Invisible Connections: The What, Why, and How of Bluetooth

We all have stories of when Bluetooth has gotten on our nerves. From constantly refreshing to check if the device finally shows up to pair, or dancing around with your earphones as it only wants to connect one at a time. Hopefully, it doesn’t annoy you too much, as it is everywhere now. This invention has made our lives hassle-free, letting us be free of a tangled, wired mess. Connection at an instant. A connection that isn’t seen. Modern life depends heavily on invisible systems: Wi-Fi, GPS, cellular networks, cloud storage and so on. But despite relying so heavily, how much do we really know about Bluetooth?

Bluetooth feels like sorcery. It can’t be seen or felt, but it gets the job done. It works on radio waves to send data between devices at short distances. A Piconet is formed. A Piconet is a small network formed when Bluetooth devices connect and assign roles to one another. The roles may involve one device controlling the other, like a phone controlling the headphones, or both devices being equals, when data is being shared between two phones. Bluetooth operates at gigahertz frequencies and typically requires 2.4 milliwatts of power to function. To put things into perspective, a simple laser uses 5 milliwatts. Despite using very little power, Bluetooth can constantly maintain connections between multiple devices simultaneously. There are so many devices around; how do these connections not affect each other? To prevent interference between nearby devices, Bluetooth relies on frequency hopping. It relies on the digital address that the manufacturer programs in each device. Just like a human’s fingerprint, each address is unique and one-of-a-kind.

Previous technology had its own limitations. Its wired nature led to a want for something more portable, convenient and easier to connect. In 1989, Dr Nils Rydbeck and Dr Johan Ullman were trying to develop wireless headphones. They took the help of Dr Jaap Haartsen’s expertise, who later made the breakthrough in 1998. By the 1990s, technology was becoming increasingly portable, but most devices still depended heavily on cables. Headphones needed cables, phones needed landlines, and there were wires everywhere. Engineers wanted a simpler and more universal way for devices to communicate wirelessly. Wireless connection wasn’t an astonishing idea as three companies were already working on it: Intel, Ericsson and Nokia. They agreed on a standard short-range radio technology rather than each company having its own, for better connectivity. Hence, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was developed. Within the Bluetooth SIG, engineers from various technology companies came together to ensure that various devices could connect. This explains why Bluetooth is the norm and readily available across several companies rather than being monopolised by a single brand.

Bluetooth may be a modern invention, but its name is medieval. Intel’s Jim Kardach proposed to call this new technology “Bluetooth” after the 10th-century Viking ruler, Harold “Bluetooth” Gormsson. The symbolism behind the name is surprisingly fitting. Kardach was inspired by his story of uniting Norway and Denmark and found it to be a fitting name for a technology that connects, not only between devices, but between competing brands as well. He was nicknamed blue tooth as he was believed to have a rotten tooth that appeared blue.  The name is not the only tribute to the King. The logo at first glance seems simply geometric, but is made up of the Nordic runes for the letters “h” and “b”, the initials of Harold Bluetooth. Name-wise, Bluetooth does stand out. Though centuries old, the name matches the concept of its invention, but more importantly, it feels more human than all the other stuff in the market. Technology companies rarely choose names with historical meaning anymore. Instead, everything is now named a different synonym of the same tech word with several numbers that follow.

Bluetooth is only one part of a much larger wireless world. Wi-Fi routers, GPS satellites, cellular towers, and wireless devices are constantly exchanging information around us. What feels like “nothing” around us is actually filled with communication. Nobody can survive without Wi-Fi anymore, and nobody wants to use their cellular data. Wi-Fi connects homes and public spaces. The focus is on connecting spaces rather than individual devices. It feels like we hit the jackpot when we find a password-free network. Cellular networks, on the other hand, allow instant communication across distances. Through it we text, call and have mobile internet. Now, cell towers are so abundant that not getting a range feels unnatural. Global Positioning System, or GPS, allows real-time navigation and tracking. Unless you have strict parents or are a criminal, your location must always be on. GPS helps people navigate, track locations, and access real-time directions by communicating with satellites through invisible wireless signals. Wireless connections once felt futuristic, but now we only seem to care when it is not working.

Bluetooth may seem like a small piece of modern technology, but it reflects a much larger shift toward silent communication. Bluetooth changed how devices interact with each other. More importantly, it changed how we interact with technology. This wasn’t an individual effort. Besides the aforementioned engineers, there were several others whose work and studies contributed to the Bluetooth we know and use today. It is not always that companies come together to work on a technology together, rather than racing each other to see who can invent it first. With the help of radio waves, Bluetooth has become a routine part of everyday life; the technology behind it remains extraordinary. But people rarely stop to think about how strange these systems really are. Bluetooth technology itself has never changed; people simply got used to it.