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Apersonal area network (PAN) is acomputer network for interconnectingelectronic devices within an individual person's workspace.[1] A PAN providesdata transmission among devices such ascomputers,smartphones,tablets andpersonal digital assistants. PANs can be used for communication among the personal devices themselves, or for connecting to a higher level network and the Internet where one master device takes up the role asgateway.
A PAN may be carried over wired interfaces such asUSB, but is predominantly carried wirelessly, also called awireless personal area network (WPAN). A PAN is wirelessly carried over a low-powered, short-distancewireless network technology such asIrDA,Wireless USB,Bluetooth,NearLink orZigbee. The reach of a WPAN varies from a few centimeters to a few meters.WPANs specifically tailored for low-power operation of the sensors are sometimes also calledlow-power personal area network (LPPAN) to better distinguish them fromlow-power wide-area network (LPWAN).
Wired personal area networks provide short connections between peripherals. Example technologies includeUSB,IEEE 1394 andThunderbolt.[citation needed]
A wireless personal area network (WPAN) is a personal area network in which the connections are wireless.IEEE 802.15 has produced standards for several types of PANs operating in theISM band includingBluetooth. TheInfrared Data Association (IrDA) has produced standards for WPANs that operate usinginfrared communications.
Bluetooth uses short-range radio waves. Uses in a WPAN include, for example, Bluetooth devices such as keyboards, pointing devices, audio headsets, and printers that may connect tosmartwatches,cell phones, or computers. A Bluetooth WPAN is also called apiconet, and is composed of up to 8 active devices in a master-slave relationship (a very large number of additional devices can be connected inparked mode). The first Bluetooth device in the piconet is the master, and all other devices are slaves that communicate with the master. A piconet typically has a range of 10 metres (33 ft), although ranges of up to 100 metres (330 ft) can be reached under ideal circumstances. Long-range Bluetooth routers with augmented antenna arrays connect Bluetooth devices up to 1,000 feet (300 m).[2]
WithBluetooth mesh networking the range and number of devices is extended by usingmesh networking techniques to relay information from one device to another. Such a network doesn't have a master device and may or may not be treated as a WPAN.[3]
IrDA usesinfrared light, which has a frequency below the human eye's sensitivity. Infrared is used in other wireless communications applications, for instance, inremote controls. Typical WPAN devices that use IrDA include printers, keyboards, and otherserial communication interfaces.[4]
Media related toPersonal area networks (PAN) at Wikimedia Commons
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