BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR

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BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR
quarter 2 | summer 2016

                                  Cover story
                            Building the
                           BBC micro:bit
                          Eddystone strengthens
                                beacon security
                                 What’s next for
                               semiconductors?

                                      SPECIAL
                                    SUPPLEMENT
                                      A decade of
                                    ultra low power
                                        wireless
                                     2006 to 2016
BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR
Opinion                                                                                                            QUARTER 2 | SUMMER 2016

    Geir Langeland                                                                                                                                                 COVER STORY
                                                                                                                                                             Building the
                                                                                                                                                            BBC micro:bit
                                                                                                                                                           Eddystone strengthens
                                                                                                                                                                 beacon security
                                                                                                                                                                  What’s next for
                                                                                                                                                                semiconductors?

Internet of Things promises
                                                                                                                                                                       SPECIAL
                                                                                                                                                                     SUPPLEMENT
                                                                                                                                                                       A decade of
                                                                                                                                                                     ultra low power
                                                                                                                                                                         wireless
                                                                                                                                                                      2006 to 2016

to democratize connectivity
                                                                                                                    The BBC micro:bit is now in
                                                                                                                    the hands of a future generation
                                                                                                                    of engineers

T
         he success of a company depends on things like skilled staff, visionary management, investment
         in R&D, and of course, products that people want, plus a little luck. I’m not suggesting that Nordic       ULP Wireless Q is published
         Semiconductor is perfect, like other companies we’ve made some wrong turns, but over the last              on behalf of Nordic
         decade we have got many of those success factors about right. That’s propelled the company                 Semiconductor by Ecritech
from a healthy, niche supplier of proprietary ultra low power (ULP) wireless technology to the forefront of         www.ecritech.com
the Bluetooth low energy segment.
                                                                                                                    Editor
   To coincide with the tenth anniversary of ULP Wireless Q, first published back in June 2006 (just as
                                                                                                                    Steven Keeping
Nordic was teaming up with Nokia and other enterprising firms to form an alliance to develop a                      e-mail: steven@ecritech.com
smartphone-friendly form of ULP wireless called Wibree, the predecessor of Bluetooth low energy) this
                                                                                                                    Assistant Editor
edition includes a special eight-page anniversary supplement looking back over that decade.                         Andrew Woolls-King
   But in an increasingly competitive world there’s little time for reminiscence and today the company is           e-mail: andrew@ecritech.com
charting a course to become an important player in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector. We’re looking
                                                                                                                    News Editor
beyond the hype that talks about connecting 10, 20 or even 50 billion ‘things’ to the cellular network, the         Chris Williams
conventional Internet and each other, to come up with answers to the formidable engineering problems                e-mail: chris@ecritech.com
that need to be solved before the IoT becomes reality. Such is the magnitude of the challenge that it will          Art Editor
require a collaborative effort between many companies spanning several technology sectors including                 Tim Plummer
semiconductors, network infrastructure, and Cloud computing platforms. Nordic hopes to play a                       e-mail: production@ecritech.com
significant role.                                                                                                   Image Editor
   That’s not to say the company is only focused on the big projects. One of the promises of the IoT is that        Neale Hobday
it promises to democratize connectivity far beyond even that achieved by today’s Internet. Soon, for just a         e-mail: production@ecritech.com
few dollars, even the most inexperienced maker or hobbyist will be able to make their project ‘smart’ by            Print & Distribution
adding a Bluetooth low energy wireless connection. This is not a dream; in this issue (see page 16), for            Printech Europe
example, you can read about the Arduino Primo, the latest single-board computer from the world’s largest
open-source ecosystem. The company says the Primo is the first Arduino product to allow makers and
hobbyists to take advantage of the embryonic IoT. The Primo is powered by Nordic’s nRF51822 Bluetooth
low energy solution which can also support IPv6. Tomorrow, that technology will allow the Primo to
connect to the IoT without needing the resources of a sophisticated gateway such as a smartphone.                                               Subscribe

   Today, Nordic Bluetooth low energy chips are found in hundreds of millions of products around the
world. If our engineers’ talents are nurtured and we continue to enjoy a share of good fortune, it’s possible
that when we take a glance back from June 2026 we’ll see a good share of the 50 billion things making up                              Talk to @NordicTweets
the IoT being powered by one of our devices.

Yours Sincerely,                                                                                                                                 Like us

                                                                                                                                                Follow us

Geir Langeland
Director of Sales & Marketing                                                                                                           Join online forum:
                                                                                                                                     devzone.nordicsemi.com

Contributors
                          Page 9                                Page 10                                 Page 20

Yamazaki Mitsuo is Nordic’s          Sally Ward-Foxton is an electronics    Caroline Hayes is a tech writer         The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are
Regional Sales Manager in Japan.     freelance journalist. On page 10 she   specializing in semiconductors. In      registered trademarks owned by the
Here he looks at how the nRF52       speaks to the man behind the BBC       this issue she explores the state of    Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks
                                                                                                                    by Nordic Semiconductor is under license.
Series SoC is powering a new         micro:bit and finds out why Nordic’s   play in wireless charging, finding an
generation of RF modules             chip lies at the heart of the device   industry undergoing rapid change        © Nordic Semiconductor 2016

2 | summer 2016 | ulp wireless quarter                                                                                                     www.nordicsemi.com
BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR
NEWS
    The latest developments from Nordic Semiconductor

New Arduino base board offers                                                                                   In brief
native Bluetooth low energy                                                                                     BBC micro:bit
                                                                                                                now for sale
       Open source prototyping                                              overhead to supervise and control   The BBC micro:bit, a pocket-
       platform developer,                                                  the Arduino Primo’s on-board        sized programmable device
       Arduino, is to use Nordic                                            accelerometer, temperature,         that can be coded and
                                                                                                                customized to bring ideas to
Semiconductor’s nRF52832                                                    humidity, and pressure sensors.
                                                                                                                life, is being made available to
Bluetooth low energy System-on-                                             For all but the most advanced       buy in the U.K. by element14,
Chip (SoC) in its new Internet of                                           projects, programming will be       the BBC’s micro:bit partner.
Things (IoT) programmable single                                            done via the established and        The widespread availability
board computer: the Arduino                                                 easy-to-use Arduino Integrated      follows gifting of the BBC
Primo.                                                                      Development Environment (IDE)       micro:bit to one million school
   For the first time the low cost                                          programming interface.              children across the U.K. The
single board computer—or base        Arduino Primo now offers built-in         However, professional            micro:bit can be pre-ordered
board—features native Bluetooth      wireless connectivity for makers       developers and Makers who want      from element14 as a single
                                     embarking on IoT projects                                                  unit; a starter kit with four
low energy wireless connectivity                                            to access the most advanced
                                                                                                                project ideas to get users
alongside Near Field Comms           client and server over Wi-Fi, offers   features and functionality of the   started; or in a pack of 10
(NFC), Wi-Fi, and infrared (IR)      embedded IR for traditional            Arduino Primo will be able to use   devices.
technologies. Previously users       remote control, and employs the        any Nordic nRF52 Series-
were required to add shields to
the board to enable Bluetooth low
                                     Nordic SoC’s integrated NFC tag
                                     for secure authentication and
                                                                            compatible Software
                                                                            Development Kit (SDK). For
                                                                                                                Bluetooth sector
energy technology.                   ‘Touch-to-Pair’ operation.             example, the nRF5 SDK for IoT       set for huge lift
   In addition to being able to         As well as controlling the          allows more experienced users to    Analyst Beige Market
wirelessly connect to a wide array   Bluetooth low energy RF protocol       develop IPv6 over Bluetooth low     Intelligence, claims the
of Bluetooth low energy sensors,     software stack and application         energy applications enabling the    Bluetooth low energy market
the Arduino Primo can act as a       code, the nRF52832’s ARM               Arduino Primo to connect directly   will be worth $3 billion by 2021,
fully functional TCP / IP Internet   processor has the computational        to the Internet.                    driven by major expansion
                                                                                                                in the industrial Internet of
                                                                                                                Things (IoT) sector, and high

