New Bluetooth technologies at CES 2017

Among the exhibits is a demonstration of how Nordic's nRF52 Series Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) are increasingly being used at the heart of wearable contactless payment technology. The demonstration shows a Bluetooth low energy wearable using the nRF52832 SoC's Near Field Communication (NFC) interface for payment. Using the SoC's NFC capability for this purpose simplifies the product's design, lowers cost, and reduces space requirements.

Nordic will also show how it is helping advance AirFuel resonant wireless charging. The company will unveil wireless charging in a small form factor technology demonstrator with a wearable device that uses an nRF52832 SoC to implement an AirFuel Power Receive Unit (PRU).

Nordic will also showcase two home-automation demonstrations, one using Bluetooth low energy and the other using a Thread network based on the IEEE 802.15.4 low power wireless network standard. The latter demonstration will employ the nRF52840 SoC (and associated Development Kit), Nordic's latest addition to its nRF52 Series. The SoC is a multiprotocol, ultra-low power wireless connectivity solution supporting Bluetooth 5, IEEE 802.15.4, ANT+, and 2.4GHz proprietary RF protocols.

In additiom, Nordic will demonstrate the capabilities of the nRF52840 SoC and S140 SoftDevice (Nordic's latest RF protocol 'stack') - including the range and throughput enhancements of Bluetooth 5. The SoC and SoftDevice have been engineered to build on the mature architecture of the existing nRF52 Series SoCs to support complex Bluetooth low energy and other low-power wireless applications that were previously not possible with a single-chip solution.

Other demonstrations include the 'nRFready Smart Remote 3 for nRF52 Series' reference design targeting remote control OEMs/ODMs and manufacturers of smart TVs, set-top boxes, and digital media devices; the Power Profiler Kit, a low-cost and simple method to measure dynamic power consumption in embedded solutions; and a candy dispenser remotely controlled via Bluetooth low energy and the Physical Web (to avoid the need for a smartphone app installation).

"Wearable devices incorporating payment solutions, wireless charging of smaller products such as smartwatches, and voice-activated remote control are among the highlights on the Nordic booth at CES 2017," said Geir Langeland, Nordic Semiconductor's Director of Sales & Marketing. "These demonstrations have been specially selected because developers are keen find out how to add such capabilities to their next generation of Bluetooth low energy wearables.”

Langeland added: "Nordic's highly-integrated nRF52 Series SoCs and development tools enable them to do just that. Better yet, the recently introduced nRF52840 SoC-fully compatible with Bluetooth 5-brings with it the extra performance, unique security features, and extended throughput and range to cope with the most ambitious applications developers can dream up."