Nordic Semiconductor’s new μBlue nRF8002 system-on-chip (SoC) provides a low-cost, low-power solution for Bluetooth Smart wireless tags and other accessories such as bracelets, pendants, key chains, small toys and armbands.
To add the μBlue nRF8002 to a product design demands no specialist understanding of Bluetooth Smart wireless technology or any embedded firmware development, according to the manufacturer.
Using a Nordic nRFgo-compatible nRF8002 development kit, developers can design Bluetooth Smart tags and accessories using a simple graphical user interface that allows them to go no deeper than configuring the built-in application layer and mapping inputs and outputs to external components such as buttons, LEDs and buzzers. The development kit even includes a small coin cell-powered tag design example that can be used for development, prototyping and testing.
The nRF8002 is supplied in a compact 5 x 5 mm QFN package and includes a fully-qualified Bluetooth v4.0 low energy protocol stack, a highly configurable application layer, and built-in support for a range of Bluetooth v4.0 profiles including: Find Me, Proximity, Alert Notifications and Battery Status..
The Find Me profile allows users to pair small – but commonly misplaced – everyday objects with their Bluetooth v4.0 smartphone in order to locate either from the other. In a similar way to how people often phone their misplaced cellphones to make them ring and easy to find, a small nRF8002-based Bluetooth Smart tag attached to a keychain, for example, can feature an audible alarm that can be activated if the keys are misplaced by pressing a button on a smartphone. Alternatively a misplaced smartphone could be made to ring or alarm by pressing a button on the tag.
The Proximity profile adds further out-of-range functionality to the Find Me profile to allow users to pair valuable everyday Bluetooth v4.0 objects (eg, smartphones and computers) with, for example, a wireless tag so that it alarms or securely locks the valued item if the user and item are separated by more than a specified distance (eg, due to the user leaving the office, potentially leaving the item behind at a public place, or the item being stolen).
Alternatively, the Proximity profile can also be used to automatically activate (unlock) a smartphone or computer when the user is within a specified distance (so saving the hassle and security risk of having to enter unlock pass codes manually).
The Alert Notification profile allows users to be notified of specific events happening on a paired Bluetooth v4.0 device. This means, for example, an nRF8002-based sports armband could be set to vibrate if the user receives an incoming call from a specific person while working out at the gym or running outdoors.
The Battery Power profile enables users to be given low-battery warnings. This means a Bluetooth v4.0 smartphone could alert users of the need to change the battery in any of their paired Bluetooth Smart wireless accessories – from heart-rate belts and foot pods through to remote controls, wireless mice and keyboards.
For more information contact Andrew Hutton, RF Design, +27 (0)21 555 8400, [email protected], www.rfdesign.co.za
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| www: | www.rfdesign.co.za |
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