802.15.4 News - Page 5 of 8 - CNX Software

November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Matter compatible ESP-ZeroCode modules enable plug-and-play automation solutions

Espressif Systems has just announced the Matter-compatible ESP-ZeroCode modules with Wi-Fi and/or Thread (802.15.4) wireless connectivity that are designed as plug-and-play solutions for LED lights, outlets, switches, dimmers, relays, fans, and other lighting and electrical devices. I was only recently introduced to no-code programming in a recent post by Ninephon Kongangkab explaining how to use SenseCraft firmware for no-code programming on Wio Terminal. Basically, there’s no need to know Arduino, MicroPython, or any programming language, as the user just has to press a few buttons to configure an IoT device to meet his/her requirements. With the ESP-ZeroCode modules, Espressif offers something similar using several of their ESP32 chips. The first ESP-ZeroCode modules will be offered with either ESP32-C3 (aka ESP8685) or ESP32-C2 (aka ESP8684) WiFi & BLE RISC-V SoCs, or ESP32-H2 802.15.4 & BLE RISC-V microcontroller, and ships with a Matter compatible firmware that enables “near-zero investment in development”. Not […]

September 5, 2022September 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Telink energy harvesting wireless module to enable batteryless remote controls

Telink Energy Harvesting Multi protocol Wireless module TV remote control

Telink TLSR8273-M-EH is a multi-protocol wireless connectivity module with energy harvesting capabilities implemented through Nowi’s PMIC, and designed for batteryless devices (or ones with “forever batteries”) such as TV remote controls, but also wearables, and electronic shelf labels among others. The solution is based on a 48MHz RISC microcontroller that supports Bluetooth 5.1 LE, 802.15.4 (Zigbee/RF4CE/6LoWPAN/Thread), and 2.4GHz proprietary protocols. With a single module integrating all main components required for batteryless operation, Telink says its solutions reduce BOM and size, as well as supply chain complexity, and improves user-friendliness by removing the need for battery swaps. Telink TLSR8273-M-EH specifications: Core – 32-bit RISC microcontroller @ up to 48 MHz (CoreMark 1.25/MHz) Memory – 64 KB SRAM with 32 KB retention Storage – 512 KB flash RF Bluetooth 5.1 LE up to 2 Mbps, with AOA/AOD support, Bluetooth Mesh IEEE 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, RF4CE, 6LoWPAN, Thread 2.4GHz proprietary protocols RX […]

July 10, 2022July 10, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Espressif unveils “One-Stop Matter Solution” for ESP32 wireless SoC’s

Espressif Systems have announced their one-stop Matter solution that features their ESP32, ESP32-C, and ESP32-S series wireless microcontrollers with WiFi and/or Bluetooth LE connectivity, as well as the ESP32-H series with an 802.15.4 radio for Thread and Zigbee connectivity. Matter, which was first introduced in 2019 as Project CHIP, aims to improve interoperability among Smart Home products, has a focus on security, and the protocol is supposed to work on top of the most popular communication standards like Ethernet, Thread, 802.15.4, WiFI, Bluetooth, and so on, but more on that later. The first commercial products with support for Matter are scheduled for the end of the year, so all major vendors of wireless chips have already introduced Matter-ready solutions including NXP, Silicon Labs, Nordic Semi, and others. Espressif had actually already talked about Matter support with the announcement of the ESP32-C2 chip. But the recent announcement targets all Espressif’s ESP32 […]

June 15, 2022June 20, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Nordic Thingy:53 is a dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 platform for IoT prototyping

As one should have expected after Nordic Thingy:52 and Thingy:91 IoT devkits were introduced in 2017 and 2019 respectively, the Norwegian company has now launched the Thingy:53 platform based on Nordic Semi nRF5340 dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 SoC for IoT prototyping with Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, Matter, Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4, NFC, and Bluetooth mesh RF protocols. The development kit also incorporates the nPM1100 PMIC and nRF21540 Front End Module (FEM), a power amplifier/low noise amplifier (PA/LNA) range extender, as well as multiple motion and environmental sensors, as well as a rechargeable 1350 mAh Li-Po battery for power. Nordic Thingy:53 specifications: SoC – Nordic Semi nRF5340 SoC with 128 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 Application core with 1 MB Flash + 512 KB RAM, and a 64 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 Network core with 256 KB Flash + 64 KB RAM Wireless connectivity RF front-end nRF21540 FEM Protocols – Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth Mesh, NFC, Thread/Zigbee, […]

