Bluetooth™ Radios: A Giant Step Forward in RFID Technology?

Named for a 15th Century Danish king, the Bluetooth™ smart chip itself may one day rule the domain of radio frequency identification (RFID). Gregory M. Stewart reports.

Bluetooth is the nickname of the 10th century Danish king, Harald I, who linked Jutland, the Danish islands and southern Sweden (geographically close, but separated by the North Sea) into a unified kingdom. Evidently, he sported a dead or “blue” front tooth. More than a millennium later, the name Bluetooth once again surfaced, this time as the code name for the Bluetooth™ smart chip radio as it was first being developed.

When the effort eventually became public, the name of Bluetooth was to be changed to something more appealing, but the consortium’s legal department had already cleared a trademark search for the code name. Thus, the name stuck in the interest of expediency so a new name would not need to be researched.

The goal of the Bluetooth™ effort is to produce a smart chip that costs $5, has a transmission range of 40 feet and can communicate directly with other smart chips in proximity. One way to conceptualize Bluetooth™ is as a replacement for infrared data transfer, as a means of eliminating cables between connected devices. Elimination of cables allows for simplicity, less costly equipment installation and user convenience.

The Bluetooth™ chip (see Figure1) may be utilized in the petroleum industry in many ways, whether it be at the well head, pipeline, bulk terminal, blending facility, package distribution center or the convenience store. Numerous applications exist wherever there are electronic equipment or integrated circuits that must transfer data. This may be why Shell Oil attended the London Bluetooth™ conference.

Assuming that this consortium is successful, Bluetooth™ integrated circuit silicon chips may make it possible to eliminate fuel dispenser cabling altogether. This cabling would be replaced with a newer generation of plug-and-play island dispensers that only need power and plumbing connections. The day of running costly communication conduit with shielded wire may soon be over.

Figure 1: Pictured is an Ericcson Bluetooth™ Radio. What makes this RFID solution unique is the presence of the three elements—a radio transmitter, receiver and a microprocessor—on one silicon chip. By eliminating three separate chips placed on a circuit board, the cost is lowered from approximately $15 to $5. Courtesy of Ericsson Mobile Communication AB.

At the well head, electronic controls may communicate between each other via wireless short range communication, thereby allowing a quicker set up and take down of monitoring equipment. Hand-held devices used by personnel may be able to communicate directly to controls. This will allow workers’ freer movement, yielding better observation and increased productivity.

Bulk tanker truck loading may become more secure as loading cards may be eliminated. Wireless communication can assure accurate accounting of product: one smart chip is worn by the vehicle driver, one smart chip is affixed to the tanker truck, and both of them communicate with the terminal bottom load. The possibility of mis-loading caused by inappropriate use of shared loading cards is thereby reduced.

Back at the convenience store, the typical “spaghetti” of wires from point of sale, pump controllers and credit-card verification machines that cause clutter may some day be eliminated.

However, Bluetooth™ wasn’t developed for the petroleum industry per se. Rather, the vision of Intel, Ericsson, IBM and others is for mass consumer markets. Mass market appeal includes incorporating the chip for use in laptops, Personal Handheld Devices (PDAs), printers, Game Boys and cell phones.

Originally, it was the goal of Infrared (IR) technology to connect devices such as printers and laptops, without the use of cables. However, IR does not operate unless communication is done within line of sight. The Bluetooth™ radio can communicate through and around many objects.

This allows for ease of operation and addresses many of the shortcomings of infrared communications. It is hoped that a reliable wireless solution such as Bluetooth™ will finally accomplish the goals set for IR.

The drive for Bluetooth™
The consortium is led by Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, IBM, Lucent and Siemens. Their aim is to design a radio to replace the cable and its connectors. Assuming they will be successful, the effort may provide benefits to the petroleum equipment industry in many ways.

The task of creating miniature “cellular sites” within offices is daunting. Balancing power output, interference from radio waves using the same spectrum, communication timing and pushing the limits of design for silicon radio chips all create complex issues. The combined resources of the world’s leading radio frequency companies are focused in an attempt to make Bluetooth™ a success.

The aim of the Bluetooth™ effort is to develop a radio on a single silicon chip that has the following design goals (see Figure 2):

  • single chip CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) integration;
  • fast 79-channel-frequency-hopping ability;
  • small implementation size;
  • low implementation cost;
  • low power consumption; and
  • secure and robust software communication for an open ISM band.

The frequency chosen is the “no FCC license required 2.45 Ghz band.” This is an ideal wave length for personal area networks (PANs), as users may be mobile and devices may interoperate easily within of the framework of governing regulations. It is also a wave length reserved for radio frequency identification.

Figure 2: A comparison of Bluetooth™ versus infrared technology. Courtesy of the Bluetooth™ Special Interest Group.

Difference from other RFID products
The RFID products that employ similar 79-channel hopping at 2.45 Ghz are based on backscatter communication rather than on radio communication. Backscatter systems use readers, also called interrogators, that send a strong signal out to communicate with tags. The tags reflect the signal back to the reader in order to establish two-way communication. Backscatter readers look like small stereo speakers and are mounted on poles, walls or other fixtures.

Backscatter tags are either active and contain batteries, or are passive and do not have batteries. Backscatter systems have an advantage because they are low power and may operate much longer than radios.

Bluetooth™ is a radio. This means that each radio chip communicates directly with another Bluetooth™ radio without the need of a reader as an intermediary. The radio consumes power; therefore, replaceable batteries are required. Since the cost of a Bluetooth™ radio is low (estimated at $5 each), there are savings to be made in not having to purchase readers (estimated at $2,000 each).

Bluetooth™ radios are limited to communicating with seven other similar Bluetooth™ radios. Backscatter reader systems with anti-collision software protocols may communicate with more than seven tags at a time. Bluetooth™ and backscatter systems each have their own markets, depending upon the need.

And the winner is...
Ericsson is aiming to be the first to release a Bluetooth™ product (a cell phone headset). Judging by the fact that Symbionics, a United Kingdom manufacturer of developer kit radios, is out of stock because Ericsson snapped them all up last month, Ericsson means business. Nokia is also making noises that it will release a similar product in 1999. Although this is very encouraging from one perspective, there is the possibility that an early release of an incomplete product may set the movement back.

There is one reason that Intel is holding back and wants a delay. The technology has to be right on release. It has to work properly. It has to have wide application and, therefore, widespread operability. There is a danger that failed communication may turn off the major software houses. And it is true that unmet expectations of simple-to-install and easy-to-use pay-at-the-pump RF tags have cost the industry dearly. Based on past experience, raising user expectations prematurely makes early technology adopters think twice before proceeding again, as at least one major RFID supplier has closed its doors.

Yet, selected radio frequency products have also been deployed within the industry with much success; and this success continues to drive continued improvements as well as a demand for new products. One San Jose area technology company reports on the effect of radio frequency loyalty systems deployed at service stations. RF increased customer purchases by one tank of gas per month for each regular customer.

Given that an average consumer may buy up to four tanks a week, the additional revenues are considerable—a 20 percent increase in per-consumer sales for those who use such devices. Other industry people claim an increase in the average purchase size and a dramatic reduction in credit card bank chargebacks due to fraud or contested use.

Radio frequency technology continues to be one area of significant change and growth within the petroleum industry. Over the next few years it will be interesting to see what continued effects it will have on profit and productivity.

The emerging Bluetooth™ technology will take time to mature. It may be years before Bluetooth™ is widely used within our industry—but once it is implemented, the wait will be well worth it.

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