What is Personal Area Network(PAN)?

What do you mean by personal area network(PAN) ?

A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network used for communication among computer devices (including telephones and personal digital assistants) close to one person.

The devices may or may not belong to the person. The reach of a PAN is typically a few meters. PANs can be used for communication among the personal devices themselves (intrapersonal communication), or for connecting to a higher level network and the Internet (an uplink).

Personal area networks may be wired with computer buses such as USB and FireWire

In Bluetooth technology, there is something called piconet which is composed of up to 8 active devices in a master-slave relationship (a very large number of devices can be connected in "parked" 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 meters. This piconet in Bluetooth is also called PAN-personal area network.

A personal area network (PAN) is the interconnection of information technology devices within the range of an individual person, typically within a range of 10 meters.

For example, a person traveling with a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a portable printer could interconnect them without having to plug anything in, using some form of wireless technology.
Typically, this kind of personal area network could also be interconnected without wires to the Internet or other networks.

A personal area network (PAN) is a technology that could enable wearable computer devices to communicate with other nearby computers and exchange digital information using the electrical conductivity of the human body as a data network. For example, two people each wearing business card-size transmitters and receivers conceivably could exchange information by shaking hands. The transference of data through intra-body contact, such as handshakes, is known as linkup.

A personal area network - PAN - is a computer network organized around an individual person. Personal area networks typically involve a mobile computer, a cell phone and/or a handheld computing device such as a PDA. You can use these networks to transfer files including email and calendar appointments, digital photos and music.

Personal area networks can be constructed with cables or wirelessly.
USB and FireWire technologies often link together a wired PAN while wireless PANs typically use Bluetooth or sometimes infrared connections. Bluetooth PANs are also called piconets.

Personal area networks generally cover a range of less than 10 meters (about 30 feet).