Dongle offers Bluetooth & BLE for legacy equipment

25th February 2015

Barney Scott

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Datasheet

A dongle that enables sophisticated, legacy equipment to be converted for mobile or wireless use is being introduced by Laird, the company announced today. Legacy devices that have an OS and a USB port, but no in-built Bluetooth or BLE functionality can be easily converted to wireless with Laird’s BT900-US Series, an intelligent BTv4.0 dual-mode dongle for Bluetooth and BLE.

It is designed to support a wide range of OSs including Windows, Windows Embedded, MAC OSx, Linux, and Android. The dual-mode dongle is suitable for converting legacy devices for application and use in the upcoming IoT and the Connected Hospital without complicated installation or software support requirements.

Other areas of application for the BT-900 include barcode scanners, POS terminals, PCs, laptop computers, and other devices, including equipment that operates in harsh industrial environments.

To make embedded design even easier, Laird has extended the implementation of the smartBASIC programming language from the BL600 Series and BT900-SA into the BT900-US.

Laird’s event-driven smartBASIC programming language encapsulates the challenges associated with embedded design, simplifies module integration, significantly reduces OEM development risk, and speeds time to market. Ultimately, Laird’s smartBASIC acts as the bridge between software and hardware, enabling an application written for one smartBASIC radio to work on any other.

This allows developers the flexibility of utilising smartBASIC’s core and wireless extension functions from the BL600, BL620 and BT900 series to create many interchangeable BLE applications between the two product ranges.

“As the demand for mobility and improved patient care continues to grow in healthcare, more and more hospitals are transitioning to wireless technologies,” said Nigel Major, CSO & CTO, Laird. “The BT900-US makes that transition faster and more economical. Instead of replacing wired medical devices completely, the BT900-US allows Bluetooth or BLE capabilities to be added to any OS-backed medical device equipped with a USB interface. At Laird, we wanted to create a fast, reliable, and simple way to bring Classic BT or BLE to any OS-backed device, old or new. And since users often keep their legacy devices, this also is a cost-effective solution for many sectors, especially the healthcare industry.”

The BT900-US carries FCC modular, IC, CE, and Bluetooth SIG approvals, eliminating the need for costly and time consuming testing to bring certified Bluetooth to market.