Wireless Personal Area

Networks (WPANs)
Bluetooth, ZigBee

Contents

Introduction to the IEEE 802 specification family

Concept of ISM frequency band
Comparison between different wireless technologies
(PHY and MAC layers)

Bluetooth

ZigBee

WiFi

WiMAX
 IEEE 802 wireless network technology options

Network definition IEEE standard Known as

Wireless personal area IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth

network (WPAN)
Low-rate WPAN (LR- IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee
WPAN)
Wireless local area IEEE 802.11 WiFi
network (WLAN)
Wireless metroplitan IEEE 802.16 WiMAX
area network (WMAN)

ISM frequency bands

ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) frequency bands:

• 900 MHz band (902 … 928 MHz)

• 2.4 GHz band (2.4 … 2.4835 GHz)
• 5.8 GHz band (5.725 … 5.850 GHz)

Anyone is allowed to use radio equipment for transmitting

in these bands (provided specific transmission power
limits are not exceeded) without obtaining a license.
 ISM frequency band at 2.4 GHz

The ISM band at 2.4 GHz can be used by anyone as long

as

Transmitters using FH (Frequency Hopping) technology:

• Total transmission power < 100 mW
• Power density < 100 mW / 100 kHz

Transmitters using DSSS technology:

• Total transmission power < 100 mW
• Power density < 10 mW / 1 MHz

Multiplexing / multiple access / duplexing

Multiplexing / multiple access

Signals to/from different users share a common channel
using time division methods (TDMA), frequency division
methods (FDMA), code division methods (CDMA), or
random access methods (CSMA).

Duplexing:
The signals moving between two elements in opposite
directions can be separated using time division duplexing
(TDD) or frequency division duplexing (FDD). In the case
of CSMA, duplexing is not relevant.
Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) ≈ 10m

802.1
802.2 LLC
Manage-
ment
802.15.1 802.15.4 802.16
802.3 802.5 802.11
MAC Data
MAC rates
MACup
MAC MAC MAC
to 700 kbit/s
+ + +
802.3 (2.1 Mbit/s)
802.5 802.11
PHY PHY PHY
PHY PHY PHY

ISM band: 2.4 … 2.4835 GHz

Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)

Low-rate WPAN (LR-WPAN) ≈ 10m

802.1
802.2 LLC
Manage-
ment
802.15.1 802.15.4 802.16
802.3 802.5 802.11
MAC MAC MAC
Data rates
MAC up MAC MAC
to 250 kbit/s
+ + +
802.3 802.5 802.11
PHY PHY PHY
PHY PHY PHY

ISM band: 2.4 … 2.4835 GHz

ZigBee Alliance
 Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) ≈ 100m

The WiFi certification program of the Wireless Ethernet

Compatibility Alliance
(WECA) addresses
compatibility of IEEE 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC)
802.11 equipment CSMA/CA

=>
WiFi ensures 802.11 802.11a 802.11b 802.11g
interoperability of PHY PHY PHY PHY
equipment from
different vendors. WiFi5 WiFi

Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) ≈ 5km

802.1
802.2 LLC
Manage-
ment
802.15.1 802.15.4 802.16
802.3 802.5 802.11
MAC MAC MAC Various data
MAC MAC MAC
rates up to
+100 Mbit/s
+ +
802.3 802.5 802.11
PHYand more
PHY PHY
PHY PHY PHY

Various frequency bands (not only ISM)

WiMAX
 Maximum channel data rates

Network Maximum data rate

IEEE 802.15.1 WPAN 1 Mbit/s (Bluetooth v. 1.2)

(Bluetooth) 3 Mbit/s (Bluetooth v. 2.0)
IEEE 802.15.4 LR- 250 kbit/s
WPAN (ZigBee)
IEEE 802.11 WLAN 11 Mbit/s (802.11b)
(WiFi) 54 Mbit/s (802.11g)
IEEE 802.16 WMAN 134 Mbit/s
(WiMAX)

Modulation / Signal spreading

Network Modulation / spreading method

IEEE 802.15.1 WPAN Gaussian FSK / FHSS

(Bluetooth)
IEEE 802.15.4 LR- Offset-QPSK / DSSS
WPAN (ZigBee)
IEEE 802.11 WLAN DQPSK / DSSS (802.11b)
(WiFi) 64-QAM / OFDM (802.11g)
IEEE 802.16 WMAN 128-QAM / single carrier
(WiMAX) 64-QAM / OFDM
 BlueTooth

IEEE definition of WPAN

Wireless personal area networks (WPANs) are used to

convey information over short distances among a private,
intimate group of participant devices.

