Bluetooth SIG focuses 2016 technology roadmap on enhancements for IoT

“There is significant demand from our members and the industry at large to enhance Bluetooth with the new capabilities we’re announcing,” said Toby Nixon, Chairman of the Bluetooth SIG Board of Directors. “Current projections put the market potential for IoT between $2 and $11.1 trillion by 2025. The technical updates planned for Bluetooth technology in 2016 will help make these expectations a reality and accelerate growth in IoT.”

Announced updates will provide a variety of benefits for the growing number of IoT applications. For example, the range of Bluetooth Smart, set to increase up to four times, will transform smart home and infrastructure applications and will deliver an extended, more robust connection for full-home or outdoor use cases. A 100% increase in speed, without increasing energy consumption, will enable faster data transfers in critical applications, such as medical devices, increasing responsiveness and lowering latency. And mesh networking will enable Bluetooth devices to connect together in networks that can cover an entire building or home, opening up home and industrial automation applications.

“The Bluetooth technology roadmap is a powerful expression of our mission to continue as a catalyst for industry innovation,” said Mark Powell, Executive Director, Bluetooth SIG. “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.”

Bluetooth SIG member tools, like the recently launched Bluetooth Developer Studio and training programmes will be updated to ensure strong developer support for these IoT features. Additional features and profile updates contained in the 2016 roadmap will be previewed in the coming months.