Bluetooth LE digital tape measure automatically records measurement data and relays wirelessly to smartphone app

The T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure employs Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC to oversee its optical encoder and angular position sensor

Boston, U.S.-based REEKON Tools has released a digital wireless tape measure designed for use on building sites, providing users with accurate, forget-free measurement data via the associated smartphone app.

The ‘T1 Tomahawk Digital Tape Measure’ features an absolute optical encoder and magnetic angular position sensor that together provide a measurement accuracy within 0.5 mm, according to the company. When a measurement is taken it immediately appears on the device’s in-built OLED display for a live view by the user. With the press of a button the data is saved to a side-mounted e-paper display, which displays the five most recent measurements recorded. The data is then relayed using Bluetooth® LE wireless connectivity to the ’ROCK’ iOS and Android app.

Ample data storage

The T1 Tomahawk integrates Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52832 SoC, which provides the Bluetooth LE connectivity between the tape measure and the user’s smartphone, as well as oversees the sensors, and provides ample memory for data storage. For example, the tape measure can capture and store over 1000 measurements. The nRF52832 SoC features a powerful 64 MHz, 32-bit Arm® Cortex® M4 processor with floating point unit (FPU), and 256/512 KB Flash memory and 32/64 KB RAM. The Bluetooth LE connectivity of the T1 Tomahawk also allows for over-the-air firmware updates.

The nRF52 Series is currently the go-to chipset for a Bluetooth LE product

Colton Black, REEKON Tools

From the ROCK app users can view their stored measurements, as well as compile them into cut lists which can be shared with other users. They can be further edited into material optimizations, layouts, and external program exports.

“REEKON Tools believes in reducing waste on job sites through error reduction,” says Kostas Oikonomopoulos, Chief Technology Officer at REEKON Tools. “The T1 Tomahawk achieves this by providing accurate and robust measurement to the user.”

Feature-rich and smart

The smart tape measure offers a host of additional features including laser alignment and targeting, incremental and inside measurements, imperial and metric units, as well as marking and center finding functionality. It is powered by a rechargeable battery, providing 12 hours of active use between recharge., thanks, in part, to the low power consumption of the nRF52832 SoC. This SoC has been engineered to minimize power consumption with features such as the 2.4 GHz radio’s 5.5 mA peak RX/TX currents and a fully-automatic power management system.

“The nRF52 Series is currently the go-to chipset for a Bluetooth LE product,” says Colton Black, Engineering Lead at REEKON Tools. “Nordic also provides a wide range of tools that make developers lives much easier.

“From a focus on solid VS Code integration, first-class Zephyr RTOS support, a variety of mobile and PC app examples that aid in app and firmware development, as well as debugging, we’ve had a great experience with the Nordic team.”