Texas Instruments launched this morning software that it says will drive further adoption of wearable electronic devices.
The company says its BLE-Stack 1.2 Bluetooth low-energy application software, to be used in conjunction with the company’s CC254x system-on-a-chip products, will further the cause by better optimizing power consumption — vital for lightweight, mobile electronics.
The software uses version 4.0 of the Bluetooth protocol, which is designed to keep the functionality of the original version while driving down cost and energy consumption and bolstering connectivity and security.
For example, a new master-slave switching feature allows a device to support both modes at the same time — allowing a Bluetooth-connected watch to rapidly switch between connecting to a heart rate monitor (to gather data) and a smartphone (to display or collect it).
Similarly, the technology can give a heads-up display more functionality by allowing the wearer to see caller ID, text messages and other information from the smartphone in their pocket.
Photo: Google’s Project Glass.
