A First Look at Bluetooth
Channel Sounding

Over the last 25 years, we have seen Bluetooth® technology advance from a point-to-point connectivity solution for personal audio peripherals to support a complete network of low-power wireless devices that help commercial and industrial environments maintain high levels of operational efficiency.

The forthcoming update to the Bluetooth Core Specification adds a new feature called Bluetooth Channel Sounding. This feature allows developers to create an exciting range of products and applications that leverage the Bluetooth Channel Sounding’s secure fine-ranging capability.

What Is Bluetooth Channel Sounding

Bluetooth Channel Sounding is the most recent addition to a set of Bluetooth positioning features that enable one device to determine the presence, distance, and direction of another. This new feature enables secure, fine ranging between devices​ and:

• Is based on the well-proven method of phase-based ranging
• Supports multi-level security that mitigates the risk of wireless ranging attacks
• Enables high-accuracy distance measurement, bringing true distance awareness to Bluetooth connected devices

The new Bluetooth Channel Sounding feature makes it possible to create products that can calculate the distance between two Bluetooth devices with significantly better accuracy than could ever be produced using the RSSI and path loss first-generation method. It works in an entirely different way and includes a variety of security safeguards that mitigate various types of risk.

The technical flexibility of Bluetooth Channel Sounding means that developers can prioritize whichever aspect of ranging that matters the most, be it security, accuracy, or latency. Not all applications are the same and this has been recognized and catered for in the design of the Bluetooth Channel Sounding feature. Developers have been given the freedom to decide what matters most to them and their users in the implementation of their products.

Bluetooth Channel Sounding: A Technical Overview

Recently, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) released a new paper that provides an overview of Bluetooth Channel Sounding and gives a technical perspective as to what developers can expect from this new Bluetooth feature.

Bluetooth Channel Sounding and the ability to perform secure fine ranging presents the opportunity to enhance the convenience, safety, and security of many Bluetooth connected devices. Presence detection, course ranging, direction finding, and now fine ranging can each be used separately or in combination to create spatially aware products and applications that end users and business enterprises can benefit from.

Check out Bluetooth Channel Sounding: A Technical Overview to learn more.