Service discovery funtionality utilizing personal area network protocols

Abstract

Techniques to provide service discovery via personal area network protocols. A personal area network is generally a network that covers only a few feet or meters of physical space. Personal area networks can be wired or wireless. Wired personal area networks include, for example, Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 (or FireWire) connections. Wireless personal area networks can include, for example, IrDA, Bluetooth, UWB, Z-Wave and ZigBee. Service discovery results in indication of services that are available via the personal area network and not necessarily the physical devices that provide the services. A wireless device may utilize DNS formatted data over a Bluetooth connection to determine services that are available from other Bluetooth devices within range.

Description

technical field [0001] Embodiments of the invention relate to service discovery. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to techniques for providing service discovery using personal area network protocols. Background technique [0002] Various discovery techniques are available for electronic devices that are connected or attempt to connect to a network. These discovery techniques typically involve the use of network protocols to determine which devices and / or services are available through network connections. These discovery techniques are useful in many situations. However, in some situations these discovery techniques are not optimal. Contents of the invention [0003] In one aspect, there is provided a method comprising: detecting a personal area network connection with an electronic device; discovering services available from the remote device via the personal area network without establishing a connection with the remote device; generating a list ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, in some situations these discovery techniques are not optimal

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