Simultaneous communication with Bluetooth 5 networks

Nordic Semiconductor announces that its latest multiprotocol SoC, the nRF52840, which supports both Bluetooth 5 (Bluetooth low energy) and IEEE 802.15.4 (which, along with the OpenThread stack, is the basis for the Thread networking standard), has achieved Thread 1.1 certification.

The nRF52840 SoC has passed all Thread certification tests and also supports central processing unit (CPU) and Bluetooth 5 connectivity. Test results demonstrate that the nRF52840 SoC can support applications that utilize both Thread and Bluetooth 5 wireless networks simultaneously.

Nordic's nRF52840 SoC is the only multiprotocol SoC on the market that can support Thread and Bluetooth 5 simultaneously. The SoC features Bluetooth low energy and Thread-based 'Dynamic Multiprotocol' (see below) capability, enabling simultaneous support of Nordic's S140 v5 SoftDevice (a Bluetooth low energy protocol stack for the nRF52840 SoC, included with Nordic's nRF5 Software Development Kit (SDK)) and the OpenThread RF protocol stack. OpenThread is the first open Thread-certified Thread networking protocol announced by Nest Labs, and Nordic Semiconductor is actively supporting its R&D technology.

Now developers can quickly and easily achieve Thread certification for all their wireless sensors and products using Nordic's nRF52840 SoC, while also interoperating (switching, controlling, and managing) with Bluetooth 4.0 and later wireless technology devices, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of both wireless technologies simultaneously.

“The nRF52840 effectively acts as a bridge between Thread and Bluetooth 5 networks during operation, enabling communication with both Bluetooth 5-based smartphones and Thread wireless sensors, enabling data exchange without going through the cloud,” says Pär Håkansson, Product Marketing Manager at Nordic Semiconductor.

“While this is not a true simultaneous connection, Nordic’s R&D team has implemented this process so quickly and seamlessly that developers can consider it to be true simultaneous operation when designing their applications,” says Pa Hakansson. “Furthermore, the low-level drivers in the Nordic S140 v5 SoftDevice already support the cumbersome tasks required to support these connections, so developers don’t have to worry about them.”

Geir Langeland, sales and marketing director at Nordic Semiconductor, says: “We believe Thread is one of the key emerging wireless technologies in the home IoT space.“That’s why we’ve strategically invested our world-leading ultra-low-power wireless R&D expertise in the development of our OpenThread software stack, while also achieving full Bluetooth 5 certification for our nRF52840 multiprotocol SoC, along with Thread 1.1 certification. Now, developers of home IoT products can leverage a powerful SoC built on a proven architecture to support the most complex Bluetooth 5 and Thread IoT applications.”