  Soccer sensors track player performance                                                                       demand from Asia Pacific.
                                                                                                                The report claims the region

  for post-game analysis
                                                                                                                will contribute more than
                                                                                                                50 percent of the revenue
                                                                                                                in the Bluetooth low energy
  U.S. wearable sports technology company, Zepp                                                                 market and identifies Nordic
  Labs, has launched a new wearable soccer sensor                                                               Semiconductor as a key vendor.
  that monitors a range of in-game player attributes                                                            Close to 4 billion Bluetooth
                                                                                                                chips are likely to be shipped
  to provide coaches and players with a tool to
                                                                                                                worldwide in 2021.
  analyze and improve performance post game.
     The Zepp Soccer sensors are strapped to a
  player’s calves, and record running and sprint                                                                Flexible security
  distance, passing, and preferred foot metrics,                                                                solution unveiled
  employing Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52832
                                                                                                                Experimental physicists
  System-on-Chip (SoC) to sync the data via a
                                                        The Zepp Soccer sensors place a high demand on          at Saarland University in
  Bluetooth low energy wireless link to compatible                                                              Germany have developed an
                                                        Bluetooth low energy technology
  iOS or Android smartphones.                                                                                   outdoor security solution that
     The Zepp Soccer sensors place a high demand        and capture individual player video. The app will       issues a warning if someone
  on the Nordic SoC, as the application is required     then generate a report for post-game review.            has attempted to cross over
  to support more than 30 sensors and provide              “We needed a Bluetooth Smart solution with a         a flexible cable. The cable
  sufficient bandwidth between the sensors and a        powerful CPU, excellent Floating Point and DSP          contains a linear array of
  smartphone to cope with, for example, more than       performance, to perform the data manipulation,          highly sensitive magnetic-
  100x the data generated by a heart rate monitor.                                                              field sensors that are capable
                                                        as well as large RAM capacity to buffer all the
                                                                                                                of detecting the smallest
  Zepp Labs also required low power consumption         information being gathered by the sensors,”
                                                                                                                changes in the ambient
  in both ‘active’ and ‘standby’ modes to achieve       explains Dong Li, Zepp Labs Hardware Director.          magnetic field at distances of
  up to 15 hours of game time between recharges.        “But we also needed to minimize power                   up to several meters, issuing
     From a smartphone running the Zepp Soccer          consumption. For those reasons the nRF52832             a message via Bluetooth
  app, a coach or ‘host’ can also record game time      Bluetooth Smart SoC was the logical choice.”            technology to a smartphone
                                                                                                                or tablet.

www.nordicsemi.com                                                                                   ulp wireless quarter | Summer 2016 | 3
BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR
news

In brief                           A million schoolchildren receive
Bluetooth device
boom coming                        Nordic-powered BBC micro:bit
Market intelligence firm                  Britain’s public broadcaster,
ABI Research, predicts                    the BBC, is delivering up to
annual Bluetooth device
                                          one million free codeable
shipments will reach 5 billion
by 2021, with Bluetooth            computers called micro:bits to
low energy delivering the          every 11-12 year old school child in
strongest growth, driven           the U.K., each driven by a Nordic
by new opportunities in            Semiconductor nRF51822
beacons, home automation,          Bluetooth low energy System-on-
and wearables. Though              Chip (SoC).
smartphones will still make           Announced at a launch event
up 43 percent of Bluetooth         hosted at the London Stock
shipments by 2021, ABI claims
                                   Exchange, the BBC said the
Bluetooth low energy devices
will increase to 27 percent        project aimed to encourage the
of shipments on the back           next generation to take an interest
of enhancements in mesh            in technology. Following the                                                           BBC micro:bit aims to
                                   nationwide rollout, the micro:bit                                                 inspire the next generation
networking and IPv6, as well
as improvements in efficiency,     hardware and much of the
range, and size reductions.        software will be open-sourced,         communicate with other               the widest number of people,
                                   and the micro:bit made available       micro:bits, and wirelessly sync to   including for those from a non-
Monitoring                         to buy from a range of retailers.      smartphones and computers.           electronics background.
heart rate                            Nordic Semiconductor is an             Nordic pioneered the                 “The ability to code is now as
                                   official BBC micro:bit partner, and    development of ultra low power       important as math skills and can
China-based Shenzhen DO            the nRF1822 SoC sits at the heart      wireless in the early 2000s, and     unlock new career options,” says
Intelligent Technology Co has
                                   of the micro:bit, integrating the      later became a key contributor in    Simon Segars, CEO of ARM. “I can
selected Nordic’s nRF51822
                                   computer’s ‘brain’—a 32-bit ARM        the creation and evolution of        easily imagine a new wave of
Bluetooth Smart System-on-
Chip for its “ID 107” real-time    Cortex M0 microprocessor—              Bluetooth low energy technology.     entrepreneurs looking back and
dynamic heart rate monitor         where the school child-created            Since then Nordic has worked      citing [the BBC micro:bit launch]
wearable. The multifunction        software code runs, and that also      to make ultra low power wireless     as the day their passion for
wristband is equipped with         allows the micro:bit to wirelessly     connectivity simple, and open to     technology began.”
a photoelectric diode and a
green LED on the underside
of the bracelet. Heart rate
data is calculated based on           Smoke and motion detectors provide
a proprietary algorithm and
wirelessly synced to the user’s       networked protection from fire and theft
smartphone via Bluetooth              Norwegian safety connected device company,
low energy, allowing them to                                                                  sfty Sense offers networked protection
                                      sfty, has released a wireless, smartphone app-
determine the level of effort                                                                 against apartment fires
                                      controlled combined smoke- and motion-
maintained during exercise.
                                      detector. The unit is designed for use in multi-

