Bluetooth® Mesh

Bluetooth Mesh is an optional enhancement to Bluetooth Low Energy that adds a topology for interoperable, vendor-agnostic many-to-many (m:m) device communications. It enables the creation of large-scale device networks and is ideally suited for control, monitoring, tracking and automation systems where tens, hundreds, or thousands of devices need to reliably and securely communicate with one another.

Standard Bluetooth® and Bluetooth® Low Energy are designed around a combination of broadcasting (as used for advertising data and Bluetooth® beacons) and one-to-one device connections. Multiple connections can be used to create star networks, piconets and scatternets. However, without using custom protocols, only a few devices can be connected in each network and connection range is limited.

Bluetooth Mesh overcomes these limitations by adding a protocol layer that enables mesh networks of many devices, where multi-hop message forwarding is used to extend the area of network coverage. The addition of multipath message delivery and advanced multilayer security ensures that communications are safe, secure and reliable.

Originally developed and marketed by CSR plc (now part of Qualcomm) as CSR Mesh, the Bluetooth Mesh standards are now controlled by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), ensuring the compatibility of all Mesh devices regardless of vendor.

Benefits Over Standard Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy

• Creates networks of up to 32,767 nodes and up to 4,096 subnets
• Extends network range by adding multi-hop communications
• Improves system reliability with multipath message delivery
• Managed flood design minimises device requirements and network latency
• Provides state-of-the-art multi-layer security, including device authentication, encryption and obfuscation
• Allows for client (sensor), server (logging / display) and controller devices
• Allows for gateway devices to connect beyond the mesh network
• Compatible with beacon functionality and smartphone connectivity
• Opens up IoT applications that previously required Zigbee or other non-Bluetooth mesh network technologies

Our Expertise
Kingston Wireless staff have been working with Bluetooth® Low Energy for more than a decade, including contributing to the development of the on-chip firmware of one of the first single-mode BLE devices back in 2009. We have also been working with CSR Mesh and (subsequently) Bluetooth Mesh since early 2014, and worked on our own Bluetooth Classic-based mesh network technology several years before that. During this time, we have developed a number of mesh-based products including a lighting control system, an asset tracking system and an industrial communications system. For some of these systems, we also developed smartphone companion apps and/or PC applications.

How We Can Help You
With our in-depth knowledge of the Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® Low Energy and Bluetooth Mesh protocols, and of the broader Bluetooth industry, we are ideally placed to help you develop the products you want. We can help you analyse your requirements and tailor them to work within the constraints of the Bluetooth specifications. We can implement your product design for you and can provide companion apps for Android, iOS, Windows and macOS.

We will make sure that what is delivered will work for you and will work alongside existing Bluetooth systems. We can support our customers through acceptance testing and qualification of the software system.