A wireless technology used to exchange data over short
distances using short-wavelength radio transmission, Bluetooth was created by
Ericsson in 1994 as an alternative to data cables. The term “Bluetooth” is an
Anglicized version of Blatand, the epithet of 10th century Danish
king Harald who united separated Danish tribes into a single kingdom. The
technology was named after him as Bluetooth does what Blatand did but with
communications protocols- unites them into one universal standard.
Since its introduction, Bluetooth has increased in
popularity over the years- while in 2008, only 5% of mobile devices were
Bluetooth-enabled, in 2003, roughly 95% of mobile devices support it. Also,
while traditional Bluetooth devices only worked within a range of 10 feet of
each other the newest versions now enable transfers to a distance of up to 100
feet. However, what makes Bluetooth stand out as a form of wireless data
transfer is that it uses very little power, can be incorporated into a wide
variety of devices and can have up to eight devices communicating with each
other at once and automatically without a user’s prompt.
We all know how amazing it is that Bluetooth enables us to
print wirelessly, talk hands free and mirror the content from our mobiles to
our TVs wirelessly; but, stay tuned as this wonderful technology is now being
adopted for use in medical equipment as well. Analysts predict that one-third
of all new cars globally will have in-built wireless Bluetooth connections- one
can only wonder what’s next.
