Bluetooth Now or Low Energy: Should BLE Mesh Become a Flooding or Connection Oriented Network?

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) represents the low-power, low-cost extension of the Bluetooth communication technology envisioned for the Internet of Things. Mesh protocols on top of BLE are currently emerging and the standard is currently being released. This paper first proposes a detailed measurement based comparison of two mesh approaches that fit within BLE operation: flooding and connection oriented networking. Using metrics such as packet delivery ratio (PDR), end-to-end delay and power consumption we conclude that the optimal mesh approach depends on the application. It is shown that for a comparable performance in terms of PDR and overhead, flooding can trade a lower end-to-end delay for a higher power consumption when compared to the connected mesh. We then propose an architecture, called Bluetooth Now, that is able to automatically switch the network between the two based on message priority. Our measurement results confirm the reliable delivery of important and urgent data sent using the Bluetooth Now paradigm, while saving battery life when transmitting non-time critical messages.