May 13, 2022May 13, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

u-blox MAYA-W2 IoT module offers dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE 5.2, and Zigbee/Thread connectivity

u-blox MAYA-W2 is a tri-radio IoT module supporting dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth Low Energy 5.2, and IEEE 802.15.4 (Thread and Zigbee) connectivity based on the NXP IW612 or IW611 chipset introduced last January. The module is offered with a PCB antenna, u.FL connectors, and/or antenna pins, supports up to 600 Mbps link speed, and targets industrial and consumer mass-market applications in industrial automation, smart building & energy management, healthcare, smart home, and more. u-blox MAYA-W2 highlights: Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax dual-band 2.4 and 5 GHz Up to 600 Mbit/s throughput Output power EIRP – 18 dBm Operation modes: Access point (up to 16 stations), station, Wi-Fi direct (combinations) Bluetooth 5.2 Dual-mode Bluetooth classic and Bluetooth Low Energy 5.2 LE Audio Output power EIRP – 20 dBM Bluetooth profiles and services – Bluetooth HCI 802.15.4 radio Supports Thread and Zigbee Support for the Matter protocol Variants with PCB-antenna, U.FL connectors, and antenna […]

January 6, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

NXP IW612 Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 802.15.4 tri-radio solution supports Matter

Matter, previously known as Project Chip, is a unified interface for Smart Home devices to improve interoperability between devices from different manufacturers and associated services like Google Assitant or Amazon Alexa. Matter can work over Thread, WiFi, Ethernet, BLE, etc… so it’s not limited by the physical layer. So far, we mostly heard about development related to Matter, and Espressif has published a series of posts about Matter to be for instance used by their upcoming ESP32-H2 wireless MCU, but I had not seen many other solutions, not commercial products. This is going to change in 2022, as Belkin announced it’s working on “redesigned smart plugs and lighting solutions” with support for Matter over Thread” that start selling this summer. Separately, NXP also announced the IW612 tri-radio solution with Matter support and dual-band WiFI 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and 802.15.4 radios. NXP IW612 IW612 key features and specifications: Dedicated, independent CPUs […]

December 27, 2021August 7, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

$1.8 XT-ZB1 Zigbee & BLE devkit features BL702 RISC-V module

Bouffalo Labs BL702 is a 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller with a 2.4 GHz radio for Zigbee 3.0 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity that we first found in the Sipeed RV-Debugger Plus UART & JTAG debug board that did not make use of the radio at all. But a BL702 development kit was brought to my attention, with the XT-ZB1 devkit equipped with a Zigbee & BLE module of the same name, and sold for just $1.80 per unit on Aliexpress. Shipping adds $4.63 where I live, but they also offer packs of 5 or 10 with the same shipping fee, meaning if you buy 10 the total cost should be around $22 including shipping, or around $2.2 per board. Alternatively, the module alone goes for $1. XT-ZB1 devkit specifications: XT-ZB1 wireless module with MCU – BL702C 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller @ 144 MHz with FPU, 132KB RAM, 192KB ROM, 1Kbit eFuse Storage […]

December 22, 2021December 23, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

ESP32 UWB board features DW1000 module for accurate indoor positioning

FiRa “Fine Ranging” UWB technology was introduced a few years ago and is now found in devkits and Apple U1 chip. Makerfabs ESP32 UWB board provides another option with Espressif ESP32-WROVER-32 or ESP32-WROOM-32 WiFi & Bluetooth module combined with a Decawave DW1000 module for precision tracking. Makerfabs explains the board acts like a continuously scanning radar that locks onto another device (called Anchor, since it’s usually in a fixed location) and communicates with it to determine the distance between objects by calculating the time of flight (ToF) between devices, or in other words, the roundtrip time of challenge/response packets. ESP32 UWB board specifications: Wireless modules: WiFi & Bluetooth LE – ESP32-WROVER-32 or ESP32-WROOM-32 module with ESP32 dual-core processor @ 240 MHz UWB – B&T BU01 module based on Decawave DW1000 chip; IEEE802.15.4-2011 UWB compliant wireless transceiver module with a precision of 10cm indoors, a data rate of up to 6.8 […]