Solutions for implementing a Multihop Topology for Bluetooth Low Energy
Master thesis
Permanent lenke
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2616050Utgivelsesdato
2015Metadata
Vis full innførselSamlinger
Sammendrag
While the Bluetooth Low Energy standard is able to provide unmatched accessibility andpower consumption, it lacks proper support for multihop topologies, which severely limits itsapplicability in scenarios where the network is expected to cover distances beyond the reachof a single device's radio range.This thesis addresses the topology-shortcoming in the Bluetooth Low Energy standard byanalyzing challenges related to the design of a mesh network topology extension for theexisting standard, and presents solutions for an implementation.During the design process, a wireless network simulator is designed and implemented, inorder to provide the candidate with an additional tool for development. The simulator ispublished as an open source project on the repository hosting website GitHub, in hopes offuture usage in other similar design processes. The simulator becomes a central part of thedesign process during development, as it provides fast feedback to the candidate regardingthe quality of the various solutions attempted. At the end of the design phase of the project,the simulator features a full-edged implementation of the design, which is published alongwith the simulator.As part of the work conducted to qualify various approaches to network structure, a networkbackbone formation algorithm is designed and compared to existing solutions for the subject.The algorithm performs well compared to its competitors, but fails to provide consistentnetwork wide backbone connectivity.Towards the end of the thesis work, the solution design is implemented for the nRF51 seriesmicrocontroller by Nordic Semiconductor. The nRF51 implementation is focused on providinga solid basis for future development, and is expected to be extended upon during thecandidate's future cooperation with Nordic Semiconductor.While the nal design presented in the thesis paper fails to meet the initial expectations tofunctionality, which were proven far too ambitious for the time allocated for the project, thecandidate is condent that the solutions that are implemented provides all the performanceand functionality that can be expect from the solution, and will be able to act as a basis fora design that could compete with all existing solutions for the intended application areas.This thesis work is conducted in cooperation with Nordic Semiconductor ASA, representedby David Edwin, and builds upon the candidate's prestudy on the topic.