At the moment, Nordic Semiconductor introduced the supply of the third member of its Wi-Fi 6 nRF70 household. The nRF7000 supplies SSID location functionality to a number microcontroller. It is a perfect companion to Nordic’s cellular-based nRF91 SiPs however works with different microcontrollers as nicely.
Usually, IoT units have three potential sources for figuring out their location. They will get hold of a tough place by triangulating alerts between a number of towers if geared up with a mobile radio. A extra exact however power-hungry methodology is to make use of a GNSS (GPS) receiver. A 3rd methodology of utilizing Wi-Fi SSID and sign energy works nicely in areas with comparatively excessive inhabitants density. After all, having all three in a single machine means precision and energy consumption flexibility.
nRF70 comparability chart (📷: Nordic Semiconductor)
Beforehand, Nordic Semiconductor launched the nRF7002 and nRF7001. All nRF70 chips have Wi-Fi 6-enabled applied sciences. The nRF7001 and nRF7002 are full radios able to information communication and SSID-based locationing. The nRF7001 operates at 2.4 GHz, and the nRF7002 is a dual-band IC with 2.4 and 5.0 GHz capabilities. The brand new chip is barely totally different.
The nRF7000 solely helps lively and passive scanning of two.4 GHz entry factors for his or her SSIDs to find out location. Since resolving a location with SSID requires an lively information connection, the companion IC works greatest with Nordic’s nRF9160 LTE-M/NB-IoT mobile SiPs.
Utilizing nRF Cloud with nRF7000 (📷: Nordic Semiconductor)
An instance transaction is the nRF7000 acquiring details about close by Wi-Fi SSIDs. The host processor transmits that information to the nRF Cloud. Then, a cloud utility might use the resolved location or ship it again to the machine.
Like all of the nRF70 variants, the brand new chip works with nRF52, nRF53, or different microcontroller hosts. It communicates to the host through a SPI or QSPI interface. A coexistence port additionally assists with sharing the antenna between the nRF7000 and different 2.4 GHz radios, comparable to Bluetooth Low Vitality (BLE).
Pattern perform to find out location with nRF70 (📷: James Lewis)
You may get began programming with the nRF7000 instantly. Nordic’s nRF Join SDK already has a pattern code to find out the place with the nRF70 household. These examples are discovered with the nRF91 DK pattern code.
Nordic additionally introduced at this time that the nRF7002 Analysis Package is accessible to ship. This board comprises an nRF7002 however can successfully emulate the nRF7000 by turning off information communication options. This functionality means you may plug an EK into the nRF9160 DK and shortly begin growing IoT units with Wi-Fi 6 SSID-based locationing.
Chips are actually out there in a 6×6 millimeter QFN-48 bundle. Take a look at the nRF7000 product web page for extra info.