Whispering Bluetooth cells last ten years

New Ultra Low Power spec (aka Wibree) enables devices to swap data without draining batteries

A Bluetooth chip announced today is so frugal that it can run for ten years on a single button-cell battery.

It includes a technology, originally known as Wibree, which was adopted today by the governing Bluetooth Special Interest Group and renamed Ultra Low Power (ULP) Bluetooth.

It is designed to enable devices to exchange small amounts of data over short distances. One example is a watch holding an address book that can use Wibree to instruct a mobile phone to ring a chosen number. It can also be used by medical sensors or even TV remote controls.

The chip will come in two forms: a standalone version for the client device, and a full-blown Bluetooth chip with a ULP mode.

Bluetooth specialist Cambridge Silicon Radio has already produced a version of the latter in sample volumes for device manufacturers. Products using it are expected to be available next year.

A spokesman for the company said ULP standalones will not be able to talk to the current generation of Bluetooth devices. "But we expect ULP to be implemented in most next-generation Bluetooth products because the additional cost is negligible… about ten to 20 Euro cents per device," he added.

CSR chief executive John Scarisbrick said: “ULP Bluetooth opens the door to a new class of wireless applications with considerable market potential.”

It is not yet clear how ULP Bluetooth will play against Zigbee, another emerging ultra-low-power wireless technology. But Zigbee is designed for use in mesh networks – typically a population of sensors; ULP is targeted more at simple device-to-device links.

Nick Hunn, chief executive of wireless specialist Ezurio, said product designers need to start thinking now about how to use the new technology in products. His white paper on the subject is available here .