BLE products support new Bluetooth mesh standard

21st July 2017

Toshiba

Alice Matthews

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Datasheet

Toshiba Electronics Europe's line-up of Bluetooth Low Energy products now offers support for the Bluetooth Mesh standard. This standard was ratified and launched by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The combination of new Bluetooth Mesh standard 1.0 and Toshiba’s application software enables Toshiba Bluetooth Low Energy products to simultaneously increase communication range, reliability and obstacle penetration capability while also extending battery life.

By combining a non-proprietary mesh solution with Toshiba Bluetooth communication system solutions (which are capable of link budgets exceeding 100dB with external PA and LNA), Toshiba enables communication technology to provide more reliable communication in consumer products and extend new support to rapidly growing segments such as factory automation and building management.

Previously, increasing the effective Bluetooth Low Energy communication range or sending a signal through many walls required higher power transmissions that would have a negative impact on battery life. High-powered transmissions were typically the primary technique used to address issues such as radio interference in a factory environment or the transmission of signals through thick concrete walls. This approach had severe limitations, and has proven to be ineffective for power-constrained battery operated devices as well as in unfriendly RF environments.

Support for the new Bluetooth Mesh standard 1.0 now enables Toshiba Bluetooth Low Energy products to privately and securely relay messages via a mesh network rather than requiring a point-to-point connection between devices. This increases the range and reliability of Bluetooth Low Energy communication without increasing power requirements.

“As a Bluetooth SIG founder and current board member, Toshiba is excited to be among the first to support the organisation’s push to increase the effective range and robustness of Bluetooth through the introduction of a highly reliable mesh network,” said Heiner Tendyck, System LSI Marketing Manager at Toshiba Electronics Europe. “This standards-based approach means that new untapped markets, such as industrial and commercial, can now leverage ever-present Bluetooth cell phones or tablets to easily control and monitor their systems.”

With the new Bluetooth Low Energy system solutions, Toshiba is able to deliver an increase in communication range and signal strength to deliver communications s that exceed a 300m open-air range at low-power transmit and receive power levels. When combined with support for Bluetooth Mesh, Toshiba’s Bluetooth products offer a comprehensive solution for extended-range Bluetooth v4.2.