Infrared & Bluetooth communication

By Muntaqo Alfin Amanaf

 Infrared waves
• have frequency between 300 GHz and 400 THz and wave
lengths between 1 mm and 750 nm
• are classified into sub bands:
– near-infrared (120THz-400THz): are visible to the human eye as red
and violet
– mid-infrared (30THz-120THz)
– far-infrared (300GHz-30THz): are not visible to the human eye, but are
radiated in the form of heat
• electromagnetic waves which are pulses of infrared light
• are used for short range communication, unobstructed (e.g.
remote control for a TV set), though they can reflect on hard
surfaces
• factors affecting communication: bright sunlight, hard
obstacles (e.g. walls, doors), smoke, dust, fog
Wireless infrared communication = Wireless
optical communication
Infrared configuration

• there are 2 infrared system configurations:

– point-to-point communication : transmitter and
receiver are placed in the LoS, directed toward each
other, free of obstacles; directed LoS systems

– diffuse communication: transmitter and receiver are

placed in the vicinity, but not necessary in a straight
line; non-directed non-LoS systems
 Infrared and Communication
• First IrDA
– Specify a standard and a protocols for data
transmission
• IrDA devices communicate using infrared LED’s
• Wavelength 875nm +-30nm
• IrDA support data transmission of 1.15Mb/s
and 4Mb/s

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 Infrared devices

• LED (Light Emitting Diode)

– wider transmission beam
– suitable for diffuse configuration
– more widely used
• LD (Laser Diode)
– have more focused beam
– are more efficient
• many infrared devices (e.g. remote control, laptop, pda)
follows the rules from IrDA (InfRared Data Association)
Infrared communicating devices
 Ir Application

• PDAs
• Phones
• Organizer
• Printers
• Cameras
• Laptops and
Notebooks
• Other Applications

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Transmitting Data Between Two Different Electronic
Devices

• Can you transmit data between two Infrared

capable devices even though they are
manufacture by different companies?
• Example
– Between a Kyocera Smart-phone and Dell Axim
– Between a Kyocera Smart-phone and a Dell
Latitude

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 The IR Signal
• The IR detector is only looking for infrared that’s flashing on
and off 38,500 times per second.
– It has built-in optical filters that allow very little light except the
980 nm infrared.
– It also has an electronic filter that only allows signals around 38.5
kHz to pass through.
• This is the type of signal produced by the remote control.
• This prevents IR interference from common sources such as
sunlight and indoor lighting.
 Important Concepts
• Pulse width modulation (PWM): Pulse durations are
used in many applications, a few of which are motor
control, and communication. Since the IR detector
sends low pulses that can be measured to determine
what information the IR remote is sending, it's an
example of using PWM for communication.

• Carrier signal: The IR remote uses a 38.5 kHz "carrier

signal" to transmit the pulse durations from the
remote to the IR detector.

• Communication protocol: A communication protocol

is a set of rules for devices that have to exchange
electronic messages. Protocols tend to have rules for
voltages, the amount of time signals last, carrier signal
frequencies and/or wavelengths, and much more.
When two or more devices follow the rules of a given
protocol, they should be able to communicate and
exchange information.
 The TV Remote Control
(4 Function Universal Remote)
• You must configure your universal remote so that it
sends PWM messages to a television set using the
SONY protocol.
• TV remote setup
– Press and release the TV key.
– Press and hold the SET key until the indicator LED on the
remote turns on and stays on.
– Use the digit keys to enter 0001. The LED may turn off
briefly as you press each digit.
• VCR remote setup
– Press and release the VCR key.
– Press and hold the SET key until the indicator LED on the
remote turns on and stays on.
– Use the digit keys to enter 1028. The LED may turn off
briefly as you press each digit.
The TV Remote Control (SYSTEMLINK 3 RCA)
• You must configure your universal remote so that it sends
PWM messages using the SONY protocol.
• TV remote setup
– Press and hold the CODE SEARCH button until the indicator LED
lights, then release the CODE SEARCH button.
– Press and release the TV button (the indicator LED will blink and
then remain lit).
– Use the digit keys to enter the code 002. After your code is
entered, the indicator LED will turn off.
• VCR remote setup
– Press and hold the CODE SEARCH button until the indicator LED
lights, then release the CODE SEARCH button.
– Press and release the VCR button (the indicator LED will blink
and then remain lit).
– Use the digit keys to enter the code 004. After your code is
entered, the indicator LED will turn off.
The Protocol
 Protocol Details
• This message consists of thirteen negative pulses that
the BASIC Stamp can easily measure.
– 1: the start pulse, which lasts for 2.4 ms.
– 2-13: will either last for 1.2 ms (binary-1) or 0.6 ms
(binary-0).
– 2-8: indicates which key is pressed.
– 9-13: indicate if the message is being sent to a TV,
VCR, CD, DVD player, etc.
• Pulses are transmitted in least significant bit first
fashion.
– the first data pulse is bit-0.
– the next data pulse is bit-1
– Etc.
• If you press and hold a key on the remote, the same
message will be sent over and over again with a 20 to
30 ms rest between messages.
How the IR Detector Works
• The Boe-Bot IR receiver is the same detector found in many
TVs and VCRs.
• This detector sends a low signal whenever it detects IR
flashing on/off at 38.5 kHz and a high signal the rest of the
time.
• When the IR detector sends low signals, the processor inside a
TV or VCR measures how long each of the low signals lasts.
Then, it uses these measurements to figure out which key was
pressed on the remote.
• Like the processor inside a TV, the Basic Stamp can be
programmed to detect, measure, store, and interpret the
sequence of low pulses it receives from the IR detector.
Bluetooth
 What’s With the Name?
•The name ‘Bluetooth’ was named after 10th century
Viking king in Denmark Harald Bluetooth who united
and controlled Denmark and Norway.

