Nordic Semiconductor anounces Bluetooth smart solution

OSLO, NORWAY: Ultra low power (ULP) RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor ASA has announced the immediate availability of the S120 8-link central protocol stack and the nRF51 Wireless Charging SDK for wireless charging applications based on the Rezence standard, developed and maintained by the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP).

Rezence is a wireless power transfer technology and specification based on the principles of magnetic resonance. Embracing the concept of spatial freedom, Rezence extends wireless power applications "beyond the mat" and accessories market into almost any mobile device or surface.

The S120 is an 8-link central role Bluetooth low energy SoftDevice for the nRF51822 SoC. The nRF51 Wireless Charging SDK includes services/profiles for a Rezence Power Transmitting Unit (PTU) and Power Receiving Unit (PRU) as well as state machine examples.

S120 together with the nRF51 Wireless Charging SDK provides a solution for the Out-of-Band (OOB) signaling part of a Rezence charge pad. With the support for 8-link concurrent link, a Charge pad based on nRF51822 / S120 can support simultaneous charging of up to 8 devices. The existing S110 peripheral role Bluetooth low energy SoftDevice combined with the SDK provides the same solution for a Rezence rechargeable device.

Unlike older technologies, Rezence uses the principles of magnetic resonance, which brings a number of unique benefits to the wireless charging ecosystem. Bluetooth smart has been chosen by Rezence as the technology for Out Of Band (OOB) charging management functions for Rezence applications.

The S120 SoftDevice includes all Bluetooth low energy protocol layers up to and including GATT/GAP. It supports multi-link central and observer roles, GATT server and client, and event driven, asynchronous and thread safe GATT/GAP and L2CAP APIs.