Energy costs fuel                     dwelling units and apartments to protect the
                                      owner against fire and theft, as well as provide
smart home lift                       temperature and relative humidity data.
                                          The sfty Sense device employs Nordic
The global smart home
                                      Semiconductor’s multiprotocol nRF51822
market is predicted to grow
from $46.97 billion in 2015           System-on-Chip (SoC) to deliver
to $121.73 billion by 2022, as        communication across a 2.4 GHz low power
advancements in the Internet          mesh network while simultaneously providing
of Things (IoT) sector drive          smartphone connectivity.                              signaling, while the low power mesh network is
consumer adoption, analyst                From the sfty app, users can create a social      used for signaling between devices to trigger or
MarketsandMarkets claims.             network of friends, family, and neighbors who         cancel smoke or motion alarms in the individual
It said increasing consumer           are notified via the app on their own mobile          home, or trigger building-wide smoke alarms.
demand for convenience,               device in the event of a sfty Sense detector alarm       “With the impending announcement of
safety, and security, as              being triggered. The user can also manage their       Bluetooth Smart Mesh, the support for
well as a rising need for             safety devices from the app to turn on and off        Bluetooth in smartphones will allow direct
energy saving would see
                                      the burglar alarm, as well as notify their network    interaction between the user’s mobile and our
manufacturers expand
                                      if they are in need of assistance.                    devices when they are at home,” says Espen
their smart home product
portfolios. The lighting control          The device employs a home Wi-Fi network via       Schrøder, COO of sfty. “This capability is
market is expected to grow            a standard router to communicate with the sfty        something that competing standards are not in
at the highest rate during the        Cloud for configuration, status reports, and          a position to provide for the foreseeable future.”
forecast period.

4 | summer 2016 | ulp wireless quarter                                                                                      www.nordicsemi.com
BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR
news

IoT platform enables end-to-end wireless
monitoring and control
      Swedish industrial Internet    on-Chip (SoC) to enable either                                               customers with the opportunity
      of Things (IoT) system         or both Bluetooth low energy                                                 to rapidly deploy technology for
      provider, Free2move, has       and the company’s own legacy                                                 monitoring buildings without
unveiled its 2Connect building       Free2move Radio Air Protocol                                                 being impeded by ‘legacy’
management and industrial            (FRAP)-wireless connectivity                                                 systems,” says Anders Due-Boje,
automation IoT platform, a           to a range of IoT devices,                                                   Free2move CEO.
complete IoT architecture            sensors, beacons, and actuators.                                                “The IoT is undergoing rapid
comprising sensors and                  2Connect monitors humidity,                                               development and early IoT
actuators, wireless gateways and     temperature, air quality, air and                                            adopters need a capability to
middleware, analytics, and           water flow, volatile organic                                                 support proprietary legacy
presentation.                        compounds (VOCs), vibration,                                                 technologies in the short term,”
  The platform incorporates          movement, light, pressure,                                                   says Geir Langeland, Director of
Cloud services for automating        energy consumption, as well as                                               Sales & Marketing with Nordic
and connecting ‘things’ with         traces of fungus, using a layered                                            Semiconductor.
building and industrial              analytics and decision                                                          “2Connect cleverly takes
                                                                             2Connect monitors a host of
automation applications and          architecture. The platform                                                   advantage of the nRF52832 SoC’s
                                                                             environmental variables
services. The fundamental part of    assumes full responsibility for the                                          multiprotocol support to offer
2Connect is the Celebes scalable     capture of IoT data, analyzing real     triggered motor-, switch-, lock-,    users both Bluetooth low energy
wireless gateway which employs       time information and taking             alarm-, and valve-actuation, and     and legacy FRAP stacks, thus
Nordic Semiconductor’s               corresponding remedial actions          visualization.                       ‘future proofing’ customer
nRF52832 multiprotocol System-       with automatic, wirelessly-                “2Connect provides our            installations.”

   Nordic expands with new offices in mainland China
   Nordic Semiconductor has opened two                                                                care, payment systems, and smart remote
   new sales, marketing, and customer                                                                 control with voice command.
   support offices in mainland China. The                                                                “China has been growing steadily every
   offices enable the company to provide                                                              year since Nordic started out in Asia in
   fast sales and technical support to China’s                                                        2001,” says Ståle “Steel” Ytterdal,
   burgeoning wireless design and                                                                     Nordic’s Director of Sales & Marketing –
   manufacturing sector. The facilities are in                                                        Asia.
   addition to Nordic’s Asian HQ in Hong                                                                 “However, when we introduced
   Kong.                                                                                              Bluetooth low energy in 2010 sales
      The offices officially opened on March 1,                                                       exploded. That showed Nordic that there
                                                    Nordic’s Shanghai office celebrates its opening   was a lot of innovation going on in China
   2016, and are based in Shanghai in north-
   east China, and Shenzhen in Guangdong                                                              and we needed to position ourselves to
   province in the south of China. Each office                                                        closely support these customers.”
   is staffed by a Technical Sales                                                                       The opening of the Shanghai and
   representative and Field Applications                                                              Shenzhen offices strengthens Nordic’s
   Engineer and managed by Nordic’s                                                                   relationship with its current distribution
   existing Regional Sales Managers in China.                                                         partners - Avnet, Arrow, Honestar, New
      The opening of the offices is a response                                                        Spirit, Rutronik, and Xuntong - providing
   to the dramatic growth of companies                                                                an increased presence in mainland China
   designing and developing Bluetooth low                                                             and the basis for further collaboration on
   energy solutions in China, particularly in                                                         joint meetings with potential and existing
   the area of wearables, IoT, toys, health       While the Shenzhen office also opens for business   customers.

Global IoT security spending to climb                                      New modules v4.2 compatible
                                                                                                                                                In brief

Worldwide spending on Internet of Things (IoT) security will               Taiyo Yuden, has selected Nordic’s nRF52832 Bluetooth low
reach $348 million in 2016, a 23.7 percent increase from 2015              energy System-on-Chip (SoC) for its new EYSHCNZXZ and
spending of $281.5 million, according to analyst Gartner Inc.              EYSHJNZXZ Bluetooth low energy modules. The modules are
Although overall spending will initially be moderate, Gartner              fully-tested Bluetooth low energy solutions compatible with
predicts IoT security market spending will increase at a faster            the latest version of the Bluetooth Core Specification (4.2),
rate after 2020, as improved skills, organizational change,                simplifying the design of a wide range of connected products
and more scalable service options improve execution. The                   where performance, small size, and low power consumption are
company claims that by 2020 more than 25 percent of identified             key factors. The use of Nordic wireless technology for the modules
enterprise attacks will involve the IoT.                                   continues a long-term design partnership.

www.nordicsemi.com                                                                                      ulp wireless quarter | summer 2016 | 5
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news