•The name was adopted because Bluetooth wireless

technology is expected to unify the
telecommunications and computing industries
 Who Started Bluetooth?
• Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)

•Founded in Spring 1998

•By Ericsson, Intel, IBM, Nokia, Toshiba;

•Now more than 2000 organizations joint the SIG

 What Is Bluetooth?
☼ Bluetooth is an open standard for short-range
digital radio to interconnect a variety of devices Cell
phones, PDA, notebook computers, modems,
cordless phones, pagers, laptop computers, printers,
cameras by developing a single-chip, low-cost,
radio-based wireless network technology. It is called
IEEE 802.15
 Bluetooth
• Simplifying communications between:
- devices and the internet
- data synchronization
• Operates in licensed exempt ISM band at 2.4ghz
• Uses frequency hoping spread spectrum
• Omni directional, no requiring line of sight
• Bluetooth offers data speeds of up to 1 Mbps up to 10
meters (Short range wireless radio technology )
• Unlike IrDA, Bluetooth supports a LAN-like mode where
multiple devices can interact with each other.
• The key limitations of Bluetooth are security and
interference with wireless LANs.
• Short range wireless radio technology
 Bluetooth
• Bluetooth is a PAN Technology
– Offers fast and reliable transmission for both
voice and data
– Can support either one asynchronous data
channel with up to three simultaneous
synchronous speech channels or one channel that
transfers asynchronous data and synchronous
speech simultaneously
– Support both packet-switching and circuit-
switching
 Bluetooth
• Personal Area Network (PAN) Bluetooth is a
standard that will …
– Eliminate wires and cables between both
stationary and mobile devices
– Facilitate both data and voice communications
– Offer the possibility of ad hoc networks and
deliver synchronicity between personal devices
 Bluetooth Topology

• Bluetooth-enabled devices can automatically

locate each other
• Topology is established on a temporary and
random basis
• Up to eight Bluetooth devices may be
networked together in a master-slave
relationship to form a Piconet
 Cont.
• One is master, which controls and setup the network
• All devices operate on the same channel and follow
the same frequency hopping sequence
• Two or more piconet interconnected to form a
scatter net
• Only one master for each piconet
• A device can’t be masters for two piconets
• The slave of one piconet can be the master of
another piconet
 Ad-hoc
• is a network connection method which is most often
associated with wireless devices.
• The connection is established for the duration of one session
and requires no base station.
• Instead, devices discover others within range to form a
network for those computers.
• Devices may search for target nodes that are out of range by
flooding the network with broadcasts that are forwarded by
each node.
• Connections are possible over multiple nodes (multihop ad
hoc network).
• Routing protocols then provide stable connections even if
nodes are moving around
 A piconet
• is an ad-hoc computer network of devices
using Bluetooth technology protocols to allow
one master device to interconnect with up to
seven active slave devices
• Up to 255 further slave devices can be
inactive, or parked, which the master device
can bring into active status at any time.
 A Typical Bluetooth Network Piconet

• Master sends its globally unique 48-bit id and clock

– Hopping pattern is determined by the 48-bit device ID
– Phase is determined by the master’s clock
• Why at most 7 slaves?
– (because a three-bit MAC adress is used).
• Parked and standby nodes
– Parked devices can not actively participate in the piconet
but are known to the network and can be reactivated
within some milliseconds
– 8-bit for parked nodes
– No id for standby nodes
– Standby nodes do not participate in the piconet
 Security Protocol

• There are five phases of Simple Pairing:

