scatternet

Scatternet is a Bluetooth network topology in which two or more piconets are interconnected by devices that participate in more than one piconet. In a piconet, a single device acts as the master and controls up to seven active slaves. A scatternet forms when a device connects to multiple piconets, typically serving as the master in one piconet and as a slave in another, or by time-division switching between piconets. This arrangement allows data to be relayed from one piconet to another, expanding network size and coverage beyond the limit of a single piconet.

Operation and challenges: Scatternets rely on devices that can synchronize with multiple piconets, each with its own clock and hopping sequence. The bridging device must coordinate timing to communicate with its peers in both piconets. The Bluetooth specification does not require scatternet support, and practical implementations are uncommon. Real-world devices often support only a single piconet at a time or have limited interoperability; creating reliable scatternets can incur increased latency, reduced throughput, and higher power consumption due to time-sharing and signaling overhead.

History and usage: The concept has long been discussed in Bluetooth literature and early specifications but has seen limited adoption in commercial products. Scatternets are more common in research prototypes, specialized industrial or sensor applications, or as a teaching example of multi-piconet networking.

See also: Bluetooth, piconet.