Protocol Stack and Profile Library Simplify Embedding Of Bluetooth

Cambridge Consultants' Bluetooth protocol stack, BlueStack, and profile library, Interface Express, are optimized for deeply embedded applications with limited hardware resources. They offer an efficient and simple-to-apply platform for embedding Bluetooth at minimal cost. Interaction between profiles and the host application is reduced through an optimised API design. For example, a single API call registers a profile, providing a multitude of settings such as security, device visibility, and service discovery records. The software also features a compact and efficient memory management subsystem, giving developers complete control over how much system RAM is used by the Bluetooth firmware. The load on the host's processing resources is also minimized by “zero copy” data transmission and reception functionality, which ensures that data is not copied unnecessarily between RAM locations.

Interface Express and BlueStack have been engineered for portability, and will run on virtually any platform and operating system. Among the processors that the software has already been ported to are ARM, Calypso, HC6811, MIPS, XAP, and V850. Operating system implementations include Windows, WinCE, QNX, Linux, Nucleus Plus, and Bare-board. The software also comes with its own real-time scheduler, making it easy to use without an operating system. The library of application profiles available to OEMs includes: A2DP, BIP, BPP, CTP, DUN, FAX, FTP, HCRP, ICP, HFP, HID, HSP, LAN, OPP, PAN, PBAP, SAP, SPP, and SYNC.