Phase 1: Public key exchange
Phase 2: Authentication Stage 1
Phase 3: Authentication Stage 2
Phase 4: Link key calculation
Phase 5: LMP Authentication and Encryption
• Phases 1, 3, 4 and 5 are the same for all protocols
whereas phase 2 (Authentication Stage 1) is different
depending on
• the protocol used. Distributed through these five phases
are 13 steps.
 Bluetooth Frequency
• Has been set aside by the ISM( industrial ,sientific
and medical ) for exclusive use of Bluetooth wireless
products

• Communicates on the 2.45 GHz frequency

 Frequency Selection

• FH is used for interference mitigation and

media access;

• TDD (Test-Driven Development) is used for

separation of the transmission directions In
3-slot or 5-slot packets
 FH-CDMA (Frequency Hopping - Code Division
Multiple Access)

• Frequency hopping (FH) is one of two basic modulation

techniques used in spread spectrum signal transmission.
• It is the repeated switching of frequencies during radio
transmission, often to minimize the effectiveness of the
unauthorized interception or jamming of telecommunications.
• It also is known as frequency- hopping code division multiple
access (FH-CDMA).
• Bluetooth uses a technique called spread-spectrum frequency
hopping.
Avoiding Interference : Hopping

• In this technique, a device will use 79 individual,

randomly chosen frequencies within a designated range

• Transmitters change frequency 1600 times a second

 Cont.

• Each channel is divided into time slots 625

microseconds long

• Packets can be up to five time slots wide

• Data in a packet can be up to 2,745 bits in length

 Cont.
• FH-CDMA to separate piconets within a scatternet

• More piconets within a scatter net degrades

performance
– Possible collision because hopping patterns are
not coordinated

• At any instant of time, a device can participate only

in one piconet

• If the device participates as a slave, it just

synchronize with the master’s hop sequence
 Cont.
• The master for a piconet can join another
piconet as a slave; in this case, all
communication within in the former piconet
will be suspended .
• When leaving a piconet, a slave notifies the
master about its absence for certain amount
of time.
• Communication between different piconets
takes place by devices jumping back and forth
between these nets
Simplified Bluetooth stack
Bluetooth Profile Structure
 How Does It Work?
• Bluetooth is a standard
for tiny, radio frequency
chips that can be plugged
into your devices

• These chips were designed to

take all of the information that
your wires normally send, and
transmit it at a special
frequency to something
called a receiver
Bluetooth chip.
• The information is then transmitted to your device
 Bluetooth Chip

Bluetooth Chip

Baseband Link
RF Controller Manager
 SPECIFICATIONS

• Bluetooth specifications are divided into two:

– Core Specifications
This bluetooth specification contains the Bluetooth Radio Specification as
well as the Baseband, Link Manager, L2CAP, Service Discovery, RFCOMM
and other specifications.
 SPECIFICATIONS

– Application Specifications
• These specifications include the following
• Profiles Cordless Telephony
• Serial Port
• Headset
• Intercom
• Dialup Networking
• Fax
• File Transfer
• Service Discovery Application
• Generic Access
 RADIO POWER CLASSES

• The Bluetooth specification allows for three different types

of radio powers:
– Class 1 = 100mW
– Class2 = 2.5mW
– Class 3 = 1mW
• These power classes allow Bluetooth devices to connect at
different ranges
• High power radius have longer ranges. The maximum range
for a Class 1, 100mW is about 100 meters. There is also a
minimum range for a Bluetooth connection. The minimum
range is around 10cm.
 Power Management Benefits

• Cable Replacement
– Replace the cables for peripheral devices
• Ease of file sharing
– Panel discussion, conference, etc.
• Wireless synchronization
– Synchronize personal information contained in the address
books and date books between different devices such as
PDAs, cell phones, etc.
• Bridging of networks
– Cell phone connects to the network through dial-up
connection while connecting to a laptop with Bluetooth.
 Bluetooth Devices
Bluetooth will soon be enabled in
everything from:
• Telephones
• Headsets
• Computers
• Cameras
• PDAs
• Cars
• Etc …
 Bluetooth Products 1

• Bluetooth-enabled
PC Card
 Bluetooth Products 2
• Bluetooth-enabled
PDA
 Bluetooth Products 3
• Bluetooth-enabled
Cell Phone
 Bluetooth Products 4

• Bluetooth-enabled
Head Set
 Usage Models

• Cordless computer
• Ultimate headset
• Three-in-one phone
• Interactive conference (file transfer)
• Direct network access
• Instant postcard
 Wireless Technologies

• There are two technologies that have been

developed as wireless cable replacements:
Infrared (IRDA) and radio (Bluetooth).
 Why Not Infrared?

