Wireless Communications

Introduction and Background

            With all of the advancements that have been made in technology, wireless communications is one aspect that has been making a lot of progress as well. Bluetooth especially is something that a lot of people are starting to use in order to communicate or to transfer files. Bluetooth has been ranging in use from cell phones to cars and a lot more.  Communicating wirelessly allows people to communicate without having wires setup everywhere which can be annoying and limit the amount of work that can be done.  Using wireless technology is a more efficient way to get work done and a lot more convenient.  

Bluetooth is wireless technology that has short-range radio technology that helps people complete tasks wirelessly between two devices (Gehrmann, Persson, and Smeets, 2004, pg.3). The purpose of Bluetooth when it was first being researched was that it would be able exchange information without the need for wires to be attached (Cooke, 2002). It was during the mid 1990s when Ericsson Mobile Communications was working on a project and they figured out how to connect devices wirelessly (Gehrmann, Persson, and Smeets, 2004, pg.3). The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was founded in 1998 which gave way to Bluetooth technology (Gehrmann, Persson, and Smeets, 2004, pg.3). Bluetooth has many benefits and can be very useful in many cases. As with all this new technology though, there are some issues that will arise as there are some with wireless communications regarding security issues as well as a negative impact on society.  

Potential Benefits

• One benefit of wirelessly communicating is that there are no wires involved which at times could be a hassle to take care of. 
• Another benefit is the hands-free control development in cars and other places as well (Normile, 2002). 
• Using Bluetooth to allow a user to be able to operate devices such as computers and other devices without having to push any actual button can allow more convenience (Normile, 2002).
• It can also be a lot safer for example, Bluetooth installed in a car allows the driver to be focused on driving and not having to hold the phone with one hand and driving with the other.
• Bluetooth in video cameras is also convenient since a user would not have to hook up wires in order to transfer images or videos but can do it wirelessly (Normile, 2002). 
• Another potential benefit that Bluetooth offers is that it could allow a person to communicate with robots wirelessly and have the ability to send and transfer images or files to the person that needs the information (Normile, 2002).   
• Wireless communication also plays a big part in a clinical environment where patients are being monitored by machines wirelessly transmitting information and files needing to be transferred from department to department (Cypher, Chevrollier, Montavont, and Golmie, 2006, pg.56). 

Legal and Ethical Issues

• One issue though is that it can lead to information being leaked that can be used against people. Criminal acts can result due to wireless communication systems having security issues.
• People that are able to gain access to information that can harm people is considered a legal issue (Montcalm, 2003).
• Workers that are fixing up a system that transmits information have access to that information but if they do not use it to harm people, then it is not considered a crime (Montcalm, 2003).
• People who gain access to such information like passwords or bank account information and use it in a way that can be harmful to a person, then a case could be made for legal issues (Montcalm, 2003). 

Security Concerns

• Data security and privacy are issues that wireless communications will have to focus on in order to progress with a higher rate of success (Borsc and Shinde, 2005, pg.424). 
• Security is something that is considered to be both enabling and disabling technology (Borsc and Shinde, 2005, pg.424).  It must enable for communication to take place in a controlled environment while disabling access to other people that are not allowed to see the data being transferred (Borsc and Shinde, 2005, pg.424).  
• There are a few different ways that a person can hack into some network and steal information which vary on how it is that they retrieve the information (Borsc and Shinde, 2005, pg. 427).  

Social Problems

• With all the advancement, it has created a problem when it comes to things like cell phones and wireless internet (Javadi). 
• Everybody nowadays has a cell phone and is on social networking sites that allow them to communicate with people (Javadi). 
• Talking to people is okay but when it starts to interfere with a person’s driving ability or how they perform in school is where it can become a problem (Javadi). 
• Ever since people have been starting to increase the use of cell phones, the numbers of automotive accidents that occur have increased mainly because people are on their cell phones (Javadi).  
•  Wireless internet is also causing problems because the number of crimes related to security issues has increased (Javadi). 
• A lot more people have access to the Internet and with the ability to find anything over the World Wide Web, people can learn how to do what it is they want to do, good or bad.

Further Required Research

• The main issues are about security and the number of social problems that it has created. 
• Research must be done on ways that hackers are not able to access other people’s personal information such as social security number or bank account information. 
• Another problem that also can occur with wireless communication is interference with other networks which can cause problems in receiving information or delays in the time it takes to receive the information (Cypher, Chevrollier, Montavont, and Golmie, 2006, pg.58). 
• One step in the right direction is the hands free development especially since it helps drivers stay more focused on the road which is a big problem right now since a lot of accidents occur because people are on the phone.

