and a user device via a Bluetooth Low Energy connection, comprising: at the peripheral device: transmitting data to the user device in a simulated data stream, the transmitting comprising: identifying a first Bluetooth characteristic for writing data, the first Bluetooth characteristic having been exposed by the peripheral device to the user device; dividing a data packet into a sequence of data frames plus zero or one remainder, each data frame having a respective size equal to a predetermined data size of the identified first Bluetooth characteristic; and for each of the sequence of data frames: writing the data frame to a respective value for the identified first Bluetooth characteristic; and pushing the identified first Bluetooth characteristic for reading by the user device.

Introducing Bluetooth Smart: Part 1: A look at both classic and new technologies.

Abstract: In 2010, the bluetooth special interest group (sig) published their Core Specification 4.0, including Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) technology, or Bluetooth Smart. This short-range radio breaks technical ground as it can run for years on batteries or scavenged power. Bluetooth Smart is a leading candidate to connect the Internet of Things.

Analysis of latency performance of bluetooth low energy (BLE) networks.

Abstract: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a short-range wireless communication technology aiming at low-cost and low-power communication. The performance evaluation of classical Bluetooth device discovery have been intensively studied using analytical modeling and simulative methods, but these techniques are not applicable to BLE, since BLE has a fundamental change in the design of the discovery mechanism, including the usage of three advertising channels. Recently, there several works have analyzed the topic of BLE device discovery, but these studies are still far from thorough. It is thus necessary to develop a new, accurate model for the BLE discovery process. In particular, the wide range settings of the parameters introduce lots of potential for BLE devices to customize their discovery performance. This motivates our study of modeling the BLE discovery process and performing intensive simulation. This paper is focused on building an analytical model to investigate the discovery probability, as well as the expected discovery latency, which are then validated via extensive experiments. Our analysis considers both continuous and discontinuous scanning modes. We analyze the sensitivity of these performance metrics to parameter settings to quantitatively examine to what extent parameters influence the performance metric of the discovery processes.

Inside Job: Understanding and Mitigating the Threat of External Device Mis-Bonding on Android

Abstract: In this paper, we present the first study on this new security issue, which we call external Device Mis-Bonding or DMB, under the context of Bluetooth-enabled Android devices. Our research shows that this problem is both realistic and serious: oftentimes an unauthorized app can download sensitive user data from an Android device and also help the adversary to deploy a spoofed device that injects fake data into the original device’s official app on the phone. Specifically, we performed an in-depth analysis on four popular health/medical devices that collect sensitive user information and successfully built end-toend attacks that stealthily gathered sensitive user data and fed arbitrary information into the user’s health/medical account, using nothing but Bluetooth permissions and public information disclosed by the phone. Our further study of 68 relevant deviceusing apps from Google Play confirms that the vast majority of the devices on the market are vulnerable to this new threat. To defend against it, we developed the first OS-level protection, called Dabinder. Our approach automatically generates secure bonding policies between a device and its official app, and enforces them when an app attempts to establish Bluetooth connections with a device and unpair the phone from the device (for resetting the Bluetooth link key). Our evaluation shows that this new technique effectively thwarts the DMB attacks and incurs only a negligible impact on the phone’s normal operations.

Bluetooth Low Energy: An alternative technology for VANET applications

Abstract: Vehicles are getting increasingly connected. Several technologies have emerged over the last decade that allow cars to communicate with each other and with the Internet. In this paper we propose to use the new Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard as an alternative technology to exchange data between vehicles. By the means of experiments we show that smartphones with BLE radios can be used to send information at low latency from one car to another even while driving. A communication range of up to 100m can be achieved depending on the scenario and environment. Those promising first results are then used as basis for discussion to identify the potential of BLE for different types of vehicular applications.

Experiment of indoor position presumption based on RSSI of Bluetooth LE beacon

Abstract: Real-time indoor location estimation needs multiple signals from different sources. To ensure accuracy of estimation, adopting Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) beacon devices as signal sources is a reasonable solution. We have installed a number of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) beacon devices in and around a room and observed beacons by portable devices with RSSI to achieve fundamental knowledge of beacons and feasibility of location estimation. By applying an estimation method, we have achieved over 95% of correct estimation rate and complete separation that a device is in a room or not.

Android based smart home system with control via Bluetooth and internet connectivity

Abstract: Automation plays an important role in today's human life and people's life is gradually changing with smart living due to modern technology development and Android Smartphone. This paper presents a low-cost Smart Living System, which uses Android based User Interface for control of home appliances. Connection to the smart living system can be made from the designed app via Bluetooth or internet connection. It also integrates home security and alert system.

Indoor and outdoor navigation and local base services application utilizing RF bluetooth beacons

Abstract: A series of RF beacons deployed about a localized area to create an infrastructure for use with a series of applications. One application provides navigation to the receiving device, wherein the location of the receiving device utilizes information obtained from one or more beacon signals. The location can be determined by signal strength, triangulation, an identity of the RF beacon, etc. Another feature is an initiation of an application based upon receipt of a beacon signal. Another application provides local based services (LBS) to the recipient. Another application is directed towards transportation, including transportation management, parking assistance, traffic telematics, etc. Another application emergency based applications, more specifically a communication process in an area where longer range cellular infrastructure is either non-existent or non-functional. The system can create an infrastructure by networking a series of mobile transceivers to create an ad hoc network.