• Intended for point to point links

• Limited to line of sight
• have a narrow angle (30 degree cone),
• Low penetration power
• Distance covered is low(1 meter approx)
• have a throughput of 9600 bps to 4 Mbps
• IrDA has proven to be a popular technology with
compliant ports currently available in an array of
devices including: embedded devices, phones,
modems, computers (PCs) and laptops, PDAs,
printers, and other computer peripherals
 Compare Infrared, Bluetooth
Bluetooth Infrared
Connection Spread Infrared, narrow
Type Spectrum beam

Optical 850
Spectrum 2.4GHz
nano meters

Data Rate 1Mbps 16Mbps

Range 30 Feet 3 Feet

Supported
Upto 8 2
Devices
 Cont…..
Voice
3 1
Channels
No special
Data Security 8-128bit Key
security

Addressing 48 bit MAC 32 bit ID

 Security of Bluetooth

• Security in Bluetooth is provided on the radio paths only

– Link authentication and encryption may be provided
– True end-to-end security relies on higher layer security solutions
on top of Bluetooth

• Bluetooth provides three security services

– Authentication – identity verification of communicating devices
– Confidentiality – against information compromise
– Authorization – access right of resources/services

• Fast FH together with link radio link power control provide

protection from eavesdropping and malicious access
– Fast FH makes it harder to lock the frequency
– Power control forces the adversary to be in relatively close
proximity
 Security Modes (Authentication )

• Exchange Business Cards

– Needs a secret key
• A security manager controls access to
services and to devices
– Security mode 2 does not provide any security
until a channel has been established
• Key Generation from PIN
– PIN: 1-16 bytes. PINs are fixed and may be
permanently stored. Many users use the four digit
0000
 Bluetooth Key Generation From PIN

• Bluetooth Initialization Procedure (Pairing)

– Creation of an initialization key (ki)

– Creation of a link key Authentication (ka)

 Creation of a link key Authentication

• Challenge-Response Based
– Claimant: intends to prove its identity, to be verified
– Verifier: validating the identity of another device
– Use challenge-response to verify whether the claimant
knows the secret (link key) or not . If fail, the claimant must
wait for an interval to try a new attempt.
– The waiting time is increased exponentially to defend the
“try-and-error” authentication attack
– Mutual authentication is supported
• Challenge (128-bit)
• Response (32-bit)
• 48-bit device address
 Confidentiality

• ACO (Authenticated Cipher Offset) is 96-bit,

generated during the authentication procedure
– ACO and the link key are never transmitted
• Encryption key Kc is generated from the current link
key
– Kc is 8-bit to 128-bit, negotiable between the master and
the slave Master suggests a key size Set the “minimum
acceptable” key size parameter to prevent a malicious user
from driving the key size down to the minimum of 8 bits
• The key stream is different for different packet since
slot number is different
 Three Encryption Modes for Confidentiality

• Encryption Mode 1: -- No encryption is

performed on any traffic
• Encryption Mode 2: -- Broadcast traffic
goes unprotected
– while uni cast traffic is protected by the unique
key
• Encryption Mode 3: -- All traffic is
encrypted
 Trust Levels, Service Levels
(authorization )

• Two trust levels: trusted and untrusted

– Trusted devices have full access right

– Untrusted devices have restricted service access

 Bluetooth Security Architecture

• Step 1: User input (initialization or pairing)

– Two devices need a common pin (1-16 bytes)
• Step 2: Authentication key (128-bit link key)
generation
– Possibly permanent, generated based on the PIN, device
address, random numbers, etc.
• Step 3: Encryption key (128 bits, store temporarily)
• Step 4: key stream generation for xor-ing the
payload
 Security cont.

• The security of the whole system relies on

the PIN which may be too short
– Users intend to use 4-digit short PINs, or even a
null PIN
• Utilized new cryptographic primitives, which
have not gone through enough security
analysis. (E0,E1,E20,E22) algorithms
 E0 algorithm
• The E0 algorithm is designed specifically for
Bluetooth
• E0 has gone many security analysis. When used in
Bluetooth mode, the security of E0 is decreased from
128-bit to 84-bit;
• when used outside of a Bluetooth system, its
effective security is only 39-bit
• A Bluetooth device resets the E0 key after every 240
output bits, severely limiting the amount of known
key stream that may be available to the cryptanalyst.
 Advantages (+)

• Wireless (No Cables)

• No Setup Needed
• Low Power Consumption (1 Milliwat)
• Industry Wide Support
 Disadvantages (-)

• Short range (10 meters)

• Small throughput rates
- Data Rate 1.0 Mbps
• Mostly for personal use (PANs)
• Fairly Expensive
 Bluetooth’s Future
•The future of this technology becoming a standard is likely

•With a strong industry pushing behind it, success is inevitable.

•Bluetooth will soon be known as Bluetooth 2.2 as they are trying to

develop the product to better fulfill the needs of consumers

•Often, with new technology, early changes mean

reconstruction. Not With Bluetooth, instead, there will be
an improvement to the existing standard.