Demonstrating the next step in the on-going evolution of wireless Personal Area Networking (PAN) functionality, Alereon is hosting the industry's first public demonstration of Bluetooth+WiMedia ultrawideband (UWB) operating smoothly together under an existing Bluetooth software stack. The demonstration, held in the WiMedia TechZone at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week, utilizes BLUEtusk software from Open Interface to send UWB signals using Bluetooth protocols.

Bluetooth version 2.0 devices operate at data rates that can be frustratingly slow for large files and inadequate for video streaming. Open Interface's BLUEtusk application combines the interoperability and ease of use of Bluetooth with the bandwidth of WiMedia UWB to transfer data at speeds that enable audio and video streaming.

About the Demonstration

The demonstration offers an initial view of this important wireless pairing and features two laptops, each enabled with a UWB module and Bluetooth dongle. Attendees will first see a pure Bluetooth to Bluetooth demonstration with a file transfer between laptops that operates at a maximum rate of well under 3 Mbps and takes several minutes. Next, the UWB radios will use Open Interface's BLUEtusk(TM) software solution to leverage the software stack of Bluetooth while operating the Alereon WiMedia radio. Achieving up to 480 Mbps, the file transfer happens almost instantaneously with Alereon's recently announced EVB4002 radio operating under the Bluetooth software stack.