Bluetooth Low Energy: The Developer's Handbook

Product Author Bios

Robin Heydon has been involved for ten years in drafting and maintaining Bluetooth standards and evangelizing Bluetooth technology through speaking engagements at conferences, trade shows, and training events worldwide. A leading subject matter expert on Bluetooth Low Energy, he chairs the group that created its specification - a group that has been awarded Working Group of the Year. Heydon also organized the architecture group that oversees the use of Bluetooth Low Energy. He is one of only fifteen individuals worldwide who have been honored with Hall of Fame membership by the Bluetooth SIG.

The First Complete Guide to Bluetooth Low Energy: How It Works, What It Can Do, and How to Apply It

A radical departure from conventional Bluetooth technology, Bluetooth low energy (BLE) enables breakthrough wireless applications in industries ranging from healthcare to transportation. Running on a coin-sized battery, BLE can operate reliably for years, connecting and extending everything from personal area network devices to next-generation sensors. Now, one of the standard’s leading developers has written the first comprehensive, accessible introduction to BLE for every system developer, designer, and engineer.

Robin Heydon, a member of the Bluetooth SIG Hall of Fame, has brought together essential information previously scattered through multiple standards documents, sharing the context and expert insights needed to implement high-performance working systems. He first reviews BLE’s design goals, explaining how they drove key architectural decisions, and introduces BLE’s innovative usage models. Next, he thoroughly covers how the two main parts of BLE, the controller and host, work together, and then addresses key issues from security and profiles through testing and qualification. This knowledge has enabled the creation of Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready devices.

This guide is an indispensable companion to the official BLE standards documents and is for every technical professional and decision-maker considering BLE, planning BLE products, or transforming plans into working systems.

Topics Include

• BLE device types, design goals, terminology, and core concepts
• Architecture: controller, host, applications, and stack splits
• Usage models: presence detection, data broadcasting, connectionless models, and gateways
• Physical Layer: modulation, frequency band, radio channels, power, tolerance, and range
• Direct Test Mode: transceiver testing, hardware interfaces, and HCI
• Link Layer: state machine, packets, channels, broadcasting, encryption, and optimization
• HCI: physical/logical interfaces, controller setup, and connection management
• L2CAP: channels and packet structure, and LE signaling channels
• Attributes: grouping, services, characteristics, and protocols
• Security: pairing, bonding, and data signing
• Generic Access Profiles: roles, modes, procedures, security modes, data advertising, and services
• Applications, devices, services, profiles, and peripherals
• Testing/qualification: starting projects, selecting features, planning, testing, compliance, and more

Online Sample Chapter

What Is Bluetooth Low Energy?

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 1 and Index)

Table of Contents

Preface         xvii

Acknowledgments         xix

1.1 Device Types 6

1.2 Design Goals 7

1.3 Terminology 9

Chapter 2: Basic Concepts         11

2.1   Button-Cell Batteries 11

2.2   Time Is Energy 12

2.3   Memory Is Expensive 13

2.4   Asymmetric Design 14

2.5   Design For Success 15

2.6   Everything Has State 16

2.7   Client-Server Architecture 17

2.8   Modular Architecture 18

2.9   One Billion Is a Small Number 19

2.10 Connectionless Model 19

2.11 Paradigms 20

Chapter 3: Architecture         27

3.1 Controller 27

3.2 The Host 32

3.3 The Application Layer 36

3.4 Stack Splits 38

Chapter 4: New Usage Models         41

4.1 Presence Detection 41

4.2 Broadcasting Data 42

4.3 Connectionless Model 43

4.4 Gateways 44

Part II: Controller         47

Chapter 5: The Physical Layer         49

5.1   Background 49

5.2   Analog Modulation 49

5.3   Digital Modulation 51

5.4   Frequency Band 54

5.5   Modulation 54

5.6   Radio Channels 55

5.7   Transmit Power 56

5.8   Tolerance 57

5.9   Receiver Sensitivity 57

5.10 Range 58

Chapter 6: Direct Test Mode         61

6.1 Background 61

6.2 Transceiver Testing 62

6.3 Hardware Interface 65

6.4 Direct Testing by Using HCI 67

Chapter 7: The Link Layer         69

7.1   The Link Layer State Machine 69

7.2   Packets 76

7.3   Packet Structure 79

7.4   Channels 84

7.5   Finding Devices 90

7.6   Broadcasting 92

7.7   Creating Connections 93

7.8   Sending Data 98

7.9   Encryption 104

7.10 Managing Connections 109

7.11 Robustness 120

7.12 Optimizations for Low Power 123

Chapter 8: The Host/Controller Interface         131

8.1 Introduction 131

8.2 Physical Interfaces 131

8.3 Logical Interface 135

8.4 Controller Setup 140

8.5 Broadcasting and Observing 148

8.6 Initiating Connections 153

8.7 Connection Management 158

9.1 Background 169

9.2 L2CAP Channels 171

9.3 The L2CAP Packet Structure 172

9.4 The LE Signaling Channel 173

Chapter 10: Attributes         179

10.1 Background 179

10.2 Attributes 189

10.3 Grouping 199

10.4 Services 199

10.5 Characteristics 210

10.6 The Attribute Protocol 217

10.7 The Generic Attribute Profile 231

Chapter 11: Security         241

11.1 Security Concepts 241

11.2 Pairing and Bonding 248

11.3 Signing of Data  252

Chapter 12: The Generic Access Profile         255

12.1 Background 255

12.2 GAP Roles 261

12.3 Modes and Procedures 262

12.4 Security Modes 270

12.5 Advertising Data 273

12.6 GAP Service 276

13.1 Background 283

13.2 Discovering Devices 283

13.3 Connecting to Devices 285

13.4 What Does This Device Do? 286

13.5 Generic Clients 287

13.6 Interacting with Services 288

13.7 Bonding 292

13.8 Changed Services 293

13.9 Implementing Profiles 294

Chapter 14: Peripherals         299

14.1 Background 299

14.2 Broadcast Only 299

14.3 Being Discoverable 300

14.4 Being Connectable 301

14.5 Exposing Services 301

14.6 Characteristics 302

14.7 Security Matters 303

14.8 Optimizing for Low Power 303

14.9 Optimizing Attributes 311

Chapter 15: Testing and Qualification         313

15.1   Starting a Project 313

15.2   Selecting Features 316

15.3   Consistency Check 316

15.4   Generating a Test Plan 317

15.5   Creating a Compliance Folder 317

15.6   Qualification Testing 318

15.7   Qualify Your Design 319

15.8   Declaring Compliance 320

15.9   Listing 321

15.10 Combining Components 321

Index       323