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Modeling the Trade-off between Throughput and Reliability in a Bluetooth Low Energy Connection

Bozheng Pang, Tim Claeys, Hans Hallez, Jeroen Boydens

TL;DR

The paper tackles the problem of how interference affects BLE throughput while reliability remains critical, and introduces a novel throughput model that is linked to a reliability model from prior work. It employs a Markov-chain framework to capture retransmission behavior under interference, reducing the process to three transaction states and deriving a transition matrix that depends on BLE parameters such as the number of transactions per interval $x$ and transition probabilities $P_1$–$P_6$. The theoretical models are validated through extensive practical experiments across diverse scenarios, enabling quantitative Pareto analyses of throughput versus reliability. The resulting insights provide design-level guidelines for deploying and configuring BLE systems to balance throughput and reliability in interference-rich environments.

Abstract

The use of Bluetooth Low Energy in low-range Internet of Things systems is growing exponentially. Similar to other wireless communication protocols, throughput and reliability are two key performance metrics in Bluetooth Low Energy communications. However, electromagnetic interference from various sources can heavily affect the performance of wireless devices, leading to dropped throughput and unreliable communication. Therefore, there is a need for both theoretical and practical studies capable of quantifying the BLE communication performance, e.g. throughput and reliability, subject to interference. In this paper, a mathematical model to predict throughput of a BLE connection under interference is derived first, and linked to the reliability model we developed in [1]. After that, extensive practical experiments are performed in various scenarios to sufficiently validate the theoretical results from both models. Finally, the trade-off between throughput and reliability is investigated through the validated models to give some inside properties of BLE communications. The similarity between the theoretical results and the experimental ones highlights the accuracy of the proposed throughput and reliability models. Hence, the two models can be used to explore the performance of various BLE designs or deployments from diverse perspectives.

Modeling the Trade-off between Throughput and Reliability in a Bluetooth Low Energy Connection

TL;DR

The paper tackles the problem of how interference affects BLE throughput while reliability remains critical, and introduces a novel throughput model that is linked to a reliability model from prior work. It employs a Markov-chain framework to capture retransmission behavior under interference, reducing the process to three transaction states and deriving a transition matrix that depends on BLE parameters such as the number of transactions per interval and transition probabilities –. The theoretical models are validated through extensive practical experiments across diverse scenarios, enabling quantitative Pareto analyses of throughput versus reliability. The resulting insights provide design-level guidelines for deploying and configuring BLE systems to balance throughput and reliability in interference-rich environments.

Abstract

The use of Bluetooth Low Energy in low-range Internet of Things systems is growing exponentially. Similar to other wireless communication protocols, throughput and reliability are two key performance metrics in Bluetooth Low Energy communications. However, electromagnetic interference from various sources can heavily affect the performance of wireless devices, leading to dropped throughput and unreliable communication. Therefore, there is a need for both theoretical and practical studies capable of quantifying the BLE communication performance, e.g. throughput and reliability, subject to interference. In this paper, a mathematical model to predict throughput of a BLE connection under interference is derived first, and linked to the reliability model we developed in [1]. After that, extensive practical experiments are performed in various scenarios to sufficiently validate the theoretical results from both models. Finally, the trade-off between throughput and reliability is investigated through the validated models to give some inside properties of BLE communications. The similarity between the theoretical results and the experimental ones highlights the accuracy of the proposed throughput and reliability models. Hence, the two models can be used to explore the performance of various BLE designs or deployments from diverse perspectives.
Paper Structure (4 sections, 1 equation, 3 figures)

This paper contains 4 sections, 1 equation, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Mathematical Models
  3. Background
  4. Throughput Model

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Graphical representation of possible status of transactions in BLE communications, in the form of a Markov chain.
  • Figure 2: One step of Markov chain simplification by eliminating the status normal transaction in Fig. \ref{['fig:fig01']}.
  • Figure 3: Final simplified version of the Markov chain to represent the three possible outcomes of a single transaction. The three possible outcomes are (1) Success, (2) Fail (open), and (3) Fail (close).