Texas Instruments: Encouraging innovation and blue skies thinking
The pace of activity in the Bluetooth low energy market is heating up. As we move into the busiest part of the year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group is promoting a series of conferences to promote the Bluetooth low energy concept, as well as running the Bluetooth Innovation World Cup contest. This competition sees the Bluetooth SIG looking for new applications and products using Bluetooth low energy technology, with a particular focus on sports, fitness and healthcare applications.
Back in the June issue of Incisor we talked Bluetooth low energy with Karl Torvmark of Texas Instruments Norway. TI is undoubtedly one of the companies at the sharp-end of developments in the low-energy market, and so it made perfect sense for us to seek Torvmark out again for an update on developments that have taken place over the last few months.
In this second interview, Torvmark makes it clear that Texas Instruments sees a great future for Bluetooth low energy, and believes it has the growth potential to create a market bigger than that for classic Bluetooth semiconductors.
VH: Can you give us a quick re-cap of the Bluetooth low energy concept, and how this fits into the WPAN ecosystem?
KT: Bluetooth low energy is intended to take short-range wireless forwards into new markets, leveraging the 1 billion node Bluetooth ecosystem and addressing new use cases that are not covered today.
Power consumption will be the main factor. Most current Bluetooth devices are powered by rechargeable batteries, while Bluetooth low energy opens the door to multi-year battery life using alkaline and lithium batteries. Actual battery life depends on the application, but a healthy average of 1-3 years is expected. We really want to limit the number of devices that a consumer has to keep charging. It’s all about making life simpler for consumers who are typically using multiple WPAN devices today.
Are there any negative aspects? Not really. Bluetooth low energy is in fact quite different from legacy Bluetooth, and it is true that there will be a break in backward compatibility with legacy Bluetooth devices, but by developing dual-mode Bluetooth we can continue to support both new and old platforms. Of course, Bluetooth’s profile model means that a device will only be used with another appropriate device that supports the same profile/s, so, in practice, there are unlikely to be problems related to this lack of backwards compatibility.
Looking forward, Bluetooth low energy is about new applications, not the established, high-volume applications such as handsets/headsets. Bluetooth low energy will become standard in the hub devices. It will take a few years to complete the transition, but in handsets, which tend to be changed quite often, this could come quite quickly. Overall, it will expand Bluetooth’s reach into new kinds of applications.
VH: What is the latest news on the Bluetooth low energy spec adoption timeline?
KT: Well, TI is actively involved in the development of the Bluetooth low energy spec, so I have a pretty good understanding of the timeline. The spec is nearing completion and at the moment it is looking most likely that the ratification of version 1.0 will happen before the end of 2009. The actual development work is all done, so at this stage it is all a case of completing the paperwork.
As with any development programme there has been a little slippage here and there. There is no doubt that in this example, dual-mode Bluetooth low energy is complex for the chip vendors, but from the user’s point of view it just works. There have been a lot of companies involved, too, although in this case there I am pleased to say that there has been little politics holding things back. This has been a relief and has smoothed the process. Inter-company politicking has previously held back standard development for other technologies - take the DS-UWB versus MB-OFDM debate in the world of Ultra-wideband, for example. The process for Bluetooth low energy has been quite straight-forward by comparison.
VH: Bluetooth low energy will be implemented in two versions – dual- and single-mode. Can you please give us an overview of the likely applications for dual-/single-mode?
KT: Dual-mode will be used in ‘hub’ devices such as PCs, mobile phones, access points and personal navigation devices (PNDs). These are typically the type of devices where Bluetooth is implemented today.
Single-mode Bluetooth low energy is for the peripheral devices that typically operate using button cell or alkaline batteries, and which connect with the hub. Examples include wireless sensors and proximity tags. I think that rather than being able to predict the breadth of applications, we’re likely to be surprised by what turns up. It is quite possible that the ‘golden application’ might not be what we are expecting!
The health and medical industries, for example, are very interested in developing around Bluetooth low energy, and it is quite possible that once these markets start to expand, the applications that they develop could exceed consumer applications. The health industry can see that Bluetooth low energy can help improve care standards and reduce costs. In these application areas it is possible that there could be some crossover with ZigBee, but not much. That’s because Bluetooth low energy is unique in that it allows you to communicate with a cellphone, and therefore out into the wider world. Bluetooth low energy is a WPAN technology, ZigBee is WLAN. Of course, this is not an issue for TI, as we are well-represented in both the Bluetooth and ZigBee markets!
VH: Texas Instruments will offer both dual-mode and single-mode Bluetooth low energy silicon - how unique a proposition is this?
