Bluetooth 5.1 module provides mesh networking for Massive IoT applications

U-blox has selected Nordic’s nRF52833 Bluetooth LE SoC to power its NINA-B4 stand-alone Bluetooth 5.1 modules. The small (10mm x 15mm x 2.2 mm) Bluetooth LE/Bluetooth 5.1 MCU modules with open CPU architecture are optimised for and can be provided preinstalled with Wirepas Massive (previously Wirepas Mesh), a decentralised large-scale mesh networking solution. Wirepas Massive has been produced byWirepas and is designed for many massive IoT applications.

The series includes the NINA-B406, which is provided with an internal PCB antenna (giving a robust low-profile solution with high performance and extensive range), and NINA-B400, which combines a U.FL connector for employment with an external antenna of the developer’s choice. This hugely decreases time, cost, and effort for customers integrating Bluetooth LE in their designs. The series is also provided with u-blox’s u-connect software, supporting dozens of usage cases and offering an easy-to-use interface to configure the connectivity needed from an external application host.

“We selected Nordic’s nRF52833 SoC for our NINA-B4 series due to a combination of factors including the high-quality hardware, compact size, MCU performance, support for Bluetooth 5.1 including direction finding, low power consumption, and multiprotocol capability,” says Stefan Berggren, senior product marketing manager, Product Center Short Range Radio at u-blox. “In addition, we opted for a Nordic solution because of the close, long-standing business relationship between the two companies and because Nordic provides good development support.”