Conclusion

• Wireless communications has a lot of benefits and can make the world a lot more efficient.
• It does have concerns though as with every other new advancement that is made in today’s world. The issues with security regarding access to a person’s personal information or the negative impact that it may seem to have on society are a few things that are holding back the progress that wireless technology could be making.
• With more research and experiments conducted, the problems associated with wireless communications can be reduced and make it a more significant part of the world.
• Wireless technology will be very important in the near future where the need for wires connecting individual devices seems to be coming to an end.  

 

Reference Page

1.      Borsc, M.; Shinde, H.; , "Wireless security & privacy," Personal Wireless Communications,

2005. ICPWC 2005. 2005 IEEE International Conference on, vol., no., pp. 424- 428, 23-25 Jan. 2005 doi: 10.1109/ICPWC.2005.1431380
URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1431380&isnum ber=30872. Retrieved on February 28, 2011.

            This source was found from the database IEEE Xplore. This source discussed the importance of wireless security and how it is important to focus on increasing security measures. It described what security was and the kinds of attacks that people try in order to hack some information. This source was good since it talked about wireless technology and security issues.

2.      Cooke, J. (2002). Bluetooth rules? Not yet. Modern Materials Handling 57 no5 49, 51 My

2002. Retrieved from Applied Science Full Text database from

http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.mutex.gmu.edu/hww/results/results_single_fulltext.jhtml;hwwilsonid=P4EDA3JDZG3W1QA3DIMSFGOADUNGIIV0. Retrieved February 28, 2011.

            This source was found from the database Wilson Web.  This source was good since it gave a little background information on Bluetooth. It discussed where Bluetooth stood at in terms of how much it was used which at first was not much. It also gave other facts as to what it could have potential use for.

3.      Cypher, D.; Chevrollier, N.; Montavont, N.; Golmie, N.; , "Prevailing over wires in

healthcare environments: benefits and challenges," Communications Magazine, IEEE , vol.44, no.4, pp. 56- 63, April 2006. doi: 10.1109/MCOM.2006.1632650 URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1632650&isnumber=34236 . Retrieved February 28, 2011.

            This source was also found from the database IEEE Xplore. This article discussed the importance of wireless technology in a clinical environment. It talks about the good things that it presents and then also some of the issues and problems that it presented at times. The good things were how they were able to transmit and receive data without the use of wires being connected but then caused problems at times due to interference within the technology. 

4.      Gehrmann, C.; Persson, J.; Smeets, B.;, “Bluetooth Security”  2004 Artech House. Retrieved

From Google Books on February 28, 2011. http://books.google.com/books?id=-fUR0OGZ7bQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=bluetooth&hl=en&ei=yzBsTabzC8Sblge_vPX_AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

            This source was found on Google Books and showed a small preview of the book. The book did not show much but it did give good background information regarding Bluetooth. This was important since I needed to have a little information on how the idea came to mind and who was considered responsible for it. It talked about how it all began and how it has evolved ever since it was first developed.

5.      Javadi, K.  “Impact of Wireless Technology on Society…”

http://www.askkia.com/articles/societal-impact-of-wireless-technology-on-society.html.  Retrieved on February 28, 2011.

            This source is an online article that I had found through Google. This was a good article that helped answer the section on social problems. The author did a good job of describing the negative impact that all of this wireless technology is having. The author gave good examples as to what are some of the negative things caused by devices such as cell phones and wireless internet.

6.      Montcalm, E. (2003) “How to Avoid Ethical and Legal Issues in Wireless Network

Discovery. “SANS Institute. Retrieved on February 28, 2011. http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/wireless/avoid-ethical-legal-issues-wireless-network-discovery_176

            This source was a paper that was found through Google. This was also a helpful article that helped answer the section on ethical and legal issues. It discussed what can be considered ethical and legal in wireless communications. The author does a good job of describing what actions by a person could make it unethical in regards to wireless communication.

7.      Normile, D. (2002). Real-world Bluetooth applications.  Design News 57 no13 60-3 Jl 8 

2002.  Retrieved from Applied Science Full Text database from http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.mutex.gmu.edu/hww/results/results_single_fulltext.jhtml;hwwilsonid=P4EDA3JDZG3W1QA3DIMSFGOADUNGIIV0 . Retrieved February 28, 2011.

            This source was from the database Wilson Web. This article helped answer the section on potential benefits with wireless communications. It discussed a few ways in how Bluetooth can be used and the benefits that it could have. The potential that Bluetooth offers in the future is enormous since it could make life a lot easier.

Bluetooth Technology Video