KT: TI announced that it would support both Bluetooth low energy solutions as far back as 2 years ago, and up until recently we were still the only company to be doing so. Our strategy is to offer a broader portfolio of wireless technologies than most semiconductor companies. Again, a good example of this is our support for both Bluetooth low energy and ZigBee.
This policy means that we always have the right solution to meet our customer’s needs, rather than having to try to adapt an existing solution that has been designed for something else. It also means that TI has a lot of experts across many disciplines, and this can be extremely useful to customers as they develop their products.
VH: What do you see as the likely split in take-up between the dual- and single-mode?
KT: I think it is inevitable that dual-mode will be implemented first; it will be integrated into existing ‘hub’–type devices - cellphones tend to dominate here.
In the longer term, sales of single-mode devices will pick up substantially. After all, in a typical application, the quantity of sensors is most likely to outnumber the quantity of host devices.
As a general point, think about the fact that Bluetooth, which would be considered to be a high-volume business, has succeeded in what are mainly vertical applications – handset to headset, for example. Bluetooth low energy can expect to be implemented in many more generic markets, and so its potential ‘reach’ is greater. Sales could end-up exceeding those of classic Bluetooth.
VH: What is the silicon timeline, then, and when are we likely to see chips?
KT: TI has had working Bluetooth low energy silicon since April this year, and we were able to play a movie of a working Bluetooth low energy demo at the Bluetooth All Hands meeting in Japan. At that point we started sampling our biggest customers, and that is where we are today.
We can’t get around the fact that the profile specification is running a little behind the protocol spec, and so this sampling phase is likely to continue for a few months more. The sampling phase has an additional benefit as it allows customers to dip their toes in the Bluetooth low energy water. It is quite normal not to want to get too deeply involved until the spec is finalised and adopted.
That said, most of the companies that are trialling at the moment have been in the Bluetooth market for some time and so have a lot of experience. This has meant that things have run smoothly and there have been no major issues. Maybe problems could show themselves when the technology extends out into the mass-market, but we think not. That is because Bluetooth low energy will be relatively simple to implement, and customers will only have to interface with the technology at a high level.
These factors will all work in Bluetooth low energy’s favour, as will the fact that Bluetooth low energy is not completely new, unlike when Bluetooth first hit the market. So there is a solid platform of experience and awareness to build from. Also consider that we have reached the stage when consumers actively want wireless technology, so we are experiencing ‘pull’ as well as traditional market ‘push’. We are seeing a culture change, and these sorts of thing take a while to happen.
Once the sampling phase is complete and the spec has been published, we expect to make Bluetooth low energy silicon generally available in the first half of 2010.
VH: Why is the Bluetooth Evolution World Cup important to TI?
KT: The biggest drivers for Bluetooth low energy are the concepts that are dreamed up that then become applications for low-energy technology. It is about much more than just removing cables – in fact, we think that Bluetooth low energy will be at the heart of many applications that cannot work without a wireless link.
So, when this competition to encourage application development around Bluetooth low energy was announced, TI thought this was a very clever initiative, hence the decision to sponsor the Evolution World Cup and to work alongside the Bluetooth SIG.
TI wants to get as many people as possible thinking about what applications can be devised around Bluetooth low energy. The goal of the Bluetooth Evolution World Cup is to have three winners with great application ideas. These will be announced at the end of the competition at this major sports and fitness event. They will get plenty of publicity and so will Bluetooth low energy!
VH: Over the coming months there is a series of Bluetooth conferences in Munich, Beijing and the USA. I know that TI is participating, so what is the overall significance of events like these to TI and to the Bluetooth community?
KT: All of these conferences are organized by the Bluetooth SIG, and that is very important. If a technology is to succeed on the world market it needs to have a powerful standards body behind it, one which will evangelise for the technology as well as manage the standard.
The people who will think about how to use Bluetooth low energy are as much of a target for this series of conferences as those who will develop the technology. This means that many end-product companies have been invited to make presentations. Bluetooth technology is already an established concept in many end-product companies, but it needs many, many more companies to buy into the idea of integrating Bluetooth. Typically, these companies don’t know a lot about wireless technology, so there is a big task ahead of us to help them. A programme such as this series of conferences is a very good starting point.
The process will be helped by the fact that – unlike high speed Bluetooth, which has a smaller number of use cases – Bluetooth low energy potentially touches many more applications and many more markets. Bluetooth low energy is of interest and importance to mobile operators, system integrators and the medical and home monitoring communities. In most of the scenarios that these powerful players will devise, there will be a desire to move data off the local platform and out to the Internet. A dedicated access point is not ideal – on a cost basis apart from anything else – but the mobile phone is everywhere, ubiquitous even.
So, as we go forward, the goal is to address people far beyond the traditional device manufacturer market, and to devise ways to help them get data on and off the Internet without having to rely on the presence of a Wi-Fi connection.
