With Nordic's nRF51 and nRF52 series SoCs
Immediate Bluetooth Mesh Design Implementation

Nordic Semiconductor announced the release of the 'nRF5 SDK for Mesh' to enable engineers to develop Bluetooth Mesh. The SDK was released at the same time that the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) officially adopted Bluetooth Mesh 1.0.

The nRF5 SDK for Mesh is available for download from the Nordic website and includes Nordic’s first Bluetooth Mesh software protocol. The SDK is compatible with the nRF51 and nRF52 series SoCs, as well as the S110, S130, S132, and Bluetooth 4.0-compatible SoftDevices (Nordic’s Bluetooth Low Energy stack). Developers who already own Nordic’s nRF52 development kit can use the nRF5 SDK for Mesh to immediately begin implementing Bluetooth Mesh-based applications.

Bluetooth Mesh enables the extension of Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity capabilities to multi-node applications in consumer, smart home, and industrial applications. This technology is an ideal solution for applications that require coverage of large areas, such as enterprise lighting fixtures. By utilizing Bluetooth Mesh in these applications, hundreds of Bluetooth Low Energy-enabled lights can be controlled simultaneously and instantly through a single smartphone or tablet with Bluetooth 4.0 or higher. Other major Bluetooth Mesh applications include beacons and industrial monitoring back-ends.



Nordic’s Bluetooth Mesh stack includes additional features not included in the Bluetooth SIG’s Bluetooth Mesh 1.0 specification. The Nordic stack includes a DFU (Device Firmware Update) equipped with both security and blocking capabilities that enables secure and scalable DFU across the mesh network without service interruption while new firmware is being transmitted. Additionally, Nordic’s Bluetooth Mesh stack includes a solution for node relay authorization settings and a serial interface to control the mesh via the serial interface when using a chip Bluetooth Mesh solution.

Rafał Han, CEO of Silvair, a company that builds smart home environments, stated, “The official adoption of Bluetooth Mesh will bring significant changes to the lighting sector. The industry has finally secured wireless technology capable of technically delivering the quality and services everyone has been waiting for.” He added, “This technology is an open, global, and interoperable standard that can provide wired reliability even in large-scale sensor-based lighting installations. Most importantly, it enables access to various interesting value-added services such as beacons, asset tracking, and indoor navigation.”