Optimizing Message Distribution for Bluetooth Mesh Gateways

Abstract

This thesis project revolves around optimizing and evaluating a message distribution service for Bluetooth mesh gateways. The gateway in this context is a specific node that features an Internet connection alongside its Bluetooth connectivity, which allows the Bluetooth mesh to communicate with the outside world over the Internet. The specific problem this project addresses concerns broadcast storms occurring on the Bluetooth mesh caused by an increased amount of messages sent to the gateway that are then forwarded to the mesh and how they can cause inefficiency in the gateway and the Bluetooth mesh. Using a combination of dynamic scenes and caching, it was shown that response time can be decreased to 1/6th of a naive, non-caching solution and halved in demanding scenarios.