On the use of sniffers for spectrum occupancy measurements of Bluetooth low energy primary channels

Valenzuela-Pérez, A. ; García-Lozano, M. ; Valenzuela, J. L. ; Pérez-Díaz-de-Cerio, D. ; Hernández Solana, Á. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Valdovinos, A. (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: The methods usually employed to measure channel occupancy show limitations in the context of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertisements. We propose and analyze the use of BLE sniffers as light and portable low-cost spectrum occupancy meters to be used in scenarios where real time signal analyzers are not adequate. For the measurement technique to be successful, several low-level effects must be considered. The paper argues about on-air time, receiving blind times due to processing and intra system interference, buffer saturation and frequency anchoring. Hence, a compensation procedure based on collision rate estimation is proposed. Results with the refined method show that occupancies of 40% can be measured with an overestimation error whose percentile 95% is 5 percentage points. This is reduced to 1.9 points when the occupancy is 15%. The sniffers perform in real time and are shown to correctly track short term load variations. The strategy has been successfully used to characterize occupancy in highly variable and loaded scenarios such as subway platforms and a shopping mall. Values up to 25% have been observed, which implies a relevant packet error rate. Hence, the tool can be used to make agile audits and configure the parameters that control communication redundancy in new or existing networks.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.measurement.2022.111573

Año: 2022

Publicado en: MEASUREMENT 199 (2022), 111573 [10 pp.]
ISSN: 0263-2241

Factor impacto JCR: 5.6 (2022)

Categ. JCR: ENGINEERING, MULTIDISCIPLINARY rank: 16 / 90 = 0.178 (2022) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATION rank: 9 / 63 = 0.143 (2022) - Q1 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 9.0 - Engineering (Q1) - Mathematics (Q1) - Physics and Astronomy (Q1)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 1.106 - Applied Mathematics (Q1) - Condensed Matter Physics (Q1) - Statistics and Probability (Q1) - Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Q1) - Instrumentation (Q1) - Education (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2021-125799OA-I00
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T31-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MCIU-ERDF/RTI2018-099063-B-I00
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RTI2018-095684-B-100
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/RTI2018-099880-B-C32

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Ingeniería Telemática (Dpto. Ingeniería Electrón.Com.)