sensors Review Bluetooth 5.1: An Analysis of Direction Finding Capability for High-Precision Location Services Giovanni Pau 1 , Fabio Arena 1 , Yonas Engida Gebremariam 2 and Ilsun You 2,3,* 1 Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Kore University of Enna, 94100 Enna, Italy;
[email protected] (G.P.);
[email protected] (F.A.) 2 Department of ICT Environmental Health System, Graduate School, Soonchunhyang University, Asan 31538, Korea;
[email protected] 3 Department of Information Security Engineering, Soonchunhyang University, Asan 31538, Korea * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: This paper presents an in-depth overview of the Bluetooth 5.1 Direction Finding standard’s potentials, thanks to enhancing the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) firmware. This improvement allows producers to create location applications based on the Angle of Departure (AoD) and the Angle of Arrival (AoA). Accordingly, it is conceivable to design proper Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS), for instance, for the traceability of resources, assets, and people. First of all, Radio Frequency (RF) radiogoniometry techniques, helpful in calculating AoA and AoD angles, are introduced in this paper. Subsequently, the topic relating to signal direction estimation is deepened. The Bluetooth Core Specification updates concerning version 5.1, both at the packet architecture and prototyping levels, are also reported. Some suitable platforms and development kits for running the new features are then presented, and some basic applications are illustrated. This paper’s final part allows ascertaining Citation: Pau, G.; Arena, F.; the improvement made by this new definition of BLE and possible future developments, especially Gebremariam, Y.E.; You, I. Bluetooth concerning applications related to devices, assets, or people’s indoor localization.