The Blue Gecko portfolio targets the low-power wireless connectivity market, which is the largest and fastest-growing segment of the IoT market. According to IHS Technology, Bluetooth Smart is projected to account for 42% of the total low-power wireless module and chipset market by unit volume by 2018. A significant number of Bluetooth Smart chipsets are currently used in wireless modules to meet the requirements of low-volume IoT applications, greatly simplifying RF design. As the volume of IoT applications is expected to expand further over the next decade, the use of cost-effective Bluetooth Smart chipsets and wireless SOCs is projected to outpace modules. Silicon Labs' Blue Gecko portfolio offers the flexibility to start development as modules and transition to SoCs as needed, with minimal or no system redesign.

James Stansberry, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Silicon Labs’ IoT Products business unit, said, “Our new BlueGecko portfolio provides developers with a rapid entry into the IoT market, allowing them to quickly bring Bluetooth Smart-enabled products to market while maintaining the cost of investment in tools and software when transitioning from modules to chips in future production. Through the recent acquisition of BlueGiga, Silicon Labs provides the best software scripting languages and protocol stacks available for the BlueGecko portfolio, enabling the easy addition of Bluetooth Smart connectivity to numerous IoT applications.”

Blue Gecko Wireless SoC

The BlueGecko SoC, the first product in a family of wireless SoCs optimized for IoT applications, integrates Silicon Labs' energy-friendly EFM32® Gecko MCU technology with ultra-low-power Bluetooth Smart transceivers. This innovative single-chip solution, along with the BlueGiga Bluetooth Smart software stack, provides industry-leading energy efficiency, fastest wake-up times, and superior RF receive sensitivity, enabling developers to reduce system power, cost, and time-to-market without compromising MCU capabilities. Unlike other Bluetooth Smart ICs, the BlueGecko SoC can output +10 dBm or more power through a fully integrated power amplifier and balun, further reducing design complexity.

The Blue Gecko SoC is based on ARM® Cortex®-M3 and M4 cores and offers 128 to 256 kB of flash and 16 to 32 kB of RAM capacity. These SoCs integrate Silicon Labs' Peripheral Reflex System (PRS) for autonomous peripheral operation, as well as a series of energy-efficient peripherals. The Blue Gecko SoC family also offers a roadmap of enhanced flash and RAM memory capacities and additional package options to meet future application requirements.

Blue Gecko Wireless Module

Based on the BlueGecko SoC, the BlueGiga module is designed to enable developers to accelerate time-to-market and reduce development costs and certification risks by providing an already certified plug-and-play RF design. The BlueGiga Bluetooth Smart module integrates all the features of the BlueGecko SoC and is certified for use in key markets, including North America, Europe, Japan, and Korea. The BlueGiga module includes the BlueGiga Bluetooth Smart software stack and profile toolkit, and is provided with 256kB of Flash and 32kB of RAM, offering ample memory for onboard applications. The highly flexible hardware interface enables easy connectivity with various peripherals and sensors, while the integrated antenna ensures consistent and concise RF operation for design engineers. The BlueGiga Bluetooth Smart module operates at very low power, enabling wireless system designs powered by a standard 3V coin cell battery or two AAA batteries.

Simplifying Bluetooth Smart development

To simplify wireless development, Silicon Labs provides the BlueGiga Bluetooth Smart software stack for BlueGecko modules and wireless SoCs. This stack implements Bluetooth Smart protocol layers, including ATT (Attribute Protocol), GATT (Generic Attribute Profile), and GAP (Generic Access Protocol), as well as a security manager and connection management.

The Bluegecko portfolio includes a comprehensive wireless SDK for developing Bluetooth Smart applications using host or standalone applications through the easy-to-use Bluegiga BGScript™ scripting language. With BGScript, developers can rapidly design applications without using an external MCU to drive application logic, thereby realizing the benefits of cost reduction, design simplification, and faster time-to-market. Bluetooth Smart application profiles and examples are provided to streamline development.

Product Price and Purchase Information

Samples of the Blue Gecko module, based on the Blue Gecko SoC, are scheduled to be available by the end of the second quarter of 2015. Samples of the Blue Gecko wireless SoC are scheduled to be available in early the third quarter in 5 mm x 5 mm QFN32 and 7 mm x 7 mm QFN48 packages. Pricing for the Blue Gecko-based Blue Gecko module starts at $4.99 for 10,000-unit quantities. Pricing for the Blue Gecko SoC starts at $0.99 for 100,000-unit quantities. The Blue Gecko SDK and Bluetooth Smart software stack will be provided free of charge to Silicon Labs customers. Detailed information on Silicon Labs' Blue Gecko Bluetooth Smart solution, as well as pre-orders for module and SoC samples, can be found at www.silabs.com/BlueGecko.