Electric jetboards make waves using Nordic Bluetooth LE for wireless control

The Radinn jetboards employ the nRF52840 SoC to provide wireless connectivity between jetboard and handheld remote control

Malmö, Sweden-based technology company, Radinn, has developed a range of electric jetboards linked to a handheld remote controller used to adjust acceleration. Depending on the ride mode selected and weight of the rider, the ‘Carve’, ‘X-Sport’ and ‘Freeride’ jetboards can reach a top speed of 60 km/h, and have a battery life of up to 45 minutes. Both the jetboard and handheld remote controller integrate a u-blox BMD-340 module, powered by Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840 SoC, to provide Bluetooth® LE wireless connectivity between the board and the handheld controller, as well as the user’s smartphone.

“The electric jetboards embody the next generation of watersports no matter your age or athletic ability,” says Aleksandar Rodzevski, Head of Platforms at Radinn. “They let you soar across the water at incredible speeds with virtually no sound, using a handheld remote that provides effortless acceleration control.”

Modular design

The jetboards feature a modular design enabling the user to detach the battery pack and jetpack from one board, and attach them to another board providing the versatility to use multiple boards for different surf conditions. All the user has to do is insert the fully-charged battery into a board, set the performance level in the ‘Radinn’ smartphone app, and drop the board into the water.

It’s the wireless connectivity that transforms the jetboards into an IoT device

Aleksandar Rodzevski, Radinn

As well as providing low latency wireless connectivity between the remote controller and the jetpack for responsive throttle control, the nRF52840 SoC provides Bluetooth LE connectivity between both the jetpack and battery, and the iOS and Android smartphone app. The nRF52840 features a 2.4 GHz multiprotocol radio with 8 dBm output power and -95 dBm RX sensitivity for robust and reliable connectivity. From the app the user can configure the devices, monitor system parameters, access performance upgrades, and view rider logs from completed surf sessions.

Sensor-packed

In addition to the Nordic-powered u-blox module, the jetboards integrate a host of sensors and a GPS module, overseen by the nRF52840 SoC’s powerful 64 MHz, Arm® Cortex® M4 processor with floating point unit (FPU). Accelerometer and gyroscope sensors provide rider data on speed and performance metrics, as well as crash/impact detection. The humidity and temperature sensors supervise jet pack and battery pack condition monitoring and maintenance. The GPS module provides positioning and speed parameter data via the Radinn app.

“It’s the wireless connectivity that transforms the jetboards into an IoT device,” says Rodzevski. “We selected the u-blox module because of the Bluetooth LE performance of the nRF52840 SoC, the software, the Flash and RAM memory, and the low power capability. Even though the jetboards incorporate [large batteries], during idle time is when the Nordic SoC comes into its own. We needed a processor able to give us a >10 µA sleep power consumption while still able to ‘listen’ for external events. The nRF52840 SoC fit the bill perfectly.”