This chapter is from the book
1.3. Terminology
Just like many high technology areas, the people working in Bluetooth low energy use their own language to describe the features and technology with the specification. This section enumerates each of the words that have special meaning and what they mean.
- Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) A technology whereby only a subset of frequencies is used. This allows devices to avoid the frequencies that other non-adaptive technologies are using (e.g., a Wi-Fi access point).
- Architecture The design of the Bluetooth low energy is sometimes known as the Architecture.
- Band See Radio Band.
- Frequency Hopping The use of multiple frequencies to communicate between two devices. One frequency is used at a time, and each frequency is used in a defined sequence.
- Layer A part of the system that fulfills a specific function. For example, the Physical Layer covers the operation of the radio. Each layer in a system is abstracted away from the layers above and below it. The Link Layer doesn’t need to know all the details of how the radio functions; the Logical Link Control Layer and Adaptation Layer don’t need to know all the details of how the Link Layer works. This abstraction is important to keep the complexity of the system at manageable levels.
- Master A complex device that coordinates the activity of other devices within a piconet.
- Piconet This is a contraction of the words pico and network. Pico is the SI5 prefix for 10¯12. This is derived from the Italian piccolo, meaning small.6 Therefore, a piconet is a very small network. A piconet has a single master device that coordinates the activity of all the other devices (slaves) in the piconet and one or more slaves.
- Radio Band Radio waves are defined by their frequency or wavelength. Different radio waves are then allocated different rules and uses. When a range of radio frequencies are grouped together using the same rules, this group of frequencies is called a Radio Band.
- Slave A simple device that works with a master. These devices are typically single-purpose devices.
- Wi-Fi A complementary wireless technology that is designed for high data rates to connect computers and other very complex devices with the Internet.
< Back
Page 3 of 3