ST has launched a new generation of low-energy Bluetooth chips to boost the smart connected hardware market

STMicroelectronics introduces the next generation Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) system chip. The new products will accelerate the promotion and application of intelligent connected hardware in the home, shopping centers, industry, toys, game consoles, personal health care, public infrastructure and other fields. The latest phones and tablets on the market are equipped with low-energy Bluetooth wireless technology that works with BLE enabled hardware. Similarly, service providers can easily connect information to the cloud to provide services and collect data.

With a simple structure, a focus on function, and the ability to work continuously for months or years on a single button battery, ST has introduced its latest BlueNRG-2 smart Bluetooth chip after seeing BLE wireless connectivity applications as a significant market opportunity. The new product integrates highly energy efficient programmable processors and low power functions, such as super power saving standby mode, to meet the full market demand for Bluetooth low energy technology. High intensity RF signal ensures robust and reliable wireless connection and saves system power consumption; On-chip memory provides ample storage space for BLE software and applications, thereby saving external memory and simplifying system design. The BlueNRG-2 is Bluetooth 5.0 certified, compatible with the latest smartphones, and supports improved features such as state-of-the-art security, privacy protection, and longer data packets to speed up data transfer.

Benedetto Vigna, executive Vice president and General manager, Simulator and MEMS Products, ST, said: "The BlueNRG-2 marks the beginning of an era of intelligent connectivity for everything around us, enabling us to interact safely, reliably and efficiently with everything from toothbrushes to light switches from our mobile devices. In addition, these items will benefit from a simple construction that can be fully enclosed if necessary, allowing users' mobile devices to interoperate with smart connected hardware through the natural voice voice control of smartphone apps for Android or iOS or a feature-rich and stylish user interface."

St provides users with a feature-rich suite of software development tools (SDK), The BlueNRG Navigator Graphical User Interface makes it easy for designers and innovators to use the BluenRG-2 chip to develop the next generation of intelligent connected hardware, meeting their needs for a smarter environment.

Technical details:

STMicroelectronics has selected the ARM® Cortex®-M0 processor core for the BlueNRG-2 chip, which provides low power consumption, ultra-high energy efficiency and 32-bit processing performance. Other features integrated on chip include password encryption processing, power management, clock management, and up to 256KB of flash memory that gives developers greater flexibility in handling code and data storage. Multiple power-saving modes, where standby power consumption is only 0.5µA, meet functional requirements with lower power consumption. An integrated BLE RF front end with an output power of +8dBm maximizes communication distance and saves overall energy consumption by avoiding data errors and attempting re-transmission operations. The device has a rated operating temperature of 105°C and is suitable for a variety of operating scenarios, including automotive environments.

Developers using BlueNRG-2 also benefit from the fact that ST's MEMS sensor products work seamlessly with BlueNRG-2. St's sensor portfolio includes market-leading accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, inertial measurement units (IMUs), pressure sensors and other environmental sensors. The on-chip 2-channel 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) facilitates the connection of the chip to the analog front-end transmitter, and the on-chip pulse digital modulation (PDM) interface simplifies the connection of digital MEMS microphones for natural voice voice control applications. The larger storage capacity and energy-efficient kernel architecture allow the ST Open.MEMS firmware library to run with little impact on overall energy consumption. Sensors and firmware allow developers to implement advanced features such as gesture recognition and motion tracking.

STMicroelectronics has also developed the BlueNRG special micro balance unbalance converter (BALF-NRG-02D3). This performance-enhanced balancer integrates a matching network and harmonic filter to reduce RF design complexity and optimize the footprint of the link budget to less than 1.2 mm². The substrate is designed with non-conductive glass, and the dispersion is very little affected by temperature, which is superior to similar solutions available on the market.

The BlueNRG Navigator graphical user interface simplifies chip configuration, setup, and testing, enabling device vendors or developers to quickly get started with new smart hardware design ideas without requiring any specific RF or Bluetooth development experience on the part of the developer. The intuitive graphical user interface allows users to get to grips in hours. The accompanying routines, code snippets, and versatile tools allow BlueNRG-2 Evaluation Suite users to quickly start writing code.

The BlueNRG-2 Evaluation Tool Suite (STEVAL-IDB008V1) includes MEMS sensors, user leds, user keys, and an application programming interface to run off-the-shelf demo software included with the suite. The evaluation board also offers an Arduino-compatible connector for mounting expansion boards and developing more complex applications.