Smart home
Low power wireless connectivity solutions for smart home
Bluetooth Low Energy wireless gateway and peripheral sensors employ Nordic technology to deliver connected, remotely operable home-automation network
AXAET's ‘ETMars’ smart-home automation ‘ecosystem’ employs Nordic's nRF52832 SoC enabling gateway control of 20 nRF52810 SoC-based peripheral sensors concurrently
Nordic Semiconductor today announces that Shenzhen Aoxingao Technology Co., Ltd. (AXAET), a China-based Internet of Things (IoT) solutions company, has selected both Nordic’s nRF52832 Bluetooth® Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) System-on-Chip (SoC), and nRF52810 Bluetooth LE SoC to provide the wireless connectivity for its ‘ETMars’ home automation system.
The ETMars system is comprised of a gateway and a range of peripheral sensors to monitor and detect smoke, gas, and water ingress, as well as provide home security, and remotely-control appliances and lighting in the home. In operation, the gateway employs Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC to provide wireless connectivity between the gateway and the sensors, as well as the user’s Bluetooth 4.0 (and later) smartphone or tablet when they are at home. The gateway can control up to 20 peripheral sensors simultaneously, thanks to nRF52832 mid-range SoC’s ability to support multiple concurrent connections. Each sensor employs Nordic’s nRF52810 entry-level SoC to enable Bluetooth LE communication with the gateway.
If the user is away from home, the gateway allows remote monitoring and control the sensors from the ETMars iOS or Android app on their mobile device via the Cloud. The ETMars app allows the user to define individual scenarios or modes—such as ‘home mode’ or ‘away from home mode’—and also offers ‘scene linkage’, allowing the user to define linked triggers and execution conditions for multiple scenarios. For example, at night the user could request that once the bedroom lights are dimmed, that the curtains close automatically and the security sensors in other parts of the home be activated. The system is also compatible with a range of smart speakers, including Google Home and Amazon Echo, providing remote voice control of connected sensors.
The ETMars system is comprised of a gateway and a range of peripheral sensors to monitor and detect smoke, gas, and water ingress, as well as provide home security, and remotely-control appliances and lighting in the home. In operation, the gateway employs Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC to provide wireless connectivity between the gateway and the sensors, as well as the user’s Bluetooth 4.0 (and later) smartphone or tablet when they are at home. The gateway can control up to 20 peripheral sensors simultaneously, thanks to nRF52832 mid-range SoC’s ability to support multiple concurrent connections. Each sensor employs Nordic’s nRF52810 entry-level SoC to enable Bluetooth LE communication with the gateway.
If the user is away from home, the gateway allows remote monitoring and control the sensors from the ETMars iOS or Android app on their mobile device via the Cloud. The ETMars app allows the user to define individual scenarios or modes—such as ‘home mode’ or ‘away from home mode’—and also offers ‘scene linkage’, allowing the user to define linked triggers and execution conditions for multiple scenarios. For example, at night the user could request that once the bedroom lights are dimmed, that the curtains close automatically and the security sensors in other parts of the home be activated. The system is also compatible with a range of smart speakers, including Google Home and Amazon Echo, providing remote voice control of connected sensors.
AXAET selected the nRF52832 SoC for the gateway for its large memory allocation, radio sensitivity, and specifically because of its ability to connect to 20 devices simultaneously
Mr Jacky, AXAET
Nordic’s nRF52832 mid-range SoC and nRF52810 entry-level SoC are powerful multiprotocol SoCs ideally suited for Bluetooth LE and 2.4GHz ultra low-power wireless applications, combining a 64MHz, 32-bit Arm® Cortex™ M4F processor (or M4 microprocessor in the nRF52810) with a 2.4GHz multiprotocol radio (supporting Bluetooth 5, ANT™, and proprietary 2.4GHz RF software). The nRF52832 SoC provides 512kB Flash memory and 64kB RAM, while the nRF52810 SoC offers 196kB Flash memory and 24kB RAM.
The nRF52832 SoC is supplied with Nordic’s S132 SoftDevice, a Bluetooth 5-certifed RF software protocol for building advanced Bluetooth LE applications. The S132 SoftDevice features Central, Peripheral, Broadcaster and Observer Bluetooth LE roles, supports up to twenty connections, and enables concurrent role operation. The nRF52810 SoC is supplied with the latest version of Nordic’s S112 SoftDevice, a Bluetooth 5-compliant RF protocol software offering 2Mbps raw data rate and concurrent Peripheral and Broadcaster Bluetooth LE roles.
“AXAET selected the nRF52832 SoC for the gateway for its large memory allocation, radio sensitivity, and specifically because of its ability to connect to 20 devices simultaneously,” says Mr Jacky, AXAET Manager. “For both the nRF52832 SoC and nRF52810 SoC the software architecture was key. It effectively encapsulates the Bluetooth protocol and enables developers to implement applications directly without having to consider complex protocol logic. The architecture brings great convenience to application development.”
