Industries Where You Wouldn’t Necessarily Expect Bluetooth
Bluetooth technology finds its way to many not-so-obvious industries and products. It enables the creation of more diverse, useful devices that can truly take everyday life to another level. Today, we invite you on a little walkthrough examples of industries where you wouldn’t necessarily expect products with Bluetooth technology on board.
We’re certainly used to seeing and actively using Bluetooth on our smartphones, laptops, or earbuds. However, did you know that Bluetooth can be applied to many more devices representing various industries? We have prepared for you three examples: hearing aids, home appliances and healthcare. Let’s explore them together.
Hearing Aids
Did you know that some hearing aids use a short-range, low-power, wireless technology standard called Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)? One of the biggest advantages of having BLE in hearing aids is that you can adjust the volume level using just your smartphone with a dedicated mobile app. In some models, you can also tune other audio settings according to the user’s preferences or to the level and nature of hearing loss.
Bluetooth makes it also possible for hearing aids to connect with smartphones, tablets, TV, or even computers, which enables direct sound streaming straight to the user’s ears. Long story short – hearing aids work as a earbuds if leveraging Bluetooth Classic. Thanks to that, people suffering from hearing difficulties may be able to watch films and listen to music comfortably. Let’s get back to the units using BLE. Apart from adjusting volume, a Bluetooth mobile app connected to a hearing aid can tell you the state of the battery-inside, track whether the device is still in place, or even take your temperature, blood pressure, saturation and heart rate. Moreover, Bluetooth technology allows hearing aids software to be updated wirelessly using the Over The Air update method.
Home Appliances
Did you know that it’s possible to monitor the status of your electronic home appliances using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi? More and more vendors decide to use those technologies in their products as it’s a relatively easy way to make them more attractive and can bring much joy and simplicity to the buyer’s life.
Imagine waking up to a freshly made coffee, and noticing that your fridge is fully stocked so you can begin preparing your favorite breakfast right away. In the meantime, your living room is being vacuumed and your laundry washed – with no need for your participation. Of course, at any time you can monitor the progress of such operations, change them live, or program them for later. It’s not a future vision. Such solutions are already available on the market, and wireless technologies are what make them happen.
If you’d like to smarten up your home, there are plenty of smart appliances to choose from. AI washers, robot vacuums, air conditioning and filtering devices, water-saving dishwashers, automatic espresso machines, and refrigerators with touchscreens are only a few of them. Most of them can be operated via a Bluetooth-driven mobile app.
Healthcare
Bluetooth technology is also widely applied in the medical industry. Patients may encounter it while getting diagnosed, being treated at a facility, and even during the follow-up recovery process or rehabilitation. Some of the most common solutions leveraging Bluetooth are remote devices with sensors and medical wearables.
Actually, many people use Bluetooth-driven health-tracking devices on a daily basis without even thinking about it. A perfect example of such a solution is a personal health assistant in the form of a smartband, which monitors pulse, sleeping habits, stress level, and much more. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Interestingly enough, the healthcare market also offers smart hospital beds (ward and ICU) with electronic equipment and built-in sensors. They track the patient’s overall state, movements, and presence on the bed. Using wireless communication, they can send data to the monitoring room and even trigger an alarm. Such solutions can truly facilitate daily hospital or hospice care.
However, Bluetooth-based medical solutions don’t focus only on patients. Medical professionals can benefit from them as well, as they introduce various ways of safe facility management at the workplace, including digital access keys, asset tracking solutions, and station monitoring.
Looking for a partner experienced in Bluetooth?
At Comarch, we’re aware of the growing potential of Bluetooth implementation and look forward to innovating with it in upcoming connectivity projects. Our team already has vast experience in Bluetooth and other wireless protocol-driven products and is always happy to provide you with needed expertise or guidance.
If you’d like to discover more about solutions offered by Comarch, especially those involving software and hardware services, visit our website or contact us using the dedicated form.