Evaluation of Bluetooth Communications for the Deployment of Assisted Living Technologies in Home Environments

• Published in: 2007 29th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Vol. 2007; pp. 3822 - 3825
• Main Authors: McGrath, M.J., Burns, A., Dishongh, T.
• Format: Conference Proceeding Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.01.2007
• Subjects: Biomedical monitoring; Bluetooth; Building materials; Computerized monitoring; Condition monitoring; Construction Materials; Electromagnetic interference; Hospitals; Housing; Humans; Ireland; Local Area Networks; Master-slave; Medical services; Technological innovation; Ireland
• ISBN: 9781424407873; 1424407877
• ISSN: 1094-687X; 1557-170X; 1558-4615
• DOI: 10.1109/IEMBS.2007.4353165

Using five different commercially available class one and class two Bluetooth dongles a total of seven homes which represented a cross section of typical Irish homes were surveyed to determine the effect of construction methods, house size, sensor placement, host placement, antenna design and RF interference had on the link quality of Bluetooth enabled sensors. The results obtained indicates there is high variability in the link quality which is determined by the quality of the BT radio, placement of the antenna on both the master and slave, the number of walls which must be penetrated and the construction materials used in the wall. The placement of the sensor was the single biggest factor in determining the link quality. The type of construction used in the interior walls has significant influence also. The final factor of significant influence was the type of antenna used on the Bluetooth dongle. The use of an external antenna gave significantly better range performance than an internal antenna.