thread News - Page 9 of 14 - CNX Software

January 24, 2022January 25, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Silicon Labs BG24 and MG24 2.4 GHz wireless MCU’s quadruple AI performance at a fraction of the energy

Machine Learning is getting everywhere including into 2.4GHz wireless microcontrollers with SIlicon Labds BG24 Bluetooth and MG24 multi-protocol Cortex-M33 microcontrollers that improve AI/ML performance by 4 times using 1/6th of the energy thanks to a built-in AI accelerator. That makes the new microcontrollers suitable for battery-powered edge AI devices with support for Matter (coming soon) as well as PSA Level 3 Secure Vault protection. Silicon Labs expects the chips to be found in various smart home, medical and industrial applications. BG24 and MG24 share the same block diagram and the same specifications apart from the supported wireless protocols: MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 @ 78.0 MHz with DSP instruction and floating-point unit Memory – Up to 256 kB RAM data memory Storage – Up to 1536 kB flash program memory Wireless CPU – Arm Cortex-M0+ 2.4 GHz Radio Performance -104.5 dBm sensitivity @ 250 kbps O-QPSK DSSS -104.9 dBm sensitivity […]

September 16, 2021April 5, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Home Assistant Yellow – A Raspberry Pi CM4 based automation gateway (Crowdfunding)

The team behind the popular Home Assistant open-source home automation framework has just launched their second hardware with Home Assistant Yellow automation gateway based on Raspberry Pi CM4 module. This follows last year’s ODROID-N2+ based Home Assistant Blue which was a limited edition and has now been discontinued, albeit still supported. The carrier board for Home Assistant Amber is designed from scratch and notably includes Silicon Labs MGM210P Mighty Gecko Module with support for Zigbee 3.0, OpenThread, and Matter (Soon), as well as M.2 socket that can take an NVMe SSD, or an AI accelerator card. Home Assistant Yellow specifications: Supported SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor @ 1.5 GHz, up to 8GB RAM, up to 32GB storage. (Note: optional WiFI 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity not covered by regulatory approval) Storage – Support for NVMe SSD via M.2 socket, bootable for […]

August 24, 2021September 2, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 36 Comments

Coin cell-powered OpenThread sensor board can send data every 20 seconds for three years

Monkey Store’s Thread Sensor Tag is a pressure, humidity, temperature, and light sensor that connects to the OpenThread network, and is capable of transmitting MQTT/UDP data every 20 seconds over a period of around three years from a single coin cell battery. As a reminder, OpenThread is an implementation of the Thread IoT network protocol that was unveiled in 2016 by Nest Labs (now Google/Alphabet). This has not been widely used so far, but we did write about MKR SharkyPro development board with OpenThread support via STMicro STM32WB5MMG wireless module earlier this year, and Monkey Store is telling us both Google and Apple are working on devices with support for the IoT protocol. Thread Sensor Tag specifications: Wireless module – Minew MS88SF2 based on Nordic Semi nRF52840 multi-protocol 2.4GHz wireless Cortex-M4 microcontroller Sensor VEMLS6030 I2C light sensor MS8607 pressure, humidity, and temperature sensor I/Os – 7x through holes with Tx/Rx, […]

August 3, 2021August 3, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

ESP32-H2 RISC-V WiSoC announced with Zigbee 3, Thread, and Bluetooth LE 5.2

Just a few days ago, we noted ESP32-H2 802.15.4