The use of bluetooth mesh networking in IoT-aware applications

Bluetooth is the most widely used short-range wireless technology today. It is present in many ubiquitous devices such as tablet, personal computers, smartphones, speakers, headphones, smartwatches, to name a few. It is also used as communication protocol in many medical devices and smart home devices. In addition, its unique broadcast feature makes it a leading choice in the beacon market. Bluetooth, especially the low-energy version, is also competing in the Internet of Things field where it is included in most so-called smart things. Furthermore, with the introduction of the Bluetooth Mesh standard, it has found space in even more Internet of Things products and applications. Bluetooth mesh can solve the problems of large-scale network systems, among which building automation is a good example. In this paper, the role of the Bluetooth Mesh Networking in Internet of Things applications is discussed, and an example of application of this emerging technology in the field of building automation is shown through the use of a commercial developer kit.