TMCP: Two-layer multicast communication protocol for Bluetooth radio networks

Bluetooth is a low power, low cost, and short-range wireless technology developed for Personal Area Networks (PANs). A Bluetooth multicast group is a set of Bluetooth devices that desire for periodically receiving the multicast messages from the same source. For reducing the propagation delay and saving the bandwidth and energy consumptions, a multicast tree which connects all multicast members serves for the delivery of multicast messages. However, a given connected scatternet topology may not be appropriate for constructing an efficient multicast tree and hence causes power consumption and end-to-end delay. This paper develops a two-layer multicast communication protocol (TMCP) using role switching techniques for constructing an efficient multicast tree. The proposed TMCP collects as many as possible the members into the same piconet, reduces the length of multicast paths and assigns each member with a proper role. The constructed multicast tree has several features including as few as possible the non-member devices, the smallest tree level and the minimal propagation delay. Experiment results show that the TMCP offers efficient multicast service with low power consumption and small delay.