With increased competition for scarcer consumer dollars, manufacturers find themselves scrambling to add features. One attribute that quickly sets a product above another is wireless capability—hence, the mad dash to integrate Bluetooth technology into existing hardwired applications. But Bluetooth is not easy. It is a great wireless technology, yet its complexity is off-putting for designers creating new mobile devices.

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Greasing the skids for Bluetooth’s entry into new territory, both consumer and industrial, is the modern protocol analyzer. This device lets designers effortlessly examine not only the wireless interface between devices such as a cell phone and a headset, but also the interface between the CPU and the Bluetooth chip inside a device.

The advanced capabilities of today’s protocol analyzer software help overcome the fear associated with “cutting the umbilical cord” to traditionally hardwired elements. Companies can now release their newly Bluetooth-enabled products with confidence that these items have been thoroughly tested and will perform to spec in the field.

“We strongly recommend that our customers utilize protocol analyzer software if they want to be major players in the Bluetooth realm,” says Lance Watson, an applications engineer with CSR, a provider of Bluetooth chips.

Opportunity Awaits With Challenges

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), Bluetooth’s worldwide governing body, reports that 384 companies passed 1417 products through the SIG’s qualification program in 2007. Throughout the world, Bluetooth continues to grow in popularity. An average of 85% of consumers are aware of the technology, prompting ever more OEMs to take the wireless plunge.

The demand for Bluetooth technology can be attributed to a number of factors including maturation of the technology, the lower cost of Bluetooth implementation, and the convenience and cost savings of going wireless. As a result, Bluetooth technology now merits consideration for use in fields such as automotive, security, aerospace, defense, monitor and control systems, factory automation, transportation, and point-of-sale and other transaction-related systems, as well as consumer electronics, primarily cell phones and video gaming.

Until now, hesitation to capitalize on these market opportunities has usually stemmed from the well-founded concern that Bluetooth is a complex technology with numerous protocols, profiles (use cases), and the automatic challenges that come from any wireless technology, but especially one where the connection and disconnection of devices is almost always ad hoc. So, too, it is an ever-evolving standard, with not only a rapidly growing number of profiles, but also constant improvements and expansions in functionality at the RF level.

During the sending and receiving of information, any number of quality issues can arise, including dropped connections, data corruption or loss, interference, slow throughput, and signal degradation, all of which can ultimately affect the end user’s experience with the product in a negative manner. As a result, there’s a need for robust, up-to-date, protocol analyzer software.

“We initially tested our Bluetooth chips manually, device-to-device, but that really consumes a lot of time,” says Liang-Cheng Chang, a senior software engineer for MediaTek Inc., a fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital media that produces system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for high-definition digital TV, optical storage, and high-definition DVD products. Of course, today’s fast-paced market does not tolerate any delays in getting product to market.

“Do we expect our OEM customers to know Bluetooth like the back of their hand? Absolutely not,” says Watson. CSR designs single-chip wireless devices and software development kits for OEMs making mobile phones, wireless headsets, wireless mice and keyboards, laptop computers, and in-car communication systems.

“But we also recognize that tools are now available to help them speed up Bluetooth product introduction,” Watson adds. “When engineers ask us about debugging, we point them to test equipment such as Frontline’s Bluetooth protocol analyzer because it is very easy for anyone to just plug it in, install the drivers, and start air tracing from one device to the next.”