Passive entry cell phone and method and system therefor

Abstract: A system for a vehicle including: a bluetooth receiver configured to be installed in a vehicle and connected with an electronic system of the vehicle; and a phone including a long-range radio frequency (RF) transceiver configured to transmit signals to and receive signals from a cellular network and a bluetooth transmitter configured to communicate with the bluetooth receiver in the vehicle within a predetermined range.

Bluetooth alert notification service

Abstract: A central wireless communication device communicates with a peripheral wireless communication device to provide an interactive alert notification service. The central wireless communication device obtains alert notification settings for application categories for the peripheral wireless communication device. In response to receiving an alert notification belonging to an application category enabled for the peripheral wireless communication device, the central wireless communication device sends an alert notification message that includes a unique identifier associated with the alert notification to the peripheral wireless communication device. In response to receiving an information request message that includes the unique identifier and one or more parameters, the central wireless communication device sends one or more information response messages that include the unique identifier and values for at least one of the one or more parameters to the peripheral wireless communication device.

Evaluation of indoor positioning based on Bluetooth Smart technology

Abstract: Nowadays, positioning technologies are used in a wide variety of areas such as providing driving directions and tracking valuable goods to name a few. Since the introduction of the global positioning system(GPS), it has become a de facto standard for outdoor positioning applications. In contrast to this, no similar widespread technique is available for indoor positioning or in areas where GPS is unavailable. Extensive research have been devoted to exploring the topic based on a variety of technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and ultra wideband radio. None of these have successfully made it into a widely accepted standard, although signi cant progress has been made. In 2010 a completely new Bluetooth technology, referred to as "Bluetooth low energy" or "Bluetooth smart" was released that promises among other things ultra low power consumption, changed radio frequency properties and a completely new software stack. No academic work can be found that explores the usability of this new technology in the context of indoor positioning. This Master thesis is the rst project to evaluate the suitability and the applicability of this new technology in the context of indoor positioning. A selection of algorithms and approaches are explored, tested, evaluated and compared in a testbed scenario designed for this purpose. Furthermore, the results of these tests are analyzed by examining the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) behaviour, which is the parameter used as basis for the positioning approaches. The evaluation shows that Bluetooth smart is a viable alternative for indoor positioning which o ffers widespread availability in society, reasonable accuracy and low cost deployment. The report also provides essential advice on some important pitfalls when using the technology for positioning applications.

Bluetooth communication method and system

Abstract: A Bluetooth communication method and system for enabling one Bluetooth device to rapidly connect to another Bluetooth device using an audio signal, and also enabling them to transmit data to each other are provided. The system includes first and second Bluetooth devices. The first Bluetooth device transforms authentication information required to establish a Bluetooth communication connection into an audio signal, and broadcasts the audio signal. The second Bluetooth device receives the audio signal and extracts the authentication information from the received audio signal. The second Bluetooth device establishes a Bluetooth communication channel with the first Bluetooth device, using the extracted authentication information.

Compact ACS-fed UWB monopole antenna with extra Bluetooth band

Abstract: A compact asymmetric coplanar strip (ACS)-fed ultra-wideband (UWB) monopole antenna with extra Bluetooth band for various wireless applications is presented. The proposed antenna is composed of a modified ACS-fed structure and a staircase-shaped patch for covering the UWB band (3.1-10.6 GHz), which occupies a very compact size of 32.5 × 10 mm 2 . By etching a snake-shaped slot in the staircase-shaped patch, an additional band can be realised covering the Bluetooth band (2.4-2.484 GHz). Furthermore, the proposed antenna has been fabricated and measured, and good results obtained. The proposed antenna shows nearly omnidirectional radiation characteristics, relatively consistent group delays and stable gains in the operating bands. The simple feeding structure, compact size and uniplanar design make it easy to be integrated within portable devices for wireless communication.

Bluetooth low energy for wearable sensor-based healthcare systems

Abstract: Wearable sensor-based healthcare systems have drawn a lot of attention from the scientific community and the industry during the past several years. As the healthcare cost is increasing and the population is aging, unobtrusive, low cost and accurate healthcare systems will potentially transform the future of healthcare. They are convenient to use, and can be utilized directly from home or community. These systems have various functionalities, such as bio-signal monitoring, signal analysis and biofeedback. They are consist of sub-systems including sensors, data aggregators, data processing units, connected by wired or wireless communication modules. The developing goal of the systems includes to increase the performance accuracy, to make the system smaller, to prolong the battery life and to lower the product cost. Bluetooth low energy (BLE), comparing to traditional wired or other wireless communication modules, is beneficial for these design goals. Devices with bluetooth low energy are attracting more scientists and engineers in research and are changing individuals' lives with products such as wearable sport bends, smart toothbrushes, and intelligent watches. In this paper, we provide an overview of the state-of-the-art Bluetooth low energy technology. Further, we list and analyze the most popular commercial products and the available developing tools.

Proximity-based reminders using Bluetooth

Abstract: A smartphone is a personal device and as such usually hosts multiple public user identities such as a phone number, email address, and Facebook account. As each smartphone has a unique Bluetooth MAC address, Bluetooth discovery can be used in combination with the user registration to a server with a Facebook account. This makes it possible to identify a nearby smartphone related to a given Facebook contact. Using this capability, we designed Memorit, an application that handles reminders alerting the user when a contact is nearby her/him. This way it is possible to trigger a user-defined reminder, for example to give back a book, when a registered contact comes in proximity. Data collected from Memorit will allow study of pervasive social context. This paper gives an overview of Memorit, its features, implementation, and evaluates its applicability through a user study.