Tree network based on Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless sensor network applications

This paper presents an implementation of a tree network topology which serves as the network backbone for a wireless sensor network (WSN) that is composed out of advanced Bluetooth low energy (BLE) wireless technology. Bluetooth LE supports the star network topology; however the tree network topology is not supported. To implement a tree topology, three different nodes are designed: the central or the root node which collects all the data, the intermediate node formed by combining two Bluetooth devices in one package and the leaf node which is the lowest node of the network. Important WSN parameters such as ranges between nodes, power consumption and latency are evaluated. According to the test results, it can be concluded that the tree topology can be used with Bluetooth low energy for the purposes of range extension, extending the number of network nodes or even just data processing by the central node.