Comparison of Infrared and Bluetooth Communication

Comparison of Infrared Communication Technology and Bluetooth Technology

The current popular short-distance wireless communication technology is Bluetooth technology (Bluetooth). The difference between Bluetooth technology and infrared technology is that infrared communication transmits data through infrared light, while Bluetooth technology transmits data through microwaves with a frequency of 2.4GHz. The characteristics of Bluetooth technology are affected by microwave transmission characteristics. Its communication distance It can reach tens of meters or even hundreds of meters. At the same time, it can bypass obstacles or even penetrate obstacles to transmit data, and it can also connect multiple communication objects at the same time. So, will infrared be eliminated by Bluetooth, a newer communication technology? The author analyzes and discusses these issues.

1. The definition of infrared data communication technology and Bluetooth communication technology

1.1 Definition of infrared communication technology

The abbreviation of Infrared Data Association is IRDA, and the basis of infrared data communication technology is formed by a series of infrared data communication standards formulated by IRDA. Infrared communication technology is a point-to-point data transmission protocol, which is an alternative to the traditional connecting cables between devices. Its communication distance is generally between 0 and 1 meter, the fastest transmission speed can reach 16Mbps, and the communication medium is near-infrared rays with a wavelength of about 900nm.

1.2 Definition of Bluetooth Communication Technology

Toshiba, Ericsson, IBM, Intel and Nokia jointly proposed the short-range wireless data communication technology standard in May 1998 is Bluetooth technology (Bluetooth). It can realize point-to-multipoint wireless data and voice transmission within a radius of 10m, its data transmission bandwidth is 1Mbps, and electromagnetic waves with a frequency between 2.402 and 2.480 are its communication medium.

Bluetooth technology is a kind of radio communication technology. It has short transmission distance and low cost (it is completely free for wireless communication). It can effectively simplify the Internet between handheld computers, notebook computers, mobile phones and mobile communication terminal devices Communication.

The use of low-energy radio communication technology to realize wireless transmission of voice, data, and video transmission is the product of Bluetooth technology. Its transmission rate can reach up to 1Mbps, and it performs full division of labor (simultaneously sending and receiving signals) communication in a time-division manner, and the communication distance is 0.1 to 10m. If equipped with a power amplifier, the communication distance can be increased to 100m. Currently, 225m products have passed the test in MSI's laboratory.

Bluetooth enables wireless information exchange between mobile phones, PDAs, wireless headsets, notebook computers, related peripherals and many other devices. The Bluetooth standard is IEEE802.15, which works in the 2.4GHz frequency band with a bandwidth of 1Mbps.

2.The different characteristics of infrared communication technology and Bluetooth communication technology

2.1 Features of infrared communication technology

Infrared communication technology is widely used. At present, the wireless connection technology widely used in the world is infrared communication technology. Nowadays, many hardware and software platforms support infrared communication technology. It mainly uses the mutual conversion between data electrical pulses and infrared pulses to transmit and receive wireless data. to replace point-to-point cable connections. At present, the new infrared communication standard can be compatible with the early communication standard, and has the characteristics of small angle (within 30 degree cone angle), short distance, point-to-point direct data transmission, strong confidentiality, and transmission rate. At present, the FIR technology with a rate of 4 Mbps has been widely used, and the VFIR technology with a rate of 16 Mbps has also been released.

Infrared communication technology has been recognized by many manufacturers and consumers. At present, many software and hardware manufacturers around the world have supported and adopted infrared communication technology. All mainstream software and hardware platforms also provide support for infrared communication technology. Infrared communication technology is widely used in mobile computing and mobile communication equipment, and the huge installed capacity makes infrared wireless communication technology have a huge user group.

The implantation cost of infrared communication technology is low. Because many system chips have infrared communication control circuits, it is only necessary to add an infrared transceiver to implant infrared functions in the system, which greatly reduces the implantation cost of infrared communication technology. At present, mass production can control the cost of implantation to less than 3 US dollars.