Unlike a wireless local area network (WLAN), a

connection made through a WPAN involves little or no
infrastructure or direct connectivity to the world outside
the link. This allows small, power-efficient, inexpensive
solutions to be implemented for a wide range of devices.
 Bluetooth ≈ IEEE 802.15.1

A widely used WPAN technology is known as Bluetooth

(version 1.2 or version 2.0)

The IEEE 802.15.1 standard specifies the architecture

and operation of Bluetooth devices, but only as far as
physical layer and medium access control (MAC) layer
operation is concerned (the core system architecture).

Higher protocol layers and applications defined in usage

profiles are standardised by the Bluetooth SIG.

Piconets

Bluetooth enabled electronic Up to 8 devices

devices connect and in one piconet
communicate wirelessly (1 master and 7
through short-range, ad hoc slave devices).
networks known as piconets. Max range 10 m.

ad hoc => no base station

Piconets are established dynamically

and automatically as Bluetooth enabled
devices enter and leave radio proximity.
 Piconet operation

The piconet master is a device in a piconet whose clock

and device address are used to define the piconet
physical channel characteristics. All other devices in the
piconet are called piconet slaves.

At any given time, data can be transferred between the

master and one slave. The master switches rapidly from
slave to slave in a round-robin fashion.

Any device may switch the master/slave role at any time.

Bluetooth radio and baseband parameters

Topology Up to 7 simultaneous links

Modulation Gaussian filtered FSK
RF bandwidth 220 kHz (-3 dB), 1 MHz (-20 dB)
RF band 2.4 GHz ISM frequency band
RF carriers 79 (23 as reduced option)
Carrier spacing 1 MHz
Access method FHSS-TDD-TDMA
Freq. hop rate 1600 hops/s
 Frequency hopping spread spectrum (1)

Bluetooth technology operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band,

using a spread spectrum, frequency hopping, full-duplex
signal at a nominal rate of 1600 hops/second.

Time
1 MHz

The signal hops among 79

frequencies (spaced 1 MHz apart)
in a pseudo-random fashion.
83.5 MHz

2.4000 GHz 2.4835 GHz

Frequency hopping spread spectrum (2)

The adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) feature (from

Bluetooth version 1.2 onward) is designed to reduce
interference between wireless technologies sharing the
2.4 GHz spectrum.

Time Interference e.g. due to

microwave oven => this
frequency in the hopping
sequence should be avoided.

2.4000 GHz 2.4835 GHz

 Frequency hopping spread spectrum (3)

In addition to avoiding microwave oven interference, the

adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) feature can also avoid
interference from WLAN networks:
22 MHz (802.11b)
79 FHSS frequencies 16.5 MHz (802.11g)

WLAN
channel

... ...

2.4 GHz 2.48 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.48 GHz

Frequency hopping in action (1)

The piconet master decides on the frequency hopping

sequence. All slaves must syncronise to this sequence.
Then transmission can take place on a TDD-TDMA basis.

Master 625 µs

Slave 1 Slave 2 Slave 3 t

 Link delivery services

Two types of links can be established between the piconet

master and one or more slaves:

Synchronous connection-oriented (SCO) link allocates a

fixed bandwidth for a point-to-point connection involving
the piconet master and a slave. Up to three simultaneous
SCO links are supported in a piconet.

Asynchronous connectionless or connection-oriented

(ACL) link is a point-to-multipoint link between the master
and all the slaves in the piconet. Only a single ACL link
can exist in the piconet.

SCO links

SCO links are used primarily for carrying real-time data

(speech, audio) where large delays are not allowed (so
that retransmission cannot be used) and occasional data
loss is acceptable.
The guaranteed data rate is achieved through reservation
of slots. The master maintains the SCO link by using
reserved slots at regular intervals. The basic unit of
reservation is two consecuive slots - one in each
transmission direction. An ACL link must be established
(for signalling) before an SCO link can be used.
 ACL link

The ACL link offers packet-switched data transmission.

No bandwidth reservation is possible and delivery may be
guaranteed through error detection and retransmission.
A slave is permitted to send an ACL packet in a slave-to-
master slot only if it has been adressed in the preceeding
master-to-slave slot.
For ACL links, 1-, 3-, and 5-slot packets have been
defined. Data can be sent either unprotected (although
ARQ can be used at a higher layer) or protected with a
2/3 rate forward error correction (FEC) code.

Connection Setup (Inquiry/Paging)

A connection between two devices occur in the following
fashion:

• Step 1: The inquiry procedure enables a device

to discover which devices are in range, and
determine the addresses and clocks for the
devices.
• 1.1:The inquiry procedure involve the source sending
out inquiry packets and then receiving the inquiry reply
• 1.2:The destination that receives the inquiry packets, will
hopefully be in the “inquiry scan state” to receive the
inquiry packets.
• 1.3:The destination will then enter the “inquiry
response state” and send an inquiry reply to the source.