Bluetooth low energy gives model
railroads a 21st century makeover
       One of the world’s largest                                                                                 makes it possible for multiple
       model railroad makers has                                                                                  users to simultaneously control
       transformed a decades old                                                                                  their locomotives on a single
market with the introduction of                                                                                   layout.”
the first Bluetooth low energy                                                                                       Janyszek adds that E-Z App
controlled trains. E-Z App from                                                                                   supports wireless smartphone
Bachmann Trains brings                                                                                            and tablet control of any of its E-Z
smartphone and tablet wireless                                                                                    App compatible model trains over
touchscreen control and app-                                                                                      a range of up to 33 meters, and is
based interactivity to the model                                                                                  also compatible with all MFI-
train market for the first time,                                                                                  approved game controllers.
reducing the start-up cost and                                                                                       “It has been incredibly
complexity for model railroad                                                                                     refreshing to see adults, young
enthusiasts.                                                                                                      children, and experienced
    E-Z App was developed in                                                                                      hobbyists downloading the app
conjunction with Bluetooth model                                                                                  because of its simplicity, and
train PCB design specialist,                                                                                      rediscovering the pleasure of
BlueRail Trains, using Nordic                                                                                     model trains,” comments David
Semiconductor’s nRF51822                E-Z App represents the biggest                                            Rees, CEO & Creative Director at
System-on-Chip (SoC)-based              technological advance in model                                            Bluerail Trains.
                                        railroads for nearly 30 years
BMD-200 modules from U.S.
engineering firm Rigado.                controls for sound effects, lighting
Bachmann says E-Z App brings            effects, and many other
simple wireless touchscreen             variables,” says Rich Janyszek,
control and intuitive app-based         Senior VP of Sales &
interactivity to the traditional        Marketing at Bachmann.
model train market for the first           “In addition, the E-Z App
time.                                   control system automatically
    “This includes putting, quite       keeps track of all locomotives
literally, at a user’s fingertips       that are present on a track layout
features such as speed table            and lists them on the program’s
controls [acceleration and              opening screen in a roster that
deceleration rates], volume             can be accessed at any time. This

   Nordic nRF52 Series SoC wins CEM Editor’s Choice Award
   Nordic Semiconductor’s next           Chinese market.                       services that were fast,         Bluetooth low energy
   generation nRF52832 Bluetooth           The nRF52832 SoC featured           meticulous, and thoughtful,      technology has seen strong
   low energy System-on-Chip, has        among the best of its peers in        resulting in higher customer     growth, but the recent
   won the China Electronic Market       market share and boasted one          satisfaction, according to the   emergence of wearable health-
   (CEM) Editor’s Choice Award           or more innovative features—in        CEM editors.                     care devices and smart-home
   2015 in the “Most Competitive         particular its unique Near-Field        “The applications base for     applications will provide a
   Interface Products in China”          Communication (NFC) tag—                                               strong impetus for further
   category.                             while Nordic also demonstrated                                         growth in the Bluetooth
      Jointly hosted by CEM              pre-sales, sales, and after-sales                                      market,” comments Ståle
   magazine and China Electronic                                                                                “Steel” Ytterdal, Nordic
   Exhibition & Information                                                                                     Semiconductor’s Director of
   Communication Co., Ltd., the                                                                                 Sales & Marketing in Asia.
   selection criteria for the award                                                                                “Our nRF52 Series SoCs
   considered brand influence,                                                                                  address these markets with
   market share, technological                                                                                  compact high-integration
   innovation, and product                                                                                      solutions that support the ULP
   service. The nRF52832 SoC                                                                                    wireless capability these new
   was judged to fulfill all of these                                                                           markets demand. We are very
                                          Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC was
   criteria, including a sound            praised for its innovation and                                        honored to receive the Editor’s
   sales performance in the               customer satisfaction                                                 Choice Award from CEM.”

6 | summer 2016 | ulp wireless quarter                                                                                          www.nordicsemi.com
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ULP WIRELESS TRENDS
    The latest developments in technology

                                                                                                                         By 2025 smart cities
                                                                                                                       may spend $1.12 trillion
                                                                                                                          on IoT deployment

                                                                                                    Wireless standards
                                                                                                    slash IoT costs
                                                                                                    Smart cities of the future may look towards
                                                                                                    open wireless standards to save billions in
                                                                                                    Internet of Things (IoT) deployment costs,
                                                                                                    according to market intelligence firm
     Schoolchildren are taking a
                                                                                                    Machina Research.
     hands-on approach to coding
     thanks to the BBC micro:bit                                                                        The firm said choosing open standards -
                                                                                                    for example Bluetooth low energy - would
                                                                                                    lead to more interoperability between
   School project sees BBC micro:bit                                                                networks and applications, cutting
                                                                                                    costs by as much as 30 percent, and
   carried to edge of space and back                                                                encouraging deployment of IoT solutions.
                                                                                                        Machina Research predicts that by
   A school in Yorkshire, England recently launched a BBC micro:bit to the edge of space,           2025 smart cities may spend $1.12 trillion
   carried up into the stratosphere by a helium balloon.                                            on deploying smart technology, but could
      The project was the brainchild of computer teacher Peter Bell, and saw pupils from            save up to $341 billion if they use open
   Rishworth School design and engineer a module integrating the micro:bit, sensors, a GPS          wireless standards instead of proprietary
   tracking device, and an on-board camera to take pictures and record video on its journey.        technology. On top of the lowered cost
      A team of 20 pupils tracked the weather balloon and its cargo as it made its way up to        for deployment, Machina also predicts 27
   a height of 32,588 meters, before the balloon burst and the module began its descent,            percent more connected devices by 2025
   reaching a speed of 290 km/hr when a parachute deployed and returned the module to               if open wireless standards are adopted by
   Earth safely. Thanks to the GPS tracking device, the school was able to follow the module’s      smart cities and IoT providers.
   descent and locate it in a farmer’s field some 100 miles away from where it was launched.            The firm said the current issue is IoT
      “We were in two cars following the signal and it was very exciting. We heard later from a     providers are bundling proprietary
   pilot that air traffic was rerouted because something was coming down to earth fast and it       wireless technology with their deployment
   was our computer,” says Bell.                                                                    software, instead of using open source
      At the heart of the micro:bit is a Nordic Semiconductor nRF51822 System-on-Chip (SoC).        alternatives.

