Bluetooth: History and Its Impacts

Bluetooth was developed in the late 1990s and soon achieved mass popularity in consumer devices. Bluetooth is a short form of communication technology that uses radio waves, so if it weren’t for the discovery of the radio, Bluetooth would not exist! Back in the 1800’s, Heinrich Hertz proved that electromagnetic waves could be transmitted through the air rather than a wire, thus discovering radio waves. After the radio had been invented, Dr. Jaap Haartsen wanted to find short-range radio connections, unknowingly discovering Bluetooth. 

In 1994, Ericsson’s Mobile Terminal Division wanted to find a way to expand the functionality of mobile phones which had been growing in popularity. This Swedish manufacturer of mobile telephones had been developing a technology for several years that was aimed at freeing computers, phones, and other devices from the wires required to transfer data between them. 

Dr. Haartsen experimented and finally created a technology that used UHF radio waves at 2.4 GHz. Not only was he able to make this protocol, but while it was operating, it would consume a low amount of energy as well. Dr. Haartsen then had to devise a way to use frequency hopping techniques to ensure that Bluetooth connections were reliable and tolerant to interference. 

In 1996, industry leaders from Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia met to discuss how this protocol could be standardized between short-range radio technology to support connectivity and collaboration between different products and industries.

But first, the wireless protocol needed a name. Because this new technology had not been named yet, one of the employees, Jim Kardach, suggested they could use a code name in reference before formally naming it.

Kardach had been reading about Harald Gormsson, a famous viking king, who was nicknamed “Bluetooth” because he was said to have had a rotting front tooth that looked blue-ish gray. Harald was famous for uniting Denmark and Norway, and because Kardach thought that was similar to their work trying to unite cellular industries with short-range wireless links, he suggested the name “Bluetooth.” It was never meant to stick, but when it came time to give the protocol a proper name, patents and licensing made it impossible to find something else. The Bluetooth name was supposed to be replaced with either Radio Wire or PAN (Personal Area Networking).

The Bluetooth logo is the combination of the Nordic characters for “H” and “B,” or the initials of Harald Bluetooth. 

 

 

Two years later, Ericsson assembled a group of computer and electronics companies, known as the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group), to bring the technology to the consumer market, hiring major tech companies and industry leaders. This group still exists today, overseeing updates and features to newer versions of Bluetooth. SIG licensed trademarks and filed patents that made Bluetooth a standard for wireless communication,. This also prevented others from creating a similar protocol, which is why there aren’t any other similar competitors to Bluetooth on the market today. 

After creating Bluetooth, fixing up the technical difficulties, and naming it, finally, the first ever Bluetooth device was released. In 1999, a hands-free mobile headset launched, alongside the first Bluetooth 1.0 specification.

More well known than the headset is the Ericsson t36, which was the first ever mobile phone to utilize Bluetooth technology, released in 2000. The Ericsson t39 became an accessible way for consumers to start using wireless technology in their daily lives. However, its functionality was nothing compared to what we have today. Today, nearly every single smart device uses Bluetooth technology!

Now, twenty-five years later, Bluetooth 5.0 is two times faster, has four times more range, and eight times more capacity. Today, in the era of technological advances, Bluetooth technology is by far at the front of the technological train. Bluetooth has changed everything from the way we talk to people on phones from where we work. In the few decades since it was first introduced, Bluetooth has become so widespread that an entire generation of consumers may not be able to remember a time without it. 

ABI Research estimates that five billion Bluetooth-enabled devices will ship to consumers this year! 

Bluetooth is now in everything from smartphones to refrigerators to light bulbs. Cell phones with Bluetooth technology are completely wireless and compatible with any computer, air pods, and now navigational systems in a car. Bluetooth has allowed phones to stay in their pockets when people drive and also has voice activation! 

If you would like to call someone you can simply speak the name and the phone will dial. You have the option of an air pod or a wireless headphone if you’d like to listen to music without the two-feet confines of wired earbuds. 

Bluetooth even makes sharing photos easier and faster with the “airdrop” feature. Since the invention of Bluetooth, life has been made faster and more products have been made accessible to people around the world. 

Bluetooth is not all good, however. Many speculate that the radiation exposure from these constant Bluetooth devices is affecting our health. However, we are always experiencing radiation from our other devices as well. While Bluetooth devices emit radiation, it is at a much lower level than cell phones. Unfortunately, more precise statements on the harmfulness of Bluetooth radiation cannot be made because the long-term effect of Bluetooth radiation on human health has never been studied. 

In its twenty-five years of being open to the public, Bluetooth has revolutionized the way people interact with each other, themselves, and their products. Without this communication technology, our world would not be as connected as it is today. 

For the history of Bluetooth, I read from this article, this article from Britannica, and this article. To find the current benefits of Bluetooth, I read this article and this CNN article.To find the negative effects of Bluetooth, I read this article.