However, there is no perfect product in the world. The short communication distance is the main disadvantage of infrared communication technology. The device cannot move during the communication process, and the communication will be interrupted as long as it encounters an obstacle, and the communication rate of the widely used SIR standard is relatively low, only 115.2kbit/s. In fact, the main purpose of the infrared communication technology is to replace the cable connection to perform wireless data transmission, so its function is single and its scalability is relatively poor.

2.2 Features of Bluetooth communication technology

Bluetooth communication mainly works in the globally open 2.4GHz ISM (ie industrial, scientific, medical) frequency band, which divides the frequency band into several frequency hopping information (hop channels) through frequency hopping spectrum expansion technology. The radio transceivers in the system can continuously "hop" from one channel to another in a certain code sequence during a connection. And one Bluetooth device can establish connections with seven Bluetooth devices at the same time, and its data transmission rate can reach 1Mbps; and it has the characteristics of low power consumption and good communication security. Bluetooth technology can be used to connect across obstacles within an effective range, and there are no special requirements in terms of communication viewing angle and direction. Bluetooth technology can widely support voice transmission, and the networking is simple and convenient.

Bluetooth technology has a good application prospect. Bluetooth technology is an emerging technology that is not yet widely used. Many Bluetooth devices are still in the lab stage. However, it is certain that many devices with infrared data communication functions can use Bluetooth technology for wireless connection in the future. In addition, some specific functions that cannot be realized by infrared technology can be realized by using the network characteristics of Bluetooth technology and voice transmission technology, such as wireless phones, networking of multiple devices, and so on.

At present, Bluetooth technology has received the response of more than 2,000 enterprises, so it already has a huge development and production capacity, and also has a high reputation. Consumers are also very interested in this technology.

At present, the implantation cost of Bluetooth technology is relatively high, and it will be improved in the mature stage of development. The products of USB interface bluetooth adapter, bluetooth PC card and bluetooth mobile phone are already facing the market, but the price is generally very high. From this point of view, the implantation cost in the early development stage of Bluetooth is still relatively high, and it is estimated that the mass production implantation cost can be within 30 US dollars. When Bluetooth technology matures, the cost of implantation can be controlled within 10 dollars.

However, Bluetooth technology, like infrared technology and everything in the world, has disadvantages. The disadvantage of Bluetooth technology is that the communication rate and security are not very high, but the cost is relatively high.

conclusion

All in all, Bluetooth technology has great advantages. However, because Bluetooth technology is still in the early stage of development, various conditions can restrict it, and the implantation cost of Bluetooth technology is very high, the communication rate is relatively low, and the technology is also limited. Not too mature, its development and popularization still need to go through the tempering of the market and the test of time, and its own technology needs to be continuously improved and improved. However, infrared communication technology has the characteristics of mature technology, low cost, good compatibility, high communication speed, etc., and has obtained the support and use of a wide range of software and hardware, so it has a very wide range of applications. Although Bluetooth technology may eventually replace infrared communication technology, this process will take a long time. In this period, the important role in the field of short-range wireless data communication will still be infrared communication technology. Both bluetooth technology and infrared technology have their own advantages and disadvantages. We can assert that for a period of time in the future, the two will compete with each other, promote each other, and complement each other. The perfection has been promoted very well.

The above is the comparison between infrared communication technology and Bluetooth technology introduced by Shenzhen Zuchuang Microelectronics Co., Ltd. for you. If you have Bluetooth product design and development needs, you can trust us. We have rich experience in custom development of smart electronic products. We can evaluate the development cycle and IC price as soon as possible, and can also calculate the PCBA quotation. We are a number of chip agents at home and abroad: Songhan, Yingguang, Jieli, Ankai, Quanzhi, realtek, with MCU, voice IC, BLE Bluetooth IC, dual-mode Bluetooth module, wifi module. We have hardware design and software development capabilities. Covering circuit design, PCB design, single-chip microcomputer development, software custom development, APP custom development, WeChat official account development, voice recognition technology, Bluetooth development, wifi technology, etc. It can also undertake the research and development of smart electronic products, the design of household appliances, the development of beauty equipment, the development of Internet of Things applications, the design of smart home solutions, the development of TWS earphones, the development of Bluetooth earphone speakers, the development of children's toys, and the research and development of electronic education products.