Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is quickly becoming the Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity protocol of choice for a variety of use cases, including smart lighting, smart cities and asset tracking, where low-cost, power consumption and small footprint are fundamental requirements. According to the 2018 Bluetooth Market Update, there will be more than 5 billion Bluetooth device shipments by 2022, with 97% of them containing Bluetooth Low Energy technology. The advances in Bluetooth 5 technology, along with the introduction of Bluetooth Mesh are driving new market opportunities across building automation, sensor networks, and other IoT solutions.
However, we as an industry still need to make it easier and more secure for organizations and developers to add BLE to their IoT devices to drive adoption levels to new heights. The Arm Cordio BLE Stack, continues to push the envelope in enabling developers to build-in the right IoT connectivity solution for their application and market. To further enhance our developer support, today at Bluetooth World, we are launching Arm Mbed Cordio Stack , the world’s first open-source, fully-qualified and production-ready Bluetooth Low Energy software stack, which gives developers even more flexibility in developing new IoT solutions with BLE connectivity.
Twice the data rate with Bluetooth 5
ARM has stated that Bluetooth 5 supports 2x the data rate, 4x the range and 8x the broadcast capability compared to the previous version, Bluetooth 4.2. We have integrated our Arm Cordio BLE stack with our free, open-source embedded operating system, Mbed OS. The company claims to have 350,000+ Mbed developer ecosystem can initially innovate through a full Bluetooth 5 stack as well as get forthcoming access to Bluetooth Mesh through Mbed OS.
For silicon partners, the solution gives them access to a full-featured, production-ready Bluetooth 5 stack as part of their Mbed OS offering and the ability to port to additional platforms. Having complete open source access to the stack, removes the risk of relying on a stack vendor, and allows them to meet changing requirements where full source code availability is critical.
The addition of Bluetooth 5 to an already robust set of Mbed OS connectivity options (Thread, Wi-Fi, 6LoWPAN, LoRa, cellular) enables developers to build the flexible, secure and connected IoT solutions best suited for their markets. These devices can then be securely connected and managed through the Pelion IoT Platform, further reducing the complexity of implementing and driving value from IoT. Arm is opening up the market to a wider range of developers and organizations, enabling partners to focus on innovation, differentiation and adding value through their IoT solutions.