After the inquiry procedure has completed, a connection

can be established using the paging procedure.
 Connection Setup (Inquiry/Paging)
– With the paging procedure, an actual connection
can be established. Only the Bluetooth device
address is required to set up a connection. A unit that
establishes a connection will carry out a page
procedure and will automatically be the master of the
connection. The procedure occurs as follows:
• 2.1: The source device pages the destination device
• 2.2:The destination receives the page while in the “Page
Scan state”
• 2.3:The destination sends a reply to the source
• 2.4:The source sends an FHS packet to the destination.
• 2.5:The destination sends it's second reply to the source.
• 2.6:The destination & source then switch to the source
channel parameters.
• The Connection state starts with a POLL packet sent by
the master to verify that slave has switched to the
master's timing and channel frequency hopping. The
slave can respond with any type of packet.

Bluetooth core system architecture

Data Control

L2CAP Resource Channel L2CAP

layer Manager Manager
Host Controller Interface

Link Manager Link Link Manager Protocol

layer Manager
Link Control Protocol
Baseband
layer Link Controller

Radio layer signalling

Radio layer RF
 Host controller interface

The open host controller interface resides between the

Bluetooth controller (e.g. PC card) and Bluetooth host
(e.g. PC). In integrated devices such as Bluetooth-capable
mobile devices this interface has little or no significance.

L2CAP
layer Host

Host Controller Interface

Link Manager
layer Controller

L2CAP layer

The Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP)

layer handles the multiplexing of higher layer protocols
and the segmentation and reassembly (SAR) of large
packets. The L2CAP layer provides both connectionless
and connection-oriented services.

Synchronous traffic Data Control

L2CAP Resource Channel L2CAP

layer Manager Manager
Host Controller Interface
 Higher protocol layers (1)

The operation of higher protocol layers is outside the

scope of the IEEE 802.15.1 standard (but included in the
Bluetooth SIG standards). The usage of these protocols
depends on the specific Bluetooth profile in question. A
large number of Bluetooth profiles have been defined.

OBEX TCP/IP/PPP RS-232 emulation TCS BIN SDP

RFCOMM

L2CAP layer

ZigBee
 IEEE 802.15.4 LR-WPAN (ZigBee)

ZigBee technology is simpler (and less expensive) than

Bluetooth.
The main objectives of an LR-WPAN like ZigBee are ease
of installation, reliable data transfer, short-range
operation, extremely low cost, and a reasonable battery
life, while maintaining a simple and flexible protocol.
The raw data rate will be high enough (maximum of 250
kbit/s) to satisfy a set of simple needs such as interactive
toys, but is also scalable down to the needs of sensor and
automation needs (20 kbit/s or below) using wireless
communications.

LR-WPAN device types

Two different device types can participate in an LR-WPAN

network:
Full-function devices (FFD) can operate in three
modes serving as a personal area network (PAN)
coordinator, a coordinator, or a device.

Reduced-function devices (RFD) are intended for

applications that are extremely simple.

An FFD can talk to RFDs or other FFDs, while an RFD can

talk only to an FFD.
 Network topologies (1)

Two or more devices communicating on the same

physical channel constitute a WPAN. The WPAN network
must include at least one FFD that operates as the PAN
coordinator.

The PAN coordinator initiates, terminates, or routes

communication around the network. The PAN coordinator
is the primary controller of the PAN.

The WPAN may operate in either of two topologies: the

star topology or the peer-to-peer topology.

Network topologies (2)

Star topology In a star network, after an FFD is

activated for the first time, it may
establish its own network and
become the PAN coordinator.

The PAN coordinator can allow

other devices to join its network.

PAN coordinator (always FFD) FFD RFD

 Network topologies (3)

In a peer-to-peer network, Peer-to-peer topology

each FFD is capable of
communicating with any
other FFD within its radio
sphere of influence. One
FFD will be nominated as
the PAN coordinator.

A peer-to-peer network can be ad hoc, self-organizing

and self-healing, and can combine devices using a mesh
networking topology.

ZigBee PHY and MAC parameters

Topology Ad hoc (central PAN coordinator)

RF band 2.4 GHz ISM frequency band
RF channels 16 channels with 5 MHz spacing
Spreading DSSS (32 chips / 4 bits)
Chip rate 2 Mchip/s
Modulation Offset QPSK

Access method CSMA/CA

 CSMA/CA operation

Each time a device wishes to transmit data frames or

MAC commands, it shall wait for a random period. If the
channel is found to be idle, following the random backoff,
the device shall transmit its data. If the channel is found
to be busy, following the random backoff, the device shall
wait for another random period before trying to access
the channel again.
Acknowledgment frames shall be sent without using a
CSMA-CA mechanism.