Single-board form factor that supports a variety of third-party Arduino shield expansion boards.
Low-cost nRF51 development kit compatible with Arduino Uno shields.
Supports ARM mbed for maximum flexibility in product development and rapid prototyping based on all major ULP wireless technologies.

OSLO, Norway – 28 October 2014 – Ultra low power RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor ASA (OSE: NOD; www.nordicsemi.com ) today announces the launch of the nRF51 DK, a low-cost development kit platform that enables fast, easy, and flexible development of Bluetooth® Smart (formerly Bluetooth low energy), ANT/ANT+, and 2.4GHz proprietary applications. Nordic has also announced the nRF51 Dongle, a highly versatile USB dongle to aid test, analysis, and development of Bluetooth Smart, ANT, and 2.4GHz applications.

The nRF51-DK is based on Nordic’s nRF51 Series System-on-Chip (SoC), a highly integrated transceiver integrating a 2.4GHz multiprotocol radio and a 32-bit ARM® Cortex™ M0 processor, as well as 128kB or 256kB of Flash memory and 16kB or 32kB of RAM. The SoC supports a wide range of peripherals and is available in QFN (Quad Flat No-Lead) and WLCSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale Package) package options. The SoC can also support Bluetooth Smart and ANT, as well as 2.4GHz proprietary SoftDevices (Nordic’s SoftDevices are complete proprietary protocols including RF protocols and associated management frameworks), and can even integrate these protocols onto a single device.

The nRF51-DK is compatible with the Arduino Uno connector standard, allowing use with a wide range of third-party Arduino shield expansion boards. The nRF51-DK provides access to all device peripherals, interfaces, and I/O, and also features four user-programmable buttons and LEDs, as well as voltage and current pins for evaluating the device’s power consumption.

The nRF51-Dongle is a small USB-connectable dongle that can be used for standard software development on the nRF51 Series SoCs. It features user-programmable buttons and an RGB LED, and is particularly useful when used with Nordic’s nRF Sniffer and Master Control Panel (MCP) firmware and software. The nRF Sniffer is a utility available for download from the Nordic website that, when used in conjunction with the nRF51-DK, allows Bluetooth Smart packets to be captured wirelessly. The information can then be viewed and analyzed using the free, open source protocol analysis tool Wireshark. The DK, dongle, and these two utilities (available for download from the Nordic website) provide developers with a very powerful tool for testing, monitoring, and analyzing the Bluetooth Smart communications of the applications they are developing.

The nRF51-DK and nRF51-Dongle are supported by standard tool-chain options including Keil, IAR and GCC (Gnu Compiler Collection). The nRF51-DK can also be used to develop ARM mbed™ applications. (ARM mbed is an innovative, easy-to-use platform for open-source developer collaboration when using ARM Cortex-M series microcontrollers. It offers a complete development tool-chain including a browser-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and compiler in the cloud, as well as drag-and-drop device programming and other features.)

When using the standard tool-chain, the nRF51-DK and nRF51-Dongle utilize Segger’s J-Link OB for program and debug options. Additionally, the nRF51-DK supports CMSIS-DAP program and debug when developing using the ARM mbed tool-chain.

The nRF51-DK measures just 63 x 101 mm and features a coin-cell battery holder for field testing of target product application scenarios. The new DK is also programmable like other previous development boards using the nRF51 Series SoCs to maintain compatibility. The nRF51-Dongle has a very compact design measuring just 16 x 28 mm.

“With the introduction of the nRF51 DK, engineers only need to buy one kit to develop all their products, regardless of their choice of ULP wireless technology,” says Thomas Embla Bonnerud of Nordic Semiconductor. “What’s more, the nRF51 DK has an Arduino Uno-compatible form factor, providing incredible flexibility while providing easy access to the vast and growing range of third-party Arduino shields. The kit also supports ARM mbed with web-based software development, open-source libraries, and drag-and-drop programming, enabling developers to be up and running with a prototype within minutes of receiving the kit.”

“The nRF51 DK significantly lowers the skill and cost barrier for professional engineers, and opens up the door for even amateurs on the ‘maker’ side to develop Bluetooth Smart, ANT, or 2.4GHz proprietary wireless products,” says Geir Langeland, Nordic Semiconductor’s Director of Sales & Marketing. “With Bluetooth Smart underway and ANT and 2.4GHz proprietary areas also showing solid growth in relatively niche markets, it can be less clear which technology will be chosen early in a development process. The nRF51 DK easily handles all three of these core ULP wireless technologies, providing ultimate flexibility in wireless technology choice.”

Price and Availability
The nRF51-DK replaces all previous generation nRF51 Series DKs and evaluation kits, and is available now from Nordic for $69. The nRF51-Dongle is available now for $49.