Bluetooth devices projected to ship 4.5 billion units this year alone.
Bluetooth LE, low-power characteristics suitable for IoT devices
ST BlueNRG product family, supports the latest Bluetooth technology


We can now commonly encounter consumer devices that adopt Bluetooth technology.

It is a familiar sight to hear music and make calls using wireless earphones connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth. According to Counterpoint Research, the global wireless earphone market is expected to reach approximately $27 billion, or about 33 trillion won, in 2021.

Bluetooth is no longer applied only to consumer devices.

Bluetooth, which started as an industry standard for personal short-range wireless communication, has undergone continuous improvements and began to fully support IoT devices starting with version 4.0. With version 5.0, range and speed were further increased, making it suitable for use in various industrial and commercial environments with many connected devices and large spaces. The emergence of Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) and Bluetooth Mesh is also accelerating this.

Bluetooth SIG, which oversees the development of Bluetooth, predicted that more than 4.5 billion new devices, including both consumer and industrial applications, would be equipped with Bluetooth capabilities in 2020 alone. Last May, it was also announced that it would collaborate with DiiA in the field of IoT-based commercial lighting.

To remain competitive in the growing Bluetooth market, manufacturers must rapidly develop and launch new and reliable products.

I met with General Manager Cheon Jae-seung, who is in charge of RF products at ST Korea, and asked him how to quickly launch products incorporating the latest Bluetooth technology into the market.


Q. As the use of IoT devices increases, interest in Bluetooth LE, which operates on low power, is also growing. What are the characteristic differences between conventional Bluetooth and Bluetooth LE?
A. Version 3.0, currently referred to as Classic Bluetooth, is a technology designed for transmitting and receiving large amounts of data, such as multimedia. However, due to high power consumption, it is not suitable for simple IoT devices. To overcome these technical barriers, Bluetooth LE was added starting with version 4.0, released in 2010, for the purpose of simple data transmission between IoT devices using coin cell batteries.

Subsequently, due to the increasing demand in the market for audio or voice-related applications using Bluetooth LE or for IoT products requiring long-distance connectivity, Bluetooth version 5.0 was newly released with increased transmission speed, extended connection range and advertising improvements, and distance detection capabilities. ST is developing chipsets that can expand the application of these technologies to meet changing market demands.


Q. I noticed that some of ST's Bluetooth chipsets start with 'BlueNRG'. What role do these devices play in Bluetooth applications?
A. BlueNRG is ST’s Bluetooth LE portfolio that combines Bluetooth LE transceivers, system control, and MCU functions for executing application programs. Containing various low-cost Bluetooth LE solutions, BlueNRG consists of single-core BlueNRG SoC application processors, chipsets, and modules.



The ST BlueNRG portfolio consists of flexible products that allow developers to select the appropriate product for existing hardware architectures. Additionally, as these are pre-certified products, they eliminate the need for costly certification processes, thereby reducing time-to-market.



Q. Among the BlueNRG portfolio, the SoCs BlueNRG-345/355 stand out. What are the features of these two products, and in which fields are they designed to be suitable?
A. The 345/355 products are equipped with Bluetooth version 5.0. Compared to products equipped with the existing version 4.2, the connection range has increased fourfold and the data transfer rate has doubled, allowing for more efficient connections when advertising.

The BlueNRG-345/355 increased computing power by using Cortex® M0+ cores. Memory size can be based on 256KB flash, and 32KB, 64KB flash, etc., can be selectively used depending on the application complexity.

In addition, it offers a sensitivity of -97dBm and an output power of +8dBm, and its power consumption is less than half that of the 4.2 product based on peak current. With an operating temperature range guaranteed up to 105 degrees, it can be applied to various industrial applications, and it supports various package sizes such as WLCSP and QFN.


Q. IoT devices, especially industrial equipment, are used for a long period once adopted. To ensure continuous Bluetooth functionality in these devices, robust modules are required. What Bluetooth module products does BlueNRG offer?
A. BlueNRG-M2SA/M2SP are modules compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 and feature built-in BlueNRG-2. The M2SA uses a chip antenna, while the M2SP uses a pattern antenna. By using these two modules, you can easily implement applications without specialized knowledge of Bluetooth design and RF tuning.

Even for businesses requiring small-batch Bluetooth product production, efficient and easy product development is possible with minimal Bluetooth development personnel. Since ST provides a 10-year production warranty for both modules, they are also suitable for organizations with long-term business plans.


Q. Recently, Bluetooth Mesh technology has been emerging as a technology optimized for building large-scale device networks by enabling many-to-many communication. Please explain what Bluetooth Mesh is and discuss ST's related products and policies.
A. A Bluetooth mesh network is a concept that stands in contrast to a star network. A star network is a network topology where a central device acting as a gateway connects peripheral devices in a star structure. In contrast, a Bluetooth mesh network uses multiple nodes to construct the most efficient communication path to the client, thereby transmitting Bluetooth signals.

ST currently provides an environment where the ST Mesh v1.0 software package can be installed and tested on evaluation boards for various products, such as BlueNRG-1, BlueNRG-2, and BlueNRG-M2SA. We plan to complete Mesh Profile 1.1 certification by the end of this year.



Ideal for building automation, sensor networks, commercial lighting solutions, asset tracking, and other IoT solutions where hundreds or thousands of devices need to communicate with each other, Bluetooth Mesh is compatible with Bluetooth 4.0 and later versions, as well as Bluetooth LE. All nodes in a Bluetooth Mesh network are distributed and can communicate directly with one another. Furthermore, the absence of centralized hubs and routing nodes eliminates a single point of failure.



Q. What support measures does ST provide to developers who wish to create Bluetooth applications using BlueNRG, etc.?
A. ST provides the intuitively usable BlueNRG SDK for free. The SDK includes various example codes and project files, enabling developers to easily create products tailored to their specific needs. If prompt in-person technical support is required, assistance is available from ST’s hardware and software engineers in Korea.


Q. Please tell us about ST's future plans regarding Bluetooth LE and Bluetooth Mesh.
A. We plan to support various technologies that can be implemented with Bluetooth LE, such as direction finding and audio profiles. Currently, ST equips related products with Cortex M0 and M0+ cores, but we plan to equip them with M3 and M4 as well. We also plan to support memory capacities larger than 256KB.

ST plans to meet diverse customer demands by continuously releasing Bluetooth products that support various cores, memories, and packages. Furthermore, as a member of the Bluetooth SIG, we will actively participate in the technological development of mesh networks to provide customers with the latest Bluetooth technologies.