MANHASSET, NY — The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Sig) is launching the Bluetooth Innovation World Cup to recognize outstanding new product and application designs based on the forthcoming Bluetooth low energy wireless specification in fitness, healthcare and sports.

The competition is designed to promote the rollout of Bluetooth low energy wireless technology later this year. Nordic Semiconductor is an industry sponsor of the Cup.

Traditional Bluetooth wireless technology is not suitable for wireless sensors in fitness, healthcare and sports applications.

Bluetooth low energy wireless technology addresses the challenge, having been designed from the outset to be compatible with small battery devices.

The Bluetooth low energy wireless technology specification will be 'dual-mode' and 'single-mode'. The technology will be based on an open specification and operate in the 2.4GHz Industrial, Scientific & Medical (ISM) band. It features a physical layer bit rate of 1Mbps over a range of 5 to 15 meters.

Single-mode devices will be expected to run for many months or even years on standard coin-cell batteries. Dual-mode chips are targeted at handsets, multimedia computers and PCs and feature power consumptions of around 75 to 80 percent of conventional Bluetooth chips when operating in Bluetooth low energy wireless technology mode and cost just tens of cents more.

Next generation dual-mode Bluetooth chips will share much of Bluetooth technology's existing functionality and radio in a single die.

The Bluetooth Innovation World Cup is also being sponsored by the world's largest winter sporting goods trade show " ispo; and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI).

Application entries should be submitted to the Bluetooth SIG between June 1 and October 31, 2009 and will be unveiled at the next ispo show in February 2010. Three regional winners will be announced for Asia, Europe and the US, of which one will also receive a global "Bluetooth Innovator of the Year" award.