Enhancing Bluetooth® Technology

The Bluetooth SIG typically has more than 50 active specification development projects at any given time.  These projects include everything from adding minor features to existing Bluetooth specifications to creating new specifications that add major functionality to Bluetooth® wireless technology.

Below is an overview of several key specification projects currently in progress.

How to get involved

Employees of all Bluetooth SIG member companies are welcome to view the list of active specification development projects in our online specification development support tool, Specification Workspace.

Employees of all Associate and Promoter member companies are also welcome to join any Working Group and participate in its specification development projects.

Key Specification Projects

Higher Bands 4 800x800

Bluetooth LE in Higher Frequency Bands

A specification development project is currently underway to define the operation of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) in additional unlicensed mid-band spectrum, including the 6 GHz frequency band. With over 5 billion products shipping each year, Bluetooth technology is the most widely deployed wireless standard in the world. A core reason for its unmatched adoption and success is the continual evolution of the technology in key areas, including higher data throughput, lower latency, and greater positioning accuracy. The new spectrum expansion project will help ensure that these Bluetooth performance enhancements can continue well into the future, paving the way for the next generation of Bluetooth innovation.

This project currently includes enhancements being made to the Bluetooth Core Specification taking place within the Higher Bands for LE Subgroup within the Core Specification Working Group.  Employees of all Bluetooth SIG member companies are welcome to join the subgroup to participate in the project.

Higher Data Throughput

Added to Bluetooth® wireless technology in 2016, the LE 2M PHY doubled the data rate that could be achieved between Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) devices from the original LE 1M PHY.  The LE 2M PHY was introduced to address a number of market opportunities, including enhancing data transfer performance for the growing number of IoT devices consumers were connecting to their smartphones. 

Today, an increasing number of these connected devices are looking for even greater performance, as well as support for streaming larger media, and could benefit from an even higher data rate Bluetooth LE PHY.  The Higher Data Throughput project was established to address that growing market need and intends to support data rates up to 8 Mbps.

This project currently includes enhancements being made to the Bluetooth Core Specification taking place within the Core Specification Working Group.

 

High Accuracy Distance Measurement

Adding to the growing set of device positioning capabilities of Bluetooth® wireless technology – which currently includes Advertising (for presence), RSSI (for basic distance measurement) and Direction Finding (for high accuracy direction) – a specification development project is currently underway to enable high-accuracy distance measurement between two Bluetooth enabled devices.  This feature is expected to enable the creation of locating systems that can provide even higher levels of accuracy.

This project currently includes:

 

Ultra Low Latency HID

The ultra-low latency (ULL) Human Interface Device (HID) enhancement project aims to make Bluetooth gaming controllers as responsive as those using USB-wired or proprietary wireless communications.  This enhancement, which is intending to provide polling rates as high as 1000 Hz, could also be used to improve the user experience for other latency-sensitive devices such as controllers and sensors for augmented, virtual, or mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) scenarios.

This project currently includes enhancements being made to the HID over GATT Profile Specification being developed within the Human Interface Device (HID) Working Group.

Additional Resources

AuracastTM Broadcast Audio Demo from EUHA Conference

In this video, Andrew Bellavia shares his experience demoing the new Auracast™ broadcast audio…

Bluetooth Mesh Ushers in a New Era of Reliable, Cost- Effective Development

Bluetooth® Mesh was specifically created to fulfill the demands of commercial and industrial environments,…

Advancing Audio Accessibility For All

How can we make hearing more inclusive and accessible for all? Get the key…

The Auracast Experience Japan - Member Companies Expect to See Bluetooth Technology Leading Japan's Audio Market

Recently the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), in collaboration with several member companies, including…

Bluetooth Channel Sounding - A Step Towards 10-cm Ranging Accuracy for Secure Access, Digital Key, and Proximity Services

Through Channel Sounding, the distance between two Bluetooth Low Energy devices can be estimated more accurately than with existing techniques, down to 10cm accuracy.

