"Virtual" BT pairing/bonding

Aug 05, 2011 2 Replies
D

Hi,



The act of pairing a BT device usually involves some degree of (human) interaction with the device, etc.



If a paired device moves beyond the coverage area of a particular (stationary) radio, that binding is effectively useless.


*However*, if the device enters the field of another radio and the "shared secret" can be conveyed (transparently) to the new radio (i.e., whatever is controlling that radio), then it *should* be possible for the device to continue operation ignorant of the change in the *physical* device (radio) with which it is now bonded.
[I.e., a number of carefully distributed radios could effectively extend the coverage area of the device without necessitating a new pairing operation each time the device moves into a new coverage area]

Are there any issues I may be missing, here? Some limit to the number of such overlapping "cells" that can be supported without too much interference impacting throughput?



Thx,



--don


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M

Correct. I develop and manufacture a BT communication device (slave) that is meant to be paired with a PC (master). The BT module I use, an LairdTech BISM2, can be configured to store up to 8 mac addresses the device is paired to. So if I pair it to two PC's, which requires manual intervention, it will automatically connect to either of those, whenever it is within radio range. So pairing needs to be done only once for each master. The same can be done with the modules itself. If two are configured as master, the paired slave will automatically connect to the master that is within range.

Meindert

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D

OK. But, I'm saying take this a step further -- let each radio masquerade as any *other* radio.

I.e., once paired to a particular (stationary *virtual* radio) move the key AND ("virtual") MAC ADDRESS to the physical radio that is "closer" to the device. So, conceivably, you could pair the device to an unlimited number of radios (because you are really only pairing to a single "virtual" radio and then shuffling that virtual radio around between physical radios)

[having your own OUI would simplify this but it should still be possible with careful management of "real" MAC addresses]

Where you've designed a device with this special capability, I'm trying to approach it from the other end -- use an off-the-shelf device (that can be paired to a single radio) and make all the radios conspire to look like a single one.

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