If things go as planned, the world's Bluetooth technology will be twice as good next year. The group that oversees the technology, Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), shared its roadmap for 2016. Included here is a 100% increase in speed that will not increase power consumption either.
The group also has another goal: mesh networking. This is the group's vision of covering entire places like buildings or large homes with Bluetooth connectivity. In fact, the project has such importance that a brand new group was made just to address it, called the Bluetooth Smart Mesh Working Group.
According to The Next Web, when the update is introduced, consumers can expect Bluetooth connectivity at greater distances. To be precise, a range increase of 4x is slated for 2016. Regular users can therefore enjoy an overall performance improvement. Businesses can also benefit by tapping into the blanket connectivity of next year's Bluetooth.
Business Wire reported that a primary driver for this innovation is the Internet of Things (IoT) functionality. The simple fact is that many devices are already connected and having an increased range would be beneficial to all.
Faster data transfers between devices can mean the difference between life and death in some situations. For example, critical applications on medical devices will be able to deliver results much more reliably with an improved Bluetooth connectivity.
Toby Nixon, Chairman of the SIG Board of Directors, mentioned consumer demand as well. "There is significant demand from our members and the industry at large to enhance Bluetooth with the new capabilities we're announcing today," he said.
Mark Powell, Executive Director of Bluetooth SIG also added, "The Bluetooth technology roadmap is a powerful expression of our mission to continue as a catalyst for industry innovation. He added, "Bluetooth has been adopted by countless developers and manufacturers as their connectivity solution of choice for the IoT. The new functionality we will soon be adding will further solidify Bluetooth as the backbone of IoT technology."