Wireless transmitters deliver pinpoint location information
Apple has been awarded a patent for a                                                             Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi, and GPS.
system of city-wide low power wireless               The system                                      In operation, a stationary waypoint device
                                                     could improve
transmitters capable of sending pinpoint-                                                         would broadcast its location via Bluetooth
                                                     positioning
accurate location data as well as                    accuracy over                                low energy messages. Each message would
environmental alerts to iPhones.                     traditional GPS                              be sent out at a known signal strength,
   The patent entitled “System with wireless                                                      allowing the receiving device, like an iPhone,
messages to enhance location accuracy”                                                            to extrapolate its relative location based on a
attempts to solve signal reception issues that                                                    received signal strength indicator value,
crop up in densely populated cities, while                                                        thereby determining its absolute position
increasing the granularity of positioning                                                         depending on the number and quality of
data. The solution is said to consume less                                                        messages received.
power than A-GPS, Wi-Fi positioning, and                                                             Applied to navigation, the system could be
cellular triangulation techniques.                                                                configured to track vehicle movement with a
   The patent calls for a multitude of                                                            high degree of accuracy, for example, along
stationary transmitters to be installed at                                                        off-ramps and on-ramps or forks in a road,
strategic locations near a city’s roads. Each                                                     where traditional GPS systems often fail to
transmitter is a smart wireless hub supporting                                                    resolve user position adequately.

www.nordicsemi.com                                                                                 ulp wireless quarter | summer 2016 | 7
BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR
news extra

New Eddystone beacon format
addresses security concerns
The Ephemeral Identities addition to Google’s more secure Eddystone beacon format is
now supported by a dedicated Nordic Software Development Kit

B
           eacons are driving new
           proximity-based services.                                                                                A more secure form of Eddystone
                                                                                                                            from Google promises to
           The devices comprise
                                                                                                                        accelerate beacon adoption
           low-cost Bluetooth low
energy transmitters for indoor or
outdoor use, placed in a particular
location or point of interest. The
beacon transmits its identity to
any Bluetooth 4.0-equipped
mobiles in range; those hosting
a companion app can be located
and the software can trigger
various types of notifications.
    Because beacons have the
potential to identify the location
of smartphones to within a few
meters, they enable content
delivery specifically targeted to
that location for users who want
it. As such, the technology is          “Beacons are a core building block of the Internet of Things but
predicted to be rapidly adopted         security and privacy has been a concern with today’s beacon formats”
by stores as a way to boost sales.
Analyst Business Insider, for           about a consumer with the             An Eddystone-EID beacon               Nordic’s Svendsen.
example, estimates that the top         intention of malicious attack.        uses an AES-encrypted eight-             Nordic is one of fifteen
100 U.S. retailers could reap $44.4        This perceived vulnerability is    byte beacon identifier that           manufacturers currently
billion in sales by the end of this     holding back beacon deployment.       changes pseudo-randomly               supporting Eddystone-EID, a list
year as a result of the influence of    “Privacy is the top consumer          with an average period (from          which also includes Sensoro and
beacon-triggered smartphone             barrier to wide adoption of           one second to just over nine          Estimote, beacon makers that use
notifications.                          beacons,” Adam Silverman, an          hours) determined by the              Nordic’s Bluetooth low energy
    However, despite the potential,     analyst with Forrester Research,      developer. The identifier is          wireless technology. When Google
beacons have taken a little longer      told technology publication Wired.    generated using a key and timer       introduced Eddystone-EID, Nordic
than initially predicted to catch on.                                         running on the beacon. The key        simultaneously announced its
“Beacons are a core building block      Hardening beacon security             is generated and exchanged            Software Development Kit (SDK)
of the Internet of Things,” explains    In April, Google introduced new       with a resolution service using       and supporting tools for engineers
Reidar Martin Svendsen, Technical       technology to enhance beacon          a defined protocol and only the       looking to work with the more
Product Manager with Nordic             privacy by launching Eddystone-       beacon and the service to which       secure beacon technology.
Semiconductor, “but security and        Ephemeral Identities (EID), an        it is registered have access to the      The ‘nRF5 SDK for Eddystone’
privacy has been a concern with         addition to the Eddystone beacon      key. If registered with the service   enables development of
today’s beacon formats.”                format that itself was announced      beacon ‘attachments’ are served       Eddystone-EID beacons to
    The root of the problem             in mid 2015.                          in the normal way across a secure     provide real-world context to users
is Bluetooth low energy                    The company explains               link to a consumer’s mobile.          in a huge variety of proximity-
technology’s use of a unique            that Eddystone-EID provides               Apart from the security           based beacon applications. The
identifier to pair with mobile          developers more power to control      improvement, Eddystone-               SDK also features a Generic
devices for the exchange                who can make use of a beacon’s        EID also introduces other             Attribute Profile (GATT) that
of information. In most                 signal, enabling a new set of         enhancements such as an ability       allows beacons to be configured
applications this is not an             use cases for users to be able to     to broadcast URLs. “[Now, for         from a smartphone.
issue, but because a beacon             exchange information securely         example] advertising posters             The SDK is designed for Nordic’s
is designed to pair with any            and privately. The secret of the      [could have] the ability to           nRF52 Series Bluetooth low
mobile device that comes                technology is a beacon ‘frame’ (or    broadcast a relevant web address      energy Systems-on-Chip (SoCs).
within range, a fixed identifier        signal) that changes periodically,    to smartphones nearby - making        A future upgrade will also allow
can leave open a ‘back door’ for        and consequently is only              it easy for interested parties        for the existing nRF51 or nRF52
the unethical to eavesdrop on           recognizable to a controlled set of   to find out more about the            Eddystone beacons to be updated
communications and perhaps              users (those that have signed up      advertised item without having        to Eddystone-EID via an over-the-
access private information              to the service).                      to download an app first,” notes      air (OTA) firmware update. 

8 | summer 2016 | ulp wireless quarter                                                                                           www.nordicsemi.com
BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR
COMMENT

Nordic’s nRF52 Series powers
new generation of RF modules
The nRF52832 SoC is enabling manufacturers to build a powerful new breed of
Bluetooth low energy modules based on proven architecture, says Mitsuo Yamazaki
                                                                                                                   as well as 512 kB Flash memory
                By Mitsuo Yamazaki,
                Regional Sales                                                                                     and 64 kB RAM.
                Manager – Japan,                                                                                      The ARM processor enables
                Nordic Semiconductor
                                                                                                                   the SoC to run applications

