“STM32WB Supports Various Protocols Including Zigbee and Matter… Spearheading Market Expansion”

Distributed operation of wireless stack and applications… Key features of real-time processing performance and security
Provides 1MB Flash and 256KB SRAM memory… Can be installed internally without capacity concerns

[Editor's Note] STMicroelectronics (hereinafter ST) is hosting the 'STM32 Quest: 2024 University Developer Contest (GFX & Wireless)' for university students. The theme for 2024 is scheduled to be 'Implementing Your Own Ideas Using ST's GUI and Wireless.' As the contest targets university students, it holds significance in terms of fostering future engineers from the perspective of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), which ST emphasizes. During the event, in addition to webinar sessions on GFX & Wireless solutions provided by ST marketers, STM32 development boards will be distributed to students to provide them with the experience of directly developing their own creative projects. This magazine met with Senior Manager Junho Lee, who is in charge of the STM32 Wireless product family—another protagonist of the STM32 Quest following TouchGFX—to hear about the STM32WB series.

Lee Jun-ho, ST Senior Manager and Marketer for the STM32 Wireless Product Family

■ Introduction to the STM32WB Series and Features of the NUCLEO-64 STM32WB55 Board

The STM32WB wireless microcontroller, based on Arm®Cortex®-M4 and Arm®Cortex®-M0+ cores, integrates wireless connectivity capabilities and a general-purpose microcontroller into a single System-on-Chip (SoC).

The NUCLEO-WB55RG board is a development board equipped with an STM32WB product, a wireless antenna, and an ST-LINK debugger, and supports a universal Arduino connector, allowing for easy expansion of additional functions.

■ Has the demand for the STM32WB series increased along with the growth of applications using wireless technology?

Bluetooth devices are shipped at a rate of over 5 billion units annually, and the market is growing at a double-digit rate every year.

In addition, various Zigbee, Thread, Matter, etc. Products supporting the protocol are joining the fray to expand the market.

The STM32WB is a dual-core, multi-protocol product that supports all of the above protocols, so it is being applied in many applications worldwide.

■ Advantages of using the STM32WB series

The dual-core architecture allows for distributed operation of wireless stacks and applications, making it excellent in terms of security and real-time processing performance.

In addition, it provides 1MB flash and 256KB SRAM memory, allowing a multi-protocol stack to be installed internally without concerns about capacity.

■ Synergy achievable when using TouchGFX and STM32WB together

The most common method is to display mobile phone alarms and data on the device screen, allowing users to check the content more conveniently.

It can also be utilized to wirelessly update the device's firmware or UI components via OTA.