Achievable data rates on simultaneously connected bluetooth low energy devices
Mirco Gysin, Andreas Daniel Müller, Andreas Rüst · Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften digital collection (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) · 2014
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has been optimized for low power and targets low data rate applications. However, there are applications where several peripherals are simultaneously connected to a central device, with the requirement of achieving moderate data rates for each connection. Available hardware and software stacks place limitations on the number of simultaneous connections as well as on the achievable data rates. This paper presents measurement results for different scenarios. On the central device side the explored options cover tablets based on Android and iOS as well as dongles that can be connected through a USB port. On the peripheral side several selected hardware set-ups (chips and modules) are measured and compared. Analysis of captured packets provides insight into why the reached data rates are often significantly lower than theoretically expected.