Bluetooth is a short-range wireless communication technology. It allows devices like cell phones and computers to connect and exchange information without the use of wires, cables, radio signals and infrared beams.
When Bluetooth-capable devices are placed within ten meters of each other, they are able to ascertain whether there should be a sharing of information among them and whether one needs to control another. It occurs automatically. This means that the user does not have to give a command.
The devices form a personal-area network called piconet. This consists of up to eight Bluetooth-enabled devices, particularly one master and seven slaves.
For example, if the master device is your personal computer, the slaves in its piconet could include your digital camera, video cam, MP3 player, and your printer. Thus, you can print a photo from your computer by simply accessing the picture and selecting the print option. If there is a printing device within ten meters, it will automatically respond and appear as available on your monitor. When you select the Bluetooth wireless printer, connections in your Bluetooth protocol are activated while your picture is being printed.
Bluetooth is essentially a networking standard that connects at two levels: at the physical level and at the protocol level. Bluetooth connects at the physical level through its radio-frequency standard. Bluetooth networking transmits data via low-power radio waves with a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz. In the protocol level, Bluetooth-enabled devices have to agree on the types and amount of information sent and received.
This entry was posted in Computers on February 28, 2009 by .