eAFH: Informed Exploration for Adaptive Frequency Hopping in Bluetooth Low Energy

TL;DR

eAFH is a novel adaptive frequency hopping mechanism for Bluetooth Low Energy that intelligently re-includes previously excluded channels based on past interference measurements, significantly improving reliability and channel diversity in dynamic interference environments.

Contribution

eAFH introduces informed exploration for channel re-inclusion in AFH, enhancing adaptability in dynamic interference scenarios for BLE devices.

Findings

Achieves 98-99.5% link-layer reliability under Wi-Fi interference.

Provides 40% higher channel diversity than existing methods.

Operates with only 1% control overhead.

Abstract

With more than 4 billion devices produced in 2020, Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) have become the backbone of the Internet of Things. Bluetooth and BLE mitigate interference in the crowded 2.4 GHz band via Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH), spreading communication over the entire spectrum, and further allows the exclusion of interfered channels. However, exclusion is challenging in dynamic environments or with user mobility: as a user moves around, interference affects new channels, forcing AFH to deprive itself of new frequencies, while some other excluded channels are now free of losses but remain excluded. Channel re-inclusion is a primordial, yet often left out, aspect of AFH, as it is non-trivial to assess the new situation of excluded frequencies. We present eAFH, a mechanism for channel exclusion and inclusion. eAFH introduces informed exploration to AFH: using only past measurements, eAFH assesses which frequencies we are most likely to benefit from re-including in the hopping sequence. As a result, eAFH adapts in dynamic scenarios where interference varies over time. We show that eAFH achieves 98-99.5% link-layer reliability in the presence of dynamic Wifi interference with 1% control overhead and 40% higher channel diversity than state-of-the-art approaches.