Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that enables the transmission of data between electronic devices over short distances. It was developed in 1994 to replace the use of RS-232 cables. Bluetooth operates on the unlicensed 2.4 GHz band and supports the creation of personal networks with a variety of digital devices such as mobile devices, personal computers, and MP3 players.

Unlike other wireless technologies, Bluetooth provides high-level services such as voice transmission, file pushing, and serial line emulation. Bluetooth uses frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology to communicate with up to seven devices, forming a network that is controlled by a master Bluetooth device. It employs the FreeBSD stack executed with a Netgraph framework through short wavelength radio transmission signals. Bluetooth devices are equipped with confidentiality, key derivation, and authentication features via Secure and Fast Encryption Routine (SAFER)+ block cipher algorithms.

The name “Bluetooth” is derived from the Scandinavian word “Blåtand/Blåtann,” which means “Bluetooth” in English. The name honors Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson I, a Danish king who united discordant Danish tribes into a single kingdom in the tenth century. Bluetooth was named after him to symbolize the unification of communication protocols into one universal standard.