Improving Connection Times for Bluetooth Devices in Mobile Environments

Abstract

Abstract – Communications devices in a highly mobile environment need to minimize connection setup times in order to maximize useful data transfer. In this paper we investigate- empirically and through simulations-the device discovery process of Bluetooth™, a technology that has potential in short-range, high-mobility applications. In order to improve Bluetooth’s performance in a mobile environment, it is desirable to lessen the amount of time it takes to set up connections between two devices. We suggest three possible changes to the Bluetooth specification: eliminating or decreasing the random backoff delay in INQUIRY SCAN, using a single frequency train instead of two in INQUIRY, and a combination of the two. These simple changes can dramatically decrease connection setup times without having deleterious effects on overall system performance.