An adaptive segmentation scheme for the Bluetooth-based wireless channel

Bluetooth has been regarded as a promising solution for wireless connection between hand-held devices. In Bluetooth, a message is segmented into short packets to be transmitted over different frequency bands to randomize error occurrences. There are various kinds of packets with different sizes and error-handling schemes. Since each packet type has its own performance characteristics, care must be taken in selecting a packet type. This paper proposes an adaptive method that selects the best packet type depending on the condition of the channel. One of challenging issues in the proposed scheme is how to predict the packet error rate of one packet type from another. We interpolate packet error rates of different packets based on a uniform bit error model. Based on the packet error rates obtained from the interpolation, the proposed scheme selects a packet type that leads to the best performance. We also propose a revised scheme that works even when bit errors occur in a non-uniform pattern. The proposed scheme is especially useful in a harsh environment where the bit error rate is worse than 10/sup -4/.