{"id":2573,"date":"2018-11-30T15:26:30","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T13:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medtech-ingenieur.de\/?p=2573"},"modified":"2021-08-06T14:41:10","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T13:41:10","slug":"ble-ein-kurze-einstiegshilfe-in-die-welt-von-bluetooth-low-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medtech-ingenieur.de\/en\/ble-ein-kurze-einstiegshilfe-in-die-welt-von-bluetooth-low-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"BLE \u2013 A short introduction to the world of Bluetooth Low Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the first Bluetooth Low Energy devices came onto the market, BLE had something almost mystical about it. Everyone wanted to use this technology, even if hardly anyone really understood how it worked. In addition, integrating BLE was hard work back then. To work with BLE, you generally had to be thoroughly familiar with the Bluetooth specification and the stack implementation used. Fortunately, that has changed. With the widespread use of BLE, BLE-enabled hardware has also become increasingly easier to use. Today, there is an extensive list of SoCs and modules that can be programmed with very little effort. Nevertheless, you should have a certain basic understanding in order to select the right hardware and software. In this article, I will attempt to provide a brief introduction for anyone who is new to the topic. I will also attempt to clarify common misconceptions and shed light on the limitations of the technology.<\/p>\n

If you would like to delve a little deeper into the world of BLE, I also recommend my further article:<\/p>\n

Low latency with Bluetooth Low Energy<\/a><\/p>\n

This article is primarily about how to achieve the lowest possible latency with BLE. However, to explain this, I'll also cover some basics that are useful for a general understanding of BLE.<\/p>\n

Which hardware is suitable for my project?<\/h3>\n

There's now a wealth of BLE-enabled hardware on the market. Which one is suitable for your project depends on the specific application scenario.<\/p>\n

SoC or integrated module<\/h4>\n

Whether an integrated module or a pure SoC is used depends primarily on the production volume. With high production volumes, the lower costs of the SoC become noticeable. With lower production volumes, integrated modules are characterized by lower development costs. Furthermore, modules with an integrated antenna usually have pre-certifications for specific regions. If an SoC is used, corresponding certification must be carried out for each country. One advantage of SoCs, however, is the ability to design the RF front end and the antenna placement yourself. This can potentially achieve significantly greater transmission ranges.<\/p>\n

Country approval for BLE modules<\/h4>\n

If you choose a fully integrated BLE module with an integrated antenna, you often have the advantage of having the modules pre-certified for the relevant countries. This issue is often considered less important, but it can be crucial if you plan to sell your product in many regions around the world. If you want to offer your product worldwide, you can expect six-figure certification costs. Pre-certifications in the relevant countries offer enormous savings potential here.<\/p>\n

However, caution should be exercised when using modules without metallic shielding. These do not receive full certification in the USA and Canada, for example, due to regulatory requirements. In South Korea, pre-certification of modules without metallic shielding is not possible at all. If a module without metallic shielding is used, it is important to consider the implications of this decision for country approval costs.<\/p>\n

Pre-installed stack against own Bluetooth firmware<\/h4>\n

Using a pre-installed Bluetooth stack can save you a lot of trouble. Especially in the medical technology sector, a pre-installed Bluetooth stack offers a significant advantage: It significantly reduces documentation effort. This may not sound like a big deal at first, but it's important to keep in mind that custom Bluetooth firmware represents an additional software project that must be developed and documented in accordance with regulatory requirements. In addition, using a pre-installed stack generally results in significantly lower development costs and eliminates the need for costly IDEs or compilers.
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Your contact person:<\/strong><\/center><\/h4>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

M.Sc. Bj\u00f6rn Schmitz<\/span><\/strong>, Software Developer<\/span>
E-mail: schmitz@medtech-ingenieur.de<\/a>
Phone:\u00a0\u00a0+49 9131 691 240<\/a><\/td>\r\n		\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
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Do you need support with the development of your medical device? We're happy to help! MEDtech Ingenieur GmbH offers hardware development, software development, systems engineering, mechanical development, and consulting services from a single source. Contact us.<\/p>\r\n

make contact<\/a><\/center><\/center>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>
\nThe advantage of a custom Bluetooth firmware is the significantly greater flexibility, especially when the Bluetooth chip is operated without a host controller.<\/p>\n

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Data rate<\/h3>\n

This is one of the most misunderstood features of BLE. You often see the value of 1 Mbps, which certainly sounds pretty good. Unfortunately, this value is completely wrong. I'll avoid going too deeply into the BLE protocol at this point. To gain a basic understanding of why 1 Mbps is far from anything you can achieve with BLE (including the new Bluetooth 5.0 standard), you really only need to know the following:<\/p>\n