Designing for Bluetooth Low Energy Applications

Bluetooth version 4.0 introduced Bluetooth with low energy functionality, sometimes referred to as Bluetooth Smart, which gave developers the ability to create sensors that can run on coin- cell batteries for months and even years at a time. Some of these sensors are so efficient that the kinetic energy from just flipping a switch can provide operating power. 

Bluetooth low energy technology is inherently different from BR/EDR. BR/EDR establishes a relatively short-range, continuous wireless connection, which makes it ideal for uses such as streaming audio from a smartphone to a headset.Bluetooth low energy technology allows for short bursts of long range radio connections, making it ideal for IoT applications that depend on long battery life. 

In this paper:

• We explore the fundamentals of the Bluetooth 4.0 specification.
• Discuss the 4.0 architecture, including link layers and security.
• Explain how device discovery and connections work.