Universal Serial Bus (USB)

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus is a "plug and play" interfacing device that permits a computer and peripheral device interactions. It is one of the high-speed standards, supported by the leading suppliers and companies of the peripheral device.

It is designed to allow USB peripheral devices to connect with hub ports. Hub ports are found on the back side of the computer and other peripheral device. Usually, USB is an in built feature found in some chip sets of PC, operating system and software.

The USB supports automatically detecting and attaching i.e. The System equipped with a USB port, automatically detect new peripheral devices. The main objective of the USB is to reduce the number of cables in order to simplify device inter connections and to deliver a higher transfer rate.

The computer can connect up to 127 USB peripheral devices.

History of evolution of USB

In 1996, version 1.0 of USB was released. The initial versions were designed for slower devices but rapid demands of high-speed communications, other versions were released gradually i.e.

USB 2.0

In this USB, An 'on-the-go' specification was integrated which permits direct communications of USB device without a host. Some features are mentioned below:

a) In this USB, Mini and micro connectors are properly defined.

b) Peak data transfer speed amplified to 480 Mega bits per second

c) Battery charging is improved

USB 3.0

Data transfer in USB 3.0 into 4 different modes that are given below:

a) Low speed

b) Full speed

c) High speed

d) Super speed

USB 3.1

In 2008, USB 3.1 was released in which encoding method is used to enhance speed.

The main features of USB 3.1 are:

a) Only support individual messages, Broadcast feature is missing

b) Not as fast as other systems.

USB 3.2

In 2017, USB 3.2 was introduced as super speed++ , multiply the USB speed

Applications of USB

USB connectors are used to conduct power to different devices like Smart phones, Tablets, Batteries etc.

Salient features of USB

• Provides a high degree of reliability
• Permits multiple devices on a single port
• Support "Hot Swapping" feature
• Less cost
• Device handling
• Less power consumption
• Simultaneously 127 USB peripherals device can be connected
• User-friendly
• Plug and play nature