July 9, 2014 – Nordic Semiconductor (ASA, OSE: NOD, Country Manager for Korea: Soo-Chul Choi, www.nordicsemi.com ), a specialist in Ultra Low Power (ULP) RF, is strengthening its global leadership in the wearable market as well as in the fields of beacon, wireless charging (A4WP), and smart remote control based on the nRF51822, a powerful yet highly flexible multi-protocol System-on-Chips (SoC) solution for Bluetooth® Low Energy and 2.4 GHz ultra-low power wireless applications.

Multi-protocol SoC Solution nRF51822

Nordic’s nRF51822 is a powerful yet highly flexible multi-protocol SoC solution suitable for Bluetooth® Low Energy and 2.4GHz ultra-low power wireless applications. This device integrates a 32-bit ARM® Cortex™ M0 CPU, along with 256kB of flash and 16kB of RAM. The embedded 2.4GHz transceiver supports Bluetooth Low Energy as well as 2.4GHz operation, and is compatible with Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF24L series products during operation in 2.4GHz mode.

The nRF51822 features a rich array of analog and digital peripherals that can interact without CPU intervention via the Programmable Peripheral Interconnect (PPI) system. Additionally, its flexible 31-pin GPIO mapping structure allows I/O such as serial interfaces, PWM, and Quadrature Demodulators to be mapped to any device pin according to PCB requirements. This provides complete design flexibility regarding pin-out locations and functions.

The nRF51822 supports Bluetooth Low Energy protocol stacks as well as 2.4GHz protocol stacks, including Gazell, all of which are provided free of charge. The nRF51822 operates on a single supply voltage and offers the option to use an on-chip linear regulator supporting a supply voltage range of 1.8V to 3.6V and a 1.8V direct mode, or an on-chip DC-DC buck converter supporting a supply voltage range of 2.1V to 3.6V. When using the DC-DC converter, dynamic control is possible during runtime, allowing the nRF51822 to operate at wireless peak currents of 10mA @ 3V supply voltage (TX @ 0dBm & RX) or less.

Smallest Bluetooth Low Energy Solution for the Wearable Market

Nordic Semiconductor supplies the world's smallest Bluetooth Low Energy and ANT+ SoC solutions for applications where space is extremely limited, such as wearable applications. The nRF51822 and nRF51422 SoC solutions based on the WLCSP (Wafer-Level Chip-Scale Package) ultra-small package have all the features provided by the existing nRF51822 and nRF51422 QFN package-based product families, but with a size of only 3.5mm x 3.8mm x 0.5mm, they can reduce board space by more than 40%.

In particular, when these WLCSP SoC solutions are used with the integrated balun design for the nRF51 series provided by STMicroelectronics (see tinyurl.com/STbalun), the total board space can be reduced by up to 80% compared to existing QFN and discrete component designs.

Therefore, Nordic’s nRF51822 WLCSP and nRF51422 WLCSP SoC solutions are ideal for space-constrained portable applications, such as smart fashion and sports watches, wearable sports & fitness or wearable medical sensors, portable smartphone accessories, hearing aids, and smart cards. Most of these products represent one of the fastest-growing markets in the ultra-low power wireless sector today.

According to ABI Research, the wearable fitness and health sensor market is projected to grow to approximately 170 million devices by 2017 (see tinyurl.com/kuxggj), while data from Juniper Research indicates that the market for wireless accessories connecting to smartphones or tablets is also expected to reach 110 million devices during the same period (see tinyurl.com/a94o8xk). Meanwhile, ABI Research forecasts that the aftermarket smart mobile device accessory market will reach approximately $62 billion by 2017, with smartphone-related accessory shipments accounting for 80% of this total (see tinyurl.com/ammxs9g).

SDK and S120 protocol stack supporting RegenS wireless charging technology

Nordic Semiconductor supplies the nRF51 wireless charging SDK and the 8-link central protocol stack S120 for wireless charging applications based on the Rezence™ standard, a next-generation wireless power transfer technology developed and led by the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP).

The nRF51 Wireless Charging SDK includes Regens Power Transmitting Units (PTUs) and Power Receiving Units (PRUs), as well as state machine example samples and profiles, enabling the reduction and simplification of application development time. Leveraging the advantages of the nRF51 series' flash-based architecture, the nRF51 SDK provides developers with various features and examples, such as Over-The-Air Device Firmware Upgrades (OTA DFUs).