T
                                                                                                                   that previously demanded a
          he RF modules market                                                                                     two-chip (2.4 GHz transceiver
          is booming. According                                                                                    plus separate microcontroller)
          to IHS, in mid 2015,                                                                                     solution. At the time of launch,
          modules made up                                                                                          the nRF52832 SoC was the
about a third of the overall                                                                                       world’s most powerful single-
low power wireless market                                                                                          chip Bluetooth low energy
and the company expected                                                                                           device and was recently
that proportion to grow to 40                                                                                      recognized by China Electronic
percent by 2018. This statistic                                                                                    Market magazine as “the most
should come as no surprise; the                                                                                    competitive interface product in
                                       Small but powerful: Taiyo Yuden’s smallest Bluetooth low energy module
lure of a pre-engineered, tested       measures just 5.1 by 11.3 by 1.3 mm but incorporates a 64 MHz, 32-bit ARM
                                                                                                                   China”. (See this issue pg6.)
and compliant RF solution for          Cortex M4F processor                                                           Several module makers already
manufacturers with little or                                                                                       launched nRF52832 SoC-based
no experience with wireless
connectivity, yet needing to
                                       Trains was based on Nordic
                                       Semiconductor’s nRF51822
                                                                             “Because the                          products. Here in Japan, Taiyo
                                                                                                                   Yuden has added to its range of
make their products “smart”, is        Bluetooth low energy System-          nRF52832                              nRF51 Series-based modules with
compelling.                            on-Chip (SoC). The SoC                SoC’s hardware                        two nRF52 Series-based units
   U.S.-based Bachmann                 integrates an ARM Cortex                                                    measuring as small as 5.1 by 11.3
Trains, for example, one of            M0 processor, 2.4 GHz
                                                                             and software                          by 1.3 mm.
the world’s oldest and largest         multiprotocol radio, up to 256        architecture are                         “The ARM processor and
traditional model railroad and
train manufacturers, teamed
                                       kB Flash, and up to 32 kB RAM.
                                          The SoC also features a
                                                                             compatible with                       greater memory allocation makes
                                                                                                                   the nRF52832 SoC a better
up with RF module maker                unique software architecture          the nRF51 Series                      choice for single-chip Bluetooth
Rigado to bring Bluetooth low          that separates the RF software        modules, it makes                     Smart solutions for complex IoT
energy technology to model             protocol from the developer’s                                               applications,” says Mikio Aoki,
train engines. Bachmann says           application code ensuring that
                                                                             it much easier                        Taiyo Yuden Project Manager.
wireless connectivity brings           during software development           for customers to                      Aoki went on to add: “Because the
touchscreen control and app-
based interactivity to the model
                                       the RF protocol can’t be
                                       corrupted. Launched in mid-
                                                                             upgrade”                              nRF52832 SoC’s ARM processor
                                                                                                                   and software architecture are
trains for the first time. (See this   2012, the nRF51822 is now used                                              compatible with the nRF51 Series
issue pg6.)                            in millions of products across                                              modules, it makes it much easier
   In addition to Bachmann,            the world.                            The nRF52832 SoC is based             for our customers to upgrade to
scores of manufacturers find              Rigado is not the only             on the proven software- and           the new modules.”
the trade-offs brought by              company to base a module on           hardware-architecture of the             And in the U.S., Argenox
choosing a module—higher               Nordic Bluetooth low energy           nRF51 Series but features a           Technologies has also
cost bill of materials and fewer       technology. Nordic lists dozens       64 MHz, 32-bit ARM Cortex             introduced a nRF52832 SoC-
opportunities for product              of third-party nRF51822 SoC-          M4F processor delivering up           based module, measuring 9.7
customization compared to an           powered modules on its website        to 60 percent more generic            by 14.3 by 2 mm and certified to
RF solution assembled from             including those from companies        processing power, offering            FCC, ETSI, and CE standards.
discrete components—are                such as Fujitsu, Laird, and u-blox.   ten times the Floating Point             “The nRF52832 SoC makes
well worth making to simplify                                                performance, and twice the            Bluetooth low energy products
design and manufacturing. A            Boosting performance                  Digital Signal Processing             smarter and better,” explains
single module, for example,            Last year’s launch of the Nordic      (DSP) performance compared            Argenox Technologies Founder
can be reused across multiple          nRF52832 Bluetooth low energy         to competing solutions. The           and CEO, Gustavo Litovsky. “The
products, easing the problem           SoC allowed module makers             SoC has an enhanced 2.4 GHz           chip makes the end solution
of supporting numerous unique          to design a new generation            multiprotocol radio offering          faster to develop, lower cost, and
wireless designs.                      of modules with significantly         Bluetooth low energy (fully           more reliable, while allowing the
   The Rigado RF module                greater performance than those        compatible with Bluetooth 4.2),       designer to make fewer trade-offs
selected by Bachmann                   which came before.                    with -96 dB (receive) sensitivity     in their selection of features.” 

www.nordicsemi.com                                                                                       ulp wireless quarter | summer 2016 | 9
BUILDING THE BBC MICRO:BIT - COVER STORY SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT - NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR
TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

  The BBC micro:bit project is
  inspiring the next generation of
  computer science engineers

Building the BBC micro:bit
Sally Ward-Foxton speaks to the man behind the BBC’s ambitious educational project

                Sally Ward-Foxton
                                          and math (STEM) subjects and         As soon as Nordic                       The U.K. government
                                          eventually pursuing careers in                                            changed the school curriculum
                is a freelance
                journalist specializing   computer science. It’s a laudable    Semiconductor                        as a result of the Royal Society
                in electronics            aim, but how did this ambitious      stepped in we knew                   report, but BBC Learning felt

T
                                          project come about?                                                       there was more that could be
         he British Broadcasting             Howard Baker was with the
                                                                               we’d solved most                     done. The BBC has a history of
         Corporation’s (BBC)              BBC’s education department, the      of the hardware                      getting involved with practical
         educational project              team which drove development         problems. Its chip is a              projects to educate its home
         to give every year 7             of the micro:bit. He explains that                                        country; in the 1980s, a similarly
schoolchild in the U.K. a free            the initial idea followed a 2011     brilliant solution”                  ambitious venture called the BBC
programmable learning device              report from the U.K.’s worldwide     Howard Baker                         Computer Literacy project placed
is almost fully rolled out, with          renowned Royal Society.                                                   microcomputers in U.K. schools
nearly one million devices                   The report identified a steep     understands. We’d stopped            to encourage young people to
already in the hands of their             decline in the number of students    learning these skills.”              learn to use them. A basic level of
new owners. The devices, called           studying computer science                                                 computer literacy was seen to be
“micro:bits”, are small (and              at university. The report also       Repeating history                    extremely important to prepare
wearable) boards equipped                 revealed that the students’          The current generation had no        the workforce for the impending
with a basic LED display, various         skill level when they arrived at     idea that programming skills         microcomputer revolution.
sensors and buttons, and a                university had steadily declined.    were in demand in the U.K, Baker        Called the BBC Micro, the
Bluetooth low energy wireless                “[This was all happening] at a    says. It came as a surprise to       computer given to schools in the
chip with embedded ARM                    time when [future] jobs required     many schoolchildren that there is    1980s could be programmed using
processor. The intention is to            more and more of these skills,”      a strong British industry creating   BASIC computer language and
teach children the basics of              Baker says. “That’s thinking         games and movies which               represented many people’s first
programming with the hope of              skills associated with computer      represents an exciting potential     experience of using a computer.
encouraging them into studying            programming or organizing            career path for computer science     It was a successful project and is
science, technology, engineering,         things in a way that a computer      and STEM graduates.                  believed to have kick-started the

10 | summer 2016 | ulp wireless quarter                                                                                          www.nordicsemi.com
TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

