An interference-aware and energy-saving connection protocol for Bluetooth radio networks

Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) are two of the most popular communication standards which define a physical and a MAC layers for wireless transmissions and operate on 2.4 GHz ISM band. To avoid the rich interference existed in ISM band, Bluetooth adopts a time-slotted frequency-hopping spread-spectrum scheme, preventing from the interference for a long time on specific channel. However, the coexistence of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in the neighborhood will degrade the performances of both networks because the two wireless technologies cannot negotiate with each other. This paper presents a novel Bluetooth network construction mechanism which takes into account the frequencies occupied by WiFi and thus constructs an efficient Bluetooth network, aiming at minimizing the interference from Wi-Fi transmissions, when they coexist in the same space. Performance study reveals that the proposed connection protocol reduces the interference between Bluetooth and WiFi and thereby saves the energy of Bluetooth radio networks.