New Bluetooth mesh networking technology allows Bluetooth networks to expand their range immediately. It is now easy to add and securely provision new nodes. These new nodes are capable of having multiple constituent elements. This enables devices to relay messages so that the end-to-end communication range extends far beyond the radio range of the individual nodes themselves. Hence, the mesh functions as a complete end-to-end network that can be managed and monitored with no single point of failure.
In an industrial site, for example, this means that machine status across the entire plant can be monitored through the mesh, with no single point of failure, and assets can be tracked as they pass through a manufacturing process.
A year after unveiling Bluetooth 5, the short-range wireless networking technology’s Special Interest Group (SIG) has announced support for mesh networking. This enables low-power, many-to-many device communications and promises to enhance use cases such as smart homes, offices and cities, and industrial IoT applications.
