 - A personal operating space (POS) is a roughly spherical region that surrounds a portable or handheld digital wireless device operated by a person. The region moves along with the person and has a radius of 10 meters (33 feet). Any device that comes within this region can, in theory, become part of that person's wireless personal area network (WPAN), provided that device is equipped with the necessary wireless modem. Data transmission is usually accomplished by ultra-high-frequency (UHF) or microwave radio, although infrared (IR) can also be used.
The term POS (not to be confused with point-of-sale, also abbreviated POS) is used in conjunction with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) specification 802.15, which deals with wireless personal area networks (WPANs). A typical WPAN can include personal computers and digital assistants, pagers, beepers, and cellular phone sets. In some cases, peripherals such as printers, headsets, microphones, and digital cameras can be included in the network.
The concept of a personal operating space has far-reaching implications. For example, a system might be configured to function only when it is within a POS, such as an automobile that can be started only when a designated person is within 10 meters of it. An individual's personal operating space might be used to track that person's physical movements at all times, using a transponder embedded in the skin.
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Learn more about Bluetooth |
| Bluetooth overview: Bluetooth overview -- discover how it's used and where it fits into the world of wireless. |
| A Bluetooth update: Discover the real beauty of Bluetooth -- the rich set of capabilities and applications defined at higher levels of the Bluetooth protocol stack. |
| Nokia's Wibree vs. Bluetooth as PAN of choice: John Shepler explains Wibree, Nokia's new Personal Area Network initiative. |
| "Mobile Computing," Chapter 4: Emerging technologies: This chapter covers Bluetooth, RFID, WiMax-802.16, Mobile IP, IPv6 and Java Card. |
| Wireless Hacks, 2nd Edition: Hack 2 -- Set up Bluetooth on Windows XP: The Bluetooth wireless standard gets computers and gadgets talking to each other. This chapter from "Wireless Hacks, 2nd Edition" shows how to set it up on Windows XP. |
| Wireless Hacks, 2nd Edition: Hack 1 -- Set up Bluetooth on Linux: Linux kernels from 2.6 onward have easy-to-use tools for Bluetooth. Hack 1 shows you how to set up BlueZ stack, the officially supported way to use Bluetooth in Linux. |
| Step-by-Step Guide: Five Bluetooth security basics: Learn how to protect your network from Bluetooth threats with these five steps for securing Bluetooth devices in the enterprise. |
| LAST UPDATED: |
28 May 2007
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