Nordic demos freespace pointing upgrade for its nRFready 2.4GHz RF Smart Remote reference design at ESC 2012

Ultra low power (ULP) RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor ASA (OSE: NOD), today announces it will be demonstrating a freespace pointing firmware upgrade for its existing nRFready™ 2.4GHz RF Smart Remote reference design at ESC 2012 (a Design West Summit) that will run from March 26 - 29 at San Jose in the U.S. (Nordic will be at booth # 2006 with its distribution partner Symmetry Electronics).

Nordic will also be giving away one of its Bluetooth® low energy nRF8001 µBlue™ Development Kits on each day of the show to visitors who register for the competition on its stand, have a range of ultra-low power wireless technical experts on-hand for visitors to meet and discuss their projects with, and be demonstrating its full range of wireless smart remote, PC desktop, and smartphone solutions at the event including its recently launched:

- iOS Demo App sample application – for adding ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart (as Bluetooth low energy will now be marketed to consumers) wireless connectivity apps and accessories to the iPhone® 4S;
- nRFready µBlue™ Desktop – the world’s first fully functional reference design for a Bluetooth Smart wireless mouse and keyboard combo;
-nRFready µBlue™ Smart Remote reference design – the world’s first Bluetooth Smart navigation remote for the latest connected TVs and set-top boxes.

The nRFready™ 2.4GHz RF Smart Remote reference design firmware upgrade will support one-handed freespace point and click control – similar to that of a regular PC wireless mouse but without the need for a flat surface – of the latest Internet-enabled and Web 2.0-enabled TVs and set-top boxes (STBs).

The nRFready™ 2.4GHz RF Smart Remote reference design leverages Nordic's proven nRF24LE1 SoC (see 'About nRF24LE1' below) and Gazell™ 2.4GHz RF protocol stack and includes all the necessary hardware for freespace pointing and clicking control built-in via an on-board 6-axis motion sensing solution from Invensense, and an ultra low power accelerometer from STMicroelectronics (in addition to a multi-touch enabled TouchPad™ from Synaptics and miniaturized QWERTY keyboard).

What this firmware upgrade offers customers is a fast-track way to add freespace control to their nRFready™ 2.4GHz RF Smart Remotes that will work straight away without them having to get involved with any firmware design or development, comments Nordic R&D Engineer, Rune Brandsegg.

According to DisplaySearch (see tinyurl.com/6asskul) the market for Internet-enabled TV sets (commonly called 'connected TVs') is forecast to exceed 123 million shipments by 2014 reflecting a sustained 30 percent compound annual growth rate over that period. And this 123 million shipment number does not include other increasingly popular types of Internet-enabled consumer electronics (CE) devices such as STBs and media players. An essential part of all these products, however, is the remote control because it enables end users to take advantage of, and enjoy with ease, the full range and potential of digital content and services such products now support.

With the growing popularity of Internet-enabled TVs and set-top boxes we are seeing an explosion in demand for advanced remote controls based on ultra low power radio solutions, comments Thomas Embla Bonnerud, Director of Product Management at Nordic Semiconductor. And freespace pointing is a particularly natural and intuitive way to navigate and browse all types of modern digital content and services – including audio, video, gaming, web browsing, social media, and online shopping – as it offers familiar mouse-like PC control without the need for a flat surface.

Bonnerud continues: And as the technical requirements for advanced RF smart remote functions such as freespace pointing are very similar to that of wireless PC peripherals, Nordic Semiconductor's well-established leadership in this field will give customers the confidence that they are selecting a market-leading, proven platform for their next generation smart remotes.

The nRFready™ 2.4GHz RF Smart Remote reference design kit (Nordic product code: nRF6920) includes a Nordic Smart Remote baseboard, Smart Remote 2.4GHz RF radio module, 2.4GHz RF USB dongle, programming adapter, and a complete set of design files, software source code, and supporting documentation.