U.K.’s fledgling digital industries, in   programme, Blue Peter, with                                              call for commercial partners to
particular, the games industry.           the idea of encouraging basic                                            help with hardware, software,
   “The revolution did happen,            electronic assembly. However, the                                        learning resources, and finance.
every home did have a                     cost of materials for Blue Peter                                         The partners worked together
microcomputer – computers are             projects is limited to around GB£2                                       to finalize the spec of the device,
now ubiquitous,” Baker says. “The         ($2.89), which meant that more                                           which now included an on-board
skills that we learned in the 1980s       expensive electronics projects                                           accelerometer and compass.
took us through the revolutions           weren’t appropriate.                                                     U.K. IP vendor ARM developed
that followed very quickly after             “I was cycling home and                                               and tested the basic hardware,
that. We were capable of building         thought: ‘what’s the cheapest,           KEY POINTS                      Technology Will Save Us designed
games, we were capable of                 smallest thing we could put in                       —                   the shape, look and feel of the
coming up with the world wide             their hands, what could we give            Rollout of the BBC’s          device, and it was manufactured
web. But it was obvious [in 2011]         them that would be a kickstart?’,”         project to provide a          by distributor Farnell element14.
that those skills were dipping.”          Baker says. “We’d have to be able         million free micro:bit            ARM designed the hardware
   Baker’s Innovations team at            to give it away, so it would have to   boards to help teach U.K.         with simplicity in mind. This
BBC Learning started working              be very cheap and it would have        schoolchildren to code is         included a high level of integration
with Manchester Metropolitan              to have something on there that             almost complete              leading to the selection of a
University, assembling panels             would immediately fascinate, like                    —                   Bluetooth low energy chip with
of skills experts and teachers to         LEDs to write a message or make            The code written by           an embedded ARM processor.
                                                                                    the children is run on
discuss what form a potential             an animation. It needs buttons,                                          Nordic Semiconductor’s
                                                                                    the Nordic nRF51822
educational project might take.           an input/output to attach to a                                           nRF51822 is the brain of the
                                                                                 Bluetooth low energy SoC
Early ideas included a software           sensor, and it must be the easiest                                       micro:bit combining the latest
                                                                                               —
version of the BBC Micro to teach         thing in the world to program.                                           Bluetooth low energy, ANT+ and
                                                                                  The micro:bits will soon
basic programming. Kids loved             Like the BBC Micro - just tap in an                                      proprietary wireless technology
                                                                                 be able to connect to the
the prototype, Baker says, but it         instruction and the thing does it.”     wider Internet as part of        with a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0
was especially loved by parents                                                   the IoT, helping prepare         microprocessor.
who had used the original BBC             Thinking bigger                        young coders to develop              The nRF51822’s microprocessor
Micro at school.                          The BBC micro:bit was born.              the IoT applications of         is powerful enough to look after
   As this was happening,                 A proof of concept device was                   tomorrow                 the wireless connectivity while
a new breed of electronics                made up by BBC R&D and trialed                                           also running the code written
hobbyists called ‘makers’ — tech          at various events with great                                             by the kids and looking after
enthusiasts, engineers, and               success. But the project really                                          the board’s other capabilities
students — started to emerge.             gained momentum when newly-                                              (with the exception of the USB
The rise of the Maker Movement            appointed Director General of the                                        functionality which is supervised
coincided with the early part of          BBC, Tony Hall, announced that                                           by an NXP Semiconductors
the BBC Learning project and              the BBC’s big educational project                                        microprocessor). The wireless
encouraged the notion that there          of 2015 would be “Make It Digital”,                                      connectivity allows a micro:bit
ought to be a piece of hardware           an initiative to, in his words, “get                                     to communicate with other
involved, that the kids could touch       the nation coding again”. By then                 FRONT                  micro:bits, and Bluetooth 4.0
and play with, to make it feel more       an integral part of this initiative,                                     compatible smartphones, tablets,
real. Some small smartphone-              the micro:bit team realized they                                         and computers.
controlled robots were built              could, and should, think bigger.                                            “We knew from working with
as part of the project, which             An initial idea to build 10,000                                          ARM that we wanted an ARM
reacted to signals embedded in            devices was scrapped in favor                                            Cortex-M0, but as soon as Nordic
popular BBC TV programmes,                of giving a device away to every                                         Semiconductor stepped up with
and they were a huge success              child in a whole year group – a                                          a [Bluetooth low energy System-
with children. This led to the            million devices in total.                                                on-Chip (SoC) with an embedded
Innovations team approaching              Towards the end of 2014, the                                             ARM microprocessor], and
                                                                                            BACK
the BBC’s flagship children’s TV          Innovations team put out a                                               showed it can do all this stuff we

U.K. 11 and 12 year old school children are now exploring the capabilities of the BBC micro:bit, a wirelessly-connected, programmable computer

www.nordicsemi.com                                                                                      ulp wireless quarter | summer 2016 | 11
TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

knew very quickly we’d solved                                                                                                                                                          end of the project. The micro:bit
most of the hardware problems,”                                                                                                                                                        hardware is now on sale to the
Baker explains. “It was a brilliant                                                                                                                                                    general public through Farnell
solution; in one step, the micro:bit                                                                                                                                                   element14 and several other
was equipped to do all the things                                                                                                                                                      retailers and there will be add-on
it needed to do.                                                                                                                                                                       kits available from partners like
    “Shake it and something                                                                                                                                                            Kitronic which will incorporate
happens, point it in a direction and                                                                                                                                                   additional sensors and other
something happens, tap it and                                                                                                                                                          learning materials. The micro:bits
a smartphone does something.                                                                                                                                                           might also eventually be able
That’s what turns the children on                                                                                                                                                      to transfer data between each
and underneath, Nordic’s chip is                                                                                                                                                       other, using the nRF51822 SoC’s
making it all possible.”                                                                                                                                                               proprietary radio functionality.
    The other important chip on                                                                                                                                                            Another potentially exciting
the board is NXP’s USB controller,                                                                                                                                                     development is that the BBC
                                                                 Nordic’s John Leonard (far left) and partners at the micro:bit U.K. roll-out
chosen because it enables code                                                                                                                                                         is working with Nominet (the
to be ported to the board without                                for the micro:bit’s Javascript                                              a great practical illustration of         U.K. web domain name registry)
first downloading a loader                                       editor, and C++ is also available                                           what coding can do. Samsung               to get micro:bits connected
program (a potential obstacle                                    through ARM mbed, the                                                       built an Android app which allows         to the wider Internet, using a
to setting up the micro:bit). The                                development environment used                                                the micro:bit to be programmed            Raspberry Pi or smartphone as
company also provided the MEMS                                   by many embedded engineers.                                                 wirelessly by a smartphone,               a gateway. Internet connectivity
accelerometer and compass                                           “The kids have a pathway                                                 and some of the smartphone’s              will effectively make a million-
chips. The board also has 25 LEDs                                where they can start with moving                                            functions to be controlled by the         plus micro:bits a genuine part
arranged in a grid, two buttons,                                 graphical blocks, like a jigsaw                                             micro:bit. Smartphones equipped           of the Internet of Things (IoT).
pins to link to other sensors via                                puzzle [in Blockly], then play with                                         with Bluetooth 4.0 and later can          The micro:bits can then act as
crocodile clips, and an edge                                     Python and Javascript, and then                                             communicate via the Nordic                sensor or actuator nodes for the
connector which can be used to                                   even move on to C++ on a clear                                              nRF51822 SoC which hosts a                Raspberry Pi or smartphone,
connect to other hardware, such                                  pathway,” Baker says.                                                       specially written Bluetooth Profile       connected via Bluetooth low
as Raspberry Pi or Arduino.                                         Key to connecting the                                                    and Services, courtesy of the             energy, a USB cable or through
    For the micro:bit’s software                                 hardware and software is a C++                                              Bluetooth SIG.                            the edge connector.
Microsoft volunteered its “Touch                                 library which implements the                                                   “Not only does Bluetooth low               “The micro:bit is not just a tool
Develop” platform and built a                                    interactions referred to by the                                             energy mean I can sit on the              to help kids code, it’s a tool to help
web app around it, before adding                                 higher languages. This important                                            bus and write my program on               kids get ready for the IoT,” Baker
Google’s Blockly language at                                     library was built by Lancaster                                              my smartphone, and transfer it            says. His view is that comparable
Baker’s request.                                                 University; it’s now a fully                                                directly to the micro:bit, but I can      to the microcomputer revolution
    Baker was also keen to include                               fledged open-source embedded                                                also get the micro:bit talking to         in the 1980s, the IoT is the next
Python, a software language                                      operating system with a range of                                            and controlling the smartphone,”          technology revolution our society
widely used in the teaching                                      functionalities that the various                                            explains Baker.                           faces. “The micro:bit is absolutely
community, and with the support                                  communities using the micro:bit                                                                                       about building IoT technology,
of the Python Foundation, a                                      can build on.                                                               Get ready for the IoT                     it’s about experimenting with
special version of Python for                                       Since most schoolchildren                                                Although the micro:bits are               building things for the new world,
embedded devices was added.                                      are very familiar with mobiles,                                             almost fully rolled out to the            and having the opportunity to do
Code Kingdoms was responsible                                    connection to a smartphone is                                               first target group, this isn’t the        that,” he says. 

