1、The Benefits of Bluetooth LE Connectivity in Power ToolsBy:Kiruba Subramani,System Engineer,Silicon Labs andPaul Daigle,Senior Product Marketing Manager,Industrial IoT,Silicon L recent years,industrial tool manufacturers have started to incorporate wireless connectivity into their products to enable

2、 a wide array of features including power tool tracking,configuration updates from a smartphone app,geofencing for theft prevention,real-time performance monitoring,and over-the-air(OTA)updates.Loss prevention in particular is an important concern for many customers because it not only requires the

3、replacement of a tool,but also reduces productivity due to unplanned downtime.Likewise,customers are also worried about the security concerns arising from counterfeits and tampering.The addition of a Bluetooth module can help address the loss prevention concern by employing location services based o

4、n Bluetooth Received Signal Strength Indications(RSSI),Bluetooth Angle of Arrival/Angle of Departure(AoA/AoD),and the upcoming High Accuracy Distance Measurement(HADM)techniques.With the help of these ranging solutions,customers can establish geofencing and receive alert messages if the tool leaves

5、the defined boundary.Concerns over security,on the other hand,can be addressed by selecting a wireless module that supports tamper detection,signed firmware,and secure bootloader.Power tool accountability is another emerging trend in this segment,where customers want the ability to customize tool co

6、nfigurations based on the user experience level and the job being performed.Finally,customers want to enable predictive maintenance in their tools to improve the product lifecycle and value.With the inclusion of a Bluetooth module and an accompanying smartphone app,manufacturers can enable users to