Top 5 Auracast Assistive Listening System Resources Released in 2023

This year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and members of the Bluetooth community…

A New Bluetooth Standard Improves Personal Health Device Interoperability for Better Remote Patient Monitoring

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) recently published a set of specifications that standardizes…

Smart Lighting Control Brightens the Future of Bluetooth Illumination

Smart lighting is a key component of smart commercial buildings and the connected home.…

New Audio Experiences Showcased in Shanghai at Tech G

Recently, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) hosted The Auracast™ Experience at Tech-G in…

Synthesize and Transmit Audio Using LE Audio

The application is assembled as a sound-generating device, the synthesizer, and a receiving headphone.…

Accessing the IoT Ecosystem

IoT has been an emerging technology for many years. It first appeared on the…

Top Auracast Resources Released This Year2023年Auracast特選資料集

Last year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) released an audio innovation that will…

The Auracast™ Experience Comes to CEATEC and Tech G

Auracast™ broadcast audio is a new Bluetooth® capability that enables an audio transmitter (smartphone,…

Walkthrough Bluetooth Mesh 1.1 and Bluetooth® Networked Lighting Control (NLC)

If you are interested in the new features introduced in the Bluetooth® Mesh or…

Unveiling the Truth: Debunking Bluetooth’s Biggest Myth

Bluetooth Low Energy was designed to considerably reduce power consumption and cost while maintaining…

The 2023 State of Sound Report: A global analysis of audio consumer behaviors and desires

The State of Sound report compiles key findings from extensive audio research with consumers…

Six Bluetooth Mesh Feature Enhancements to Get Excited About

The new Bluetooth mesh feature enhancements offer more robust security, improved network efficiency, reduced…

Bluetooth® Mesh Feature Enhancements Summary

This paper summarizes the recent Bluetooth® Mesh feature enhancements and provides references to other…

Bluetooth SIG Completes Full-Stack Standard for Networked Lighting Control

Standard Will Enable Lighting Control Market to Reach True Potential Kirkland, Washington – September…

Everything You Need to Know About Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.4 introduces support for bi-directional, large-scale, one-to-many networking, driven by wireless standardization needs…

How the Bluetooth® Electronic Shelf Label Standard Will Impact the Smart Retail Market

ABI Research explores how the recent arrival of the new Bluetooth® Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) standard will help create an interoperable ESL ecosystem that can address many of the challenges being faced by retail and other environments.

Retail Pharmacy

A leading retailer is collaborating with Wiliot, an ambient Internet of Things (IoT) pioneer,…

2023 Bluetooth® Market Update

Featuring new market insights and industry forecasts from ABI Research and other analyst firms...

Using IoT Sensor Technology to Produce Stronger, Healthier Colonies and Improve Pollination Outcomes

Honeybees are excellent pollinators and a critical part of food production. In fact, 75%…

Bluetooth SIG Introduces Wireless Standard for Electronic Shelf Label Market

Industry Leaders Clear the Way for Global ESL Market to Reach Full Potential Kirkland,…

Bluetooth SIG Adds Alain Michaud from Google's Platforms & Ecosystems Team to Board of Directors

Kirkland, Washington – January 18, 2023 – The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the trade association…

LE Audio: The Future of Bluetooth® Audio

ABI Research outlines how the arrival of LE Audio is set to transform the Bluetooth audio ecosystem and the impact it will have on Bluetooth® audio market forecasts.

Bluetooth audio’s biggest upgrade in years is coming soon to headphones

We’re on the cusp of a new generation of wireless headphones that are more…

Bluetooth SIG Announces Auracast™ Broadcast Audio, Allowing Unlimited Audio Sharing to Earbuds, Speakers or Hearing Devices

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the trade association that oversees Bluetooth® technology, today…

Auracast is coming to Bluetooth, boosting movement, inclusion, and participation for hearing device users

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the standards mover and shaker for the short-range…

The Bluetooth® Low Energy Primer

Are you new to Bluetooth Low Energy? Learn about its constituent parts, features, and how it works.

Bluetooth Location Services

See 8 use cases for enhancing building efficiencies and creating a better visitor experience, discover new data that supports the latest trends and forecasts, and find out what’s driving the rapid adoption of location services solutions.

Introducing Bluetooth® LE Audio

Now available for free digital download, get your copy of this in-depth, technical overview of the LE Audio specifications.

Bluetooth® Technology for Linux Developers

Learn how to use the interprocess communication system D-Bus and the BlueZ APIs to create Bluetooth applications for Linux computers.

Designing and Developing Bluetooth® Internet Gateways

Learn about Bluetooth internet gateways, how to make them secure and scalable, and design and implement your own working prototype gateway and web application for use with either Bluetooth LE Peripherals or with Bluetooth mesh networks.

Lighting as a Platform

See how connected lighting systems are being used as a platform to enable advanced building services like wayfinding, asset tracking, and space utilization to improve the ROI of smart building investments.

Build a Smarter Building with Blue

See how Bluetooth increases reliability, reduces costs, and enhances your smart building ROI.

 Get Help