S120 is a Bluetooth Low Energy SoftDevice based on the nRF51822 SoC that supports 8 links simultaneously, enabling the development of a charging pad capable of charging up to 8 devices at the same time. The S120 SoftDevice includes all Bluetooth Low Energy protocol layers, including GATT/GAP, and supports multi-link central and observer functions, as well as GATT server and client, event-oriented asynchronous thread-safe GATT/GAP, and L2CAP APIs. Provided as a SoftDevice for Nordic’s nRF51 series, the S120 is a pre-synthesized binary structure that customers can conveniently download and use, ensuring that link times are not affected by application code.

Rezens, based on the principle of magnetic resonance, is an international standard that enables the simultaneous charging of multiple devices on a single charging pad without physical contact through the concept of spatial freedom. It allows for wireless charging on any surface to power all Rezens-supported mobile devices (see figure: smartphones charging on gloves and a hat). Unlike existing technologies, Rezens, utilizing the principle of magnetic resonance, can provide various unique benefits in developing the wireless charging ecosystem. The Rezens standard selected Bluetooth Smart as the OOB charging management technology for Rezens applications.

Bluetooth Smart Beacon Kit

Nordic Semiconductor is supplying a reference design for Bluetooth Smart beacons based on the nRF51822 SoC. Bluetooth Smart beacons are low-cost, low-power Bluetooth Low Energy wireless transmitters that provide location information to nearby Bluetooth Smart Ready smartphones.

The nRF51822 Beacon Kit enables developers and engineers to develop their own beacon applications using Apple’s iBeacon™ standard or to implement their own beacons with proprietary specifications using Bluetooth Smart. This kit is ideal for OEMs and ODMs to develop beacon hardware along with related back-end services to provide complete beacon solutions to their customers. (*Note: 'iBeacon' is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.)

This kit enables immediate operation with the included smartphone app for iOS and Android (4.1/4.3/4.4) devices. The firmware is available via source code provided by Nordic, allowing for quick and easy configuration through beacon scenario examples to test product ideas. Leveraging the capabilities of the nRF51822 SoC, which supports full OTA-DFU (Over-The-Air Device Firmware Upgrade), this kit enables accurate field updates for the firmware of all beacons.

The nRF51822 Beacon Kit features hardware, firmware, and software developed by Nordic and supports both iOS 7 and Android (4.3/4.1/4.4) operating systems. Since smartphones have different RSSI levels depending on the brand or model (for example, due to differences in electromagnetic waves streamed from the case enclosure or antenna used), the nRF51822 Beacon Kit is equipped with adjustment features to maintain consistent performance regardless of the phone model.

The nRF51822 Beacon Kit allows for a complete demonstration of all features of Bluetooth Smart beacon technology. Additionally, all design files are provided by Nordic, and modifications are possible according to the designer's requirements.

Reference Design for Remote Control: nRFready Smart Remote 2

Nordic’s nRFready Smart Remote 2 is a reference design for remote controls based on the nRF51822 SoC, enabling high-performance and ultra-low-power, cost-effective remote control designs. The nRF51822 SoC supports both Bluetooth Smart and 2.4GHz Gazell protocols and can run all protocols and application firmware on a single chip.

This reference design is an ideal platform for developing advanced remote controls for wireless multi-touch trackpads for computers, as well as for internet-enabled TVs and set-top boxes. It includes a remote control baseboard equipped with a multi-touch trackpad, a QWERTY keyboard, a low-power accelerometer, a 6-axis motion sensor, and an nRF51822 wireless module. The firmware supports full non-concurrent multi-protocol functionality for products that support both Bluetooth Low Energy and 2.4GHz Gazelle.

Nordic’s Smart Remote 2 features a Synaptics multi-touch trackpad that supports both point-and-click and multi-touch gestures, allowing for the design of a wide variety of functions. 6-axis motion sensing is supported by an integrated solution from InvenSense® that combines an advanced motion sensing processor with a 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer, enabling 'Free-Space' remote designs. STMicroelectronics’ ultra-low-power accelerometer can detect orientation, allowing the trackpad to be used in both horizontal and vertical orientations. Additionally, this accelerometer detects inactivity to perform intelligent power-saving functions, significantly reducing power consumption.