Silicon Labs Announces Availability of Bluetooth Software for Location Services

Silicon Labs released Bluetooth software with a direction-finding feature for its Wireless Gecko IoT portfolio, it said Monday. Targeted to the location services market, the feature allows devices to determine the direction of a Bluetooth signal and supports multiple methods for determining signal direction including angle-of-arrival and angle-of departure within 5 degrees, said the company. Previous solutions for the target market have provided location accuracy within 3-4 meters; Si Labs’ Bluetooth 5.1 improves accuracy to the sub-1-meter level, enabling applications not previously possible, it said. Other attributes of Bluetooth 5.1: It reduces power consumption with sleep clock accuracy updates; improves smart home connection performance using generic attribute profile caching; and optimizes beaconing for Bluetooth mesh in crowded RF environments with the advertisement channel index feature, it said.