The Internet of Things is a concept that is generating a lot of publicity today. Here at Texas Instruments we feel that Bluetooth low energy will be a very important enabler of this concept.
www.ti.com
Back in the June issue of Incisor we talked Bluetooth low energy with Karl Torvmark of Texas Instruments Norway. TI is undoubtedly one of the companies at the sharp-end of developments in the low-energy market, and so it made perfect sense for us to seek Torvmark out again for an update on developments that have taken place over the last few months.
In this second interview, Torvmark makes it clear that Texas Instruments sees a great future for Bluetooth low energy, and believes it has the growth potential to create a market bigger than that for classic Bluetooth semiconductors.
VH: Can you give us a quick re-cap of the Bluetooth low energy concept, and how this fits into the WPAN ecosystem?
KT: Bluetooth low energy is intended to take short-range wireless forwards into new markets, leveraging the 1 billion node Bluetooth ecosystem and addressing new use cases that are not covered today.
Power consumption will be the main factor. Most current Bluetooth devices are powered by rechargeable batteries, while Bluetooth low energy opens the door to multi-year battery life using alkaline and lithium batteries. Actual battery life depends on the application, but a healthy average of 1-3 years is expected. We really want to limit the number of devices that a consumer has to keep charging. It’s all about making life simpler for consumers who are typically using multiple WPAN devices today.
Are there any negative aspects? Not really. Bluetooth low energy is in fact quite different from legacy Bluetooth, and it is true that there will be a break in backward compatibility with legacy Bluetooth devices, but by developing dual-mode Bluetooth we can continue to support both new and old platforms. Of course, Bluetooth’s profile model means that a device will only be used with another appropriate device that supports the same profile/s, so, in practice, there are unlikely to be problems related to this lack of backwards compatibility.
Looking forward, Bluetooth low energy is about new applications, not the established, high-volume applications such as handsets/headsets. Bluetooth low energy will become standard in the hub devices. It will take a few years to complete the transition, but in handsets, which tend to be changed quite often, this could come quite quickly. Overall, it will expand Bluetooth’s reach into new kinds of applications.
VH: What is the latest news on the Bluetooth low energy spec adoption timeline?
KT: Well, TI is actively involved in the development of the Bluetooth low energy spec, so I have a pretty good understanding of the timeline. The spec is nearing completion and at the moment it is looking most likely that the ratification of version 1.0 will happen before the end of 2009. The actual development work is all done, so at this stage it is all a case of completing the paperwork.
As with any development programme there has been a little slippage here and there. There is no doubt that in this example, dual-mode Bluetooth low energy is complex for the chip vendors, but from the user’s point of view it just works. There have been a lot of companies involved, too, although in this case there I am pleased to say that there has been little politics holding things back. This has been a relief and has smoothed the process. Inter-company politicking has previously held back standard development for other technologies - take the DS-UWB versus MB-OFDM debate in the world of Ultra-wideband, for example. The process for Bluetooth low energy has been quite straight-forward by comparison.
VH: Bluetooth low energy will be implemented in two versions – dual- and single-mode. Can you please give us an overview of the likely applications for dual-/single-mode?
KT: Dual-mode will be used in ‘hub’ devices such as PCs, mobile phones, access points and personal navigation devices (PNDs). These are typically the type of devices where Bluetooth is implemented today.
Single-mode Bluetooth low energy is for the peripheral devices that typically operate using button cell or alkaline batteries, and which connect with the hub. Examples include wireless sensors and proximity tags. I think that rather than being able to predict the breadth of applications, we’re likely to be surprised by what turns up. It is quite possible that the ‘golden application’ might not be what we are expecting!
The health and medical industries, for example, are very interested in developing around Bluetooth low energy, and it is quite possible that once these markets start to expand, the applications that they develop could exceed consumer applications. The health industry can see that Bluetooth low energy can help improve care standards and reduce costs. In these application areas it is possible that there could be some crossover with ZigBee, but not much. That’s because Bluetooth low energy is unique in that it allows you to communicate with a cellphone, and therefore out into the wider world. Bluetooth low energy is a WPAN technology, ZigBee is WLAN. Of course, this is not an issue for TI, as we are well-represented in both the Bluetooth and ZigBee markets!
VH: Texas Instruments will offer both dual-mode and single-mode Bluetooth low energy silicon - how unique a proposition is this?
KT: TI announced that it would support both Bluetooth low energy solutions as far back as 2 years ago, and up until recently we were still the only company to be doing so. Our strategy is to offer a broader portfolio of wireless technologies than most semiconductor companies. Again, a good example of this is our support for both Bluetooth low energy and ZigBee.
