Analytical and empirical evaluation of the impact of Gaussian noise on the modulations employed by Bluetooth Enhanced Data Rates

Bluetooth (BT) is a leading technology for the deployment of wireless Personal Area Networks and Body Area Networks. Versions 2.0 and 2.1 of the standard, which are massively implemented in commercial devices, improve the throughput of the BT technology by enabling the so-called Enhanced Data Rates (EDR). EDRs are achieved by utilizing new modulation techniques (π/4-DQPSK and 8-DPSK), apart from the typical Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying modulation supported by previous versions of BT. This manuscript presents and validates a model to characterize the impact of white noise on the performance of these modulations. The validation is systematically accomplished in a testbed with actual BT interfaces and a calibrated white noise generator.