                                                                                                                       ULP Wireless Q now available on
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                                                                                                                       tablets, and Amazon Kindle
                QUARTER 2 | SUMMER 2016

                                                                                                                       Nordic Semiconductor’s ULP Wireless Q keeps you up to date on
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                                           BBC micro:bit
                                          Eddystone strengthens

     automatically                              beacon security
                                                 What’s next for
                                               semiconductors?
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12 | summer 2016 | ulp wireless quarter                                                                                                                                                               www.nordicsemi.com
ANT WIRELESS UPDATE

A decade of collaboration
Kat Kent looks back over ten years of successful and productive cooperation
between ANT Wireless and Nordic Semiconductor
               Kat Kent is a Canada-
               based technology
               journalist and a
               wireless applications
               engineer

T
          he ANT RF software
          protocol (‘ANT’) was
          developed in response
          to a need to wirelessly
transport data, using very little
battery power, from a footpod to
a device such as a sportswatch.
Invented by Dynastream
Innovations, based in Cochrane,
Alberta, ANT was launched in
2003.
    During those early years
Dynastream worked closely
with Nordic Semiconductor to
develop silicon solutions that
would bring ANT to life. The                                                                               ANT was invented to link footpods to
                                                                                                   sportswatches and today is a key player in the
result of that collaboration was

                                                                                                                                                    Garmin
                                                                                                          new field of advanced running sensors
Nordic’s nRF24AP1, launched in
2005 and comprising a 2.4 GHz
silicon radio running ANT. The         focus on the solutions needed       and taking 20 percent off the       Nordic’s flagship nRF52832 SoC
transceiver was designed to work       for their products and industry     nRF24AP1’s peak current draw.       platform that offers customers
with a separate power-efficient        sectors. The collaboration          For its part, Dynastream added      ultra-low power protocol options,
microprocessor.                        between cycling companies has       several key features to ANT         like ANT, to solve our mutual
    In 2006, Dynastream was            strengthened over the decade,       for the nRF24AP2’s release:         customers’ unique connectivity
acquired by Garmin Ltd, the            with an impressive array of         proximity search, continuous        use-cases,” says James Fujimoto,
U.S.-based company best known          standards released. ANT+ Bike       scan, and frequency agility.        Director of ANT Wireless. “We
for its navigation devices and         Speed and Cadence (2007),              The Garmin subsidiary            highly value our partnership with
sportswatches. ANT was a               Power (2007), and Heart Rate        Dynastream has retained             Nordic, a partnership that has
strategic technology employed          (2008) Device Profiles were         development responsibility for      successfully brought ultra-low
by the Garmin ‘Edge’ series of         released shortly after the          ANT, ensuring interoperability      power connectivity solutions to
bike computers and ensured             alliance was formalized. These      and backwards compatibility         market, and we look forward to
interoperability with peripheral       device profiles were followed       between each generation             many more years of successful
wireless devices — such as speed,      by Light Electric Vehicle (2011),   of ANT chips. This business         partnering.”
cadence, and power sensors —           Suspension (2014), Seatpost         model continues with the latest        Today, ANT has evolved into a
from a wide range of companies.        (2015), Bike lights (2015), Radar   generations of Systems-on-Chip      technology for high node count
ANT quickly became a de facto          (2015), and Shifting (2016).        (SoCs) from Nordic; the nRF51       networks that require low power
wireless standard for the cycling          2009 saw the launch of          Series (launched in 2012) and       operation across the network.
sector including the elite riders of   the Nordic nRF24AP2 single-         2015’s nRF52832 multiprotocol       Being highly configurable, ANT
the Tour de France.                    chip ANT solutions in both          SoCs. ‘SoftDevices’ (essentially    can be used to form point-
    2007 saw the formal creation       single channel and 8-channel        RF protocol stacks) S332 (ANT &     to-point, broadcast, shared,
of the ANT+ Alliance, a group          variants. The cost-optimized        Bluetooth low energy) and S212      and a variety of mesh network
of companies committed                 single channel variant was used     (ANT) can be installed on the       topologies that operate as part
to developing standardized             for ANT+ sensor products,           nRF52832 chip. Documentation        of proprietary network designs.
and interoperable ANT+                 while the 8-channel variant         and technical support specific      ANT+ continues to lead the way
products. 2008 saw the first           allowed products such as bike       to the ANT stack is provided        in standardized solutions for
ANT+ Symposium, an annual              computers and sportswatches to      directly by Dynastream, while       the cycling sector, is strong in
event hosted by Dynastream             synchronize with eight sensors      Nordic provides support for         the fitness industry where high
and sponsored by Nordic                concurrently.                       the S132 SoftDevice and for any     node count coexistence and
Semiconductor that continues               Nordic brought an improved      other issues.                       manufacturer interoperability
each fall in the Canadian Rockies.     silicon technology to the new          “Our chip and protocol           is key, and is a key player in the
    ANT+ Alliance Members form         chip design, significantly          partnership has grown from the      developing field of advanced
technical working groups to            lowering the purchase price,        small radio-only nRF2401 to         running sensors. 

www.nordicsemi.com                                                                                 ulp wireless quarter | summer 2016 | 13
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