Intra-Piconet Polling Algorithms in Bluetooth

Bluetooth is an emerging standard for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs): short range, ad hoc wireless networks [1]. Originally, Bluetooth was envisaged as a wireless cable replacement technique, which is why the basic RF range of Bluetooth devices is only about 10 meters [2]. However, the number of possible uses of Bluetooth have increased to include different networking tasks between computers and computer-controlled devices such as PDAs, mobile phones, smart peripherals, and others. However, Bluetooth networks operate in a rather different manner from other wireless networks. Furthermore, many important aspects of communication using Bluetooth networks are not defined by the current Bluetooth specification [2]. Such aspects include the manner in which the master polls its slaves, the scheduling algorithms for Bluetooth scatternets, the preferred scatternet topology (or topologies), and others. Quality of service is supported in a very limited manner, too. All of these aspects, however, play a crucial role in determining the performance of Bluetooth networks, which is ultimately one of the main criteria for their wider acceptance in the marketplace. Performance analysis of Bluetooth networks is an important research topic addressed by many researchers. Yet, because of the differences from other networks, known performance analysis results from other wireless networks cannot be directly applied in the Bluetooth environment. In this chapter, we will review and roughly classify existing algorithms for intra-piconet polling. We will also describe some of the topics that deserve future research attention.