Nordic Semiconductor-powered Bluetooth® low energy sensor beacon collects real-time temperature and humidity data in industrial and home applications

The S1 Sensor Beacon employs Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC to provide wireless connectivity to iOS- and Android-
compatible devices

Oslo, Norway — January xx, 2017 — Nordic Semiconductor today announces that Shenzhen Minew Technologies: a Shenzhen, China-based  Bluetooth@ low energy beacon manufacturer, has selected Nordic’s nRF52832 Bluetooth@ low energy System-on-Chip (SoC) for its ‘S1 Sensor Beacon‘, designed to collect and report real-time temperature and humidity data in industrial, agricultural, and home applications.

The S1 Sensor Beacon has a compact 70.6 by 38by 17.8mm form factor, weighs 43g, and comes in an IP66 rated dust- and waterproof-case with an operating temperature range of -40℃ to +70℃, making it suitable for use in harsh industrial environments. Temperature readings are accurate to ±0.5℃, while humidity readings are within 2.5 percent relative humidity.

The sampling rate for temperature and humidity readings is 1 Hz, with the collected data transmitted via Bluetooth low energy connectivity provided by Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC to iOS or Android Bluetooth 4.0 (and later) smartphones and tablets running BeaconSET application software. From the BeaconSET app, users can check real-time temperature and humidity data, as well as view historical temperature and humidity changes represented on a curve graph. The data can also be transmitted to a network gateway and stored in the Cloud, allowing for online PC-based data analysis.

In the absence of a receiver or network connection, the nRF52832 SoC’s 512kB of Flash memory allows the S1 Sensor Beacon to store collected data which can then be downloaded from the device at the next opportunity.

Nordic’s nRF52832 Bluetooth low energy SoC, a member of Nordic’s sixth generation of ultra low power (ULP) wireless connectivity solutions, combines a 64MHz, 32-bit ARMO Cortex@ M4F processor with a 2.4GHz multiprotocol radio (fully compatible with Bluetooth 4.2, ANTTM and proprietary 2.4GHz RF software) featuring -96dB RX sensitivity, with 512kB Flash memory and 64kB RAM. When launched, the SoC was the world’s highest performance single-chip Bluetooth low energy solution, delivering up to 60 percent more generic processing power, offering 10 times the Floating Point performance and twice the DSP performance compared to competing solutions.

The S1 Sensor Beacon is powered by two FR03 Li-ion batteries providing between three and five years of battery life in standard operation, thanks in part to the ultra low power characteristics of the nRF52832 SOC. The SoC has been engineered to minimize power consumption with features such as the 2.4GHz radio’s 5.5mA peak RX/TX currents and a fully-automatic power management system that reduces power consumption by up to 80 percent compared with Nordic’s nRF51 Series SoCs. The result is a Bluetooth low energy solution which offers 90 CoreMark/mA, up to twice as power efficient as competing devices.

“Of all the Bluetooth low energy SoCs available, Nordic’s nRF52832 has the best performance,” says Thomas Ye, Chief Technology Officer, Shenzhen Minew Technologies. “When the radio is operating, power consumption is low, but signal reception retains excellent sensitivity, and it can facilitate communication over a significant range.”

“Furthermore, the nRF52832 SoC has a comprehensive set of peripheral and communication interfaces that provide more convenient peripheral-circuit support, drive the sensor, and expand end-product features. Additionally, Nordic’s nRF5 development tools are extremely helpful for our actual product development work.”