This policy means that we always have the right solution to meet our customer’s needs, rather than having to try to adapt an existing solution that has been designed for something else. It also means that TI has a lot of experts across many disciplines, and this can be extremely useful to customers as they develop their products.
VH: What do you see as the likely split in take-up between the dual- and single-mode?
KT: I think it is inevitable that dual-mode will be implemented first; it will be integrated into existing ‘hub’–type devices - cellphones tend to dominate here.
In the longer term, sales of single-mode devices will pick up substantially. After all, in a typical application, the quantity of sensors is most likely to outnumber the quantity of host devices.
As a general point, think about the fact that Bluetooth, which would be considered to be a high-volume business, has succeeded in what are mainly vertical applications – handset to headset, for example. Bluetooth low energy can expect to be implemented in many more generic markets, and so its potential ‘reach’ is greater. Sales could end-up exceeding those of classic Bluetooth.
VH: What is the silicon timeline, then, and when are we likely to see chips?
KT: TI has had working Bluetooth low energy silicon since April this year, and we were able to play a movie of a working Bluetooth low energy demo at the Bluetooth All Hands meeting in Japan. At that point we started sampling our biggest customers, and that is where we are today.
We can’t get around the fact that the profile specification is running a little behind the protocol spec, and so this sampling phase is likely to continue for a few months more. The sampling phase has an additional benefit as it allows customers to dip their toes in the Bluetooth low energy water. It is quite normal not to want to get too deeply involved until the spec is finalised and adopted.
That said, most of the companies that are trialling at the moment have been in the Bluetooth market for some time and so have a lot of experience. This has meant that things have run smoothly and there have been no major issues. Maybe problems could show themselves when the technology extends out into the mass-market, but we think not. That is because Bluetooth low energy will be relatively simple to implement, and customers will only have to interface with the technology at a high level.
These factors will all work in Bluetooth low energy’s favour, as will the fact that Bluetooth low energy is not completely new, unlike when Bluetooth first hit the market. So there is a solid platform of experience and awareness to build from. Also consider that we have reached the stage when consumers actively want wireless technology, so we are experiencing ‘pull’ as well as traditional market ‘push’. We are seeing a culture change, and these sorts of thing take a while to happen.
Once the sampling phase is complete and the spec has been published, we expect to make Bluetooth low energy silicon generally available in the first half of 2010.
VH: Why is the Bluetooth Evolution World Cup important to TI?
KT: The biggest drivers for Bluetooth low energy are the concepts that are dreamed up that then become applications for low-energy technology. It is about much more than just removing cables – in fact, we think that Bluetooth low energy will be at the heart of many applications that cannot work without a wireless link.
So, when this competition to encourage application development around Bluetooth low energy was announced, TI thought this was a very clever initiative, hence the decision to sponsor the Evolution World Cup and to work alongside the Bluetooth SIG.
TI wants to get as many people as possible thinking about what applications can be devised around Bluetooth low energy. The goal of the Bluetooth Evolution World Cup is to have three winners with great application ideas. These will be announced at the end of the competition at this major sports and fitness event. They will get plenty of publicity and so will Bluetooth low energy!
VH: Over the coming months there is a series of Bluetooth conferences in Munich, Beijing and the USA. I know that TI is participating, so what is the overall significance of events like these to TI and to the Bluetooth community?
KT: All of these conferences are organized by the Bluetooth SIG, and that is very important. If a technology is to succeed on the world market it needs to have a powerful standards body behind it, one which will evangelise for the technology as well as manage the standard.
The people who will think about how to use Bluetooth low energy are as much of a target for this series of conferences as those who will develop the technology. This means that many end-product companies have been invited to make presentations. Bluetooth technology is already an established concept in many end-product companies, but it needs many, many more companies to buy into the idea of integrating Bluetooth. Typically, these companies don’t know a lot about wireless technology, so there is a big task ahead of us to help them. A programme such as this series of conferences is a very good starting point.
The process will be helped by the fact that – unlike high speed Bluetooth, which has a smaller number of use cases – Bluetooth low energy potentially touches many more applications and many more markets. Bluetooth low energy is of interest and importance to mobile operators, system integrators and the medical and home monitoring communities. In most of the scenarios that these powerful players will devise, there will be a desire to move data off the local platform and out to the Internet. A dedicated access point is not ideal – on a cost basis apart from anything else – but the mobile phone is everywhere, ubiquitous even.
So, as we go forward, the goal is to address people far beyond the traditional device manufacturer market, and to devise ways to help them get data on and off the Internet without having to rely on the presence of a Wi-Fi connection.
The Internet of Things is a concept that is generating a lot of publicity today. Here at Texas Instruments we feel that Bluetooth low energy will be a very important enabler of this concept.
www.ti.com
posted by Vince Holton at
2:35 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home