An overview of Bluetooth Smart (Low Energy) for Android. This was presented to the Android Australia User Group in March 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. We explore Bluetooth Smart advantages, support on Android devices, look at Apple's iBeacon technology and emerging Bluetooth smart services.

1. Bluetooth Smart
Android Australia Meetup - March 2014
© 2014 Localz Pty. Ltd.

2. You may know it as
Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth 4.0 - LE spec
BLE

3. Bluetooth Smart is:
ultra low power ⌁
inexpensive "
standard ✓

4. 90% of smartphones will be
Bluetooth Smart ready by 2018
75
150
225
300
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Source: http://eecatalog.com/consumerelectronics/2013/10/31/bluetooth-smart-chip-growth-to-exceed-55-percent-driven-by-adoption-in-consumer-electronics/
Bluetooth Smart IC shipment forecasts
millionofunits
source:

5. It’s already supported by
000’s of devices
smartphones
$
watches
⌚
healthcare devices
&
automobiles
🚘
fitness equipment
(
GPS
)
cameras
📷
laptops
+
IoT devices
,
phone accessory
-
game systems
♞
A/V systems
♫

6. Bluetooth smart devices
constantly advertise their presence
Classic Bluetooth devices wait for requests
from active scanning devices
0 0 0
1
00

7. The proximity interaction sweet spot
source: localz research
Bluetooth Smart!
Proximity accuracy range!
5cm! .5m! 1m! 5m! 10m! 50m! 500m! 1km+!
Wi-Fi!
QR!
NFC!
GPS!
Mobile
Network!
!
!
!
Micro-location interactions!

8. Apple released iBeacon in 2013
!
it’s got an “i” so it must be big

9. “a new class of low-powered,
low-cost transmitters that can
notify nearby iOS 7 devices of
their presence”
Source: https://developer.apple.com/ios7/

10. iBeacon can be used as …
2 A relative positioning system
3 A trigger for app events
4 A cookie for the real world

11. It is not a replacement for
two-way Bluetooth services
more on that later

13. Enter retail proximity interactions
Checkout
Aisle1
Aisle2
Aisle3
Aisle4
Entrance
BLE
Beacon
© 2014 Localz Pty. Ltd.

14. Now supported - Hooray!
Android 4.3+

15. Currently working on…
Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10
Droid RAZR, MotoG/X, Ultra, Maxx, Mini
Galaxy S3*, S4, S5, Note2/3
One, One Max, One X+, Droid DNA
Xperia Series
source: www.bluetooth.com/Pages/Bluetooth-Smart-Devices-List.aspx

16. Not all roles are supported
Peripheral
Central
Broadcaster
Observer
0
5
6
⌚
Supported?*
client that connects to peripheral
server that connects to clients
server that only broadcasts
client that scans/listens but does not connect
$
7
*As of Android 4.4Props to: http://www.doubleencore.com/2013/12/bluetooth-smart-for-android/

17. iBeacon protocol
Built on the Bluetooth Smart specification
Note: Apple has only released the iBeacon specification to select Made for iPhone program participants. However, this is under NDA. iBeacon is a trademark of Apple Inc.
Fixed iBeacon Prefix
(9 Bytes)
UUID
(16 Bytes)
Major ID
(2 Bytes)
Minor ID
(2 Bytes)
Tx power
(1 Byte)
preamble, addresses and headers
(12 bytes)
checksum
(5 bytes)
BLE advertisement packet
(~47 Bytes)

18. Comparison
␡
iBeacon client ✓✓
iBeacon server✓
Scan unregistered iBeacons ✓␡
Background app notifications
Hard closed app notifications
✓
✓
✓
-
*iBeacon support requires
3rd party libraries
*
*
*
*
iOS 7

19. But there is much more to
Bluetooth Smart
The GATT Stack

20. A range of pre-defined
Bluetooth Smart services
Alert Notification Service⚠
Battery Service🔋
Time Services⏲
Cycling Power🚲
Cycling Speed & Cadence🚲
Device Information$
Generic Access🔗
Blood Pressure>
Glucose Service💉
Health Thermometer@
Heart Rate♥
Human Interface Device💻
Location & Navigation)
Phone Alert Service📞
Running Speed & CadenceD
Tx PowerE
Find Me Profile🔎
Complete list of services at: www.bluetooth.org/en-us/specification/adopted-specifications

21. Further reading
www.bluetooth.com/Pages/Bluetooth-Smart-Devices.aspx
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/bluetooth-le.html
www.doubleencore.com/2013/12/bluetooth-smart-for-android/
www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/Bluetooth-R-low-energy
bit.ly/1hur3sT

22. Questions?
pete.williams@localz.co
!
www.localz.co
!
@localzco
© 2014 Localz Pty. Ltd. Localz is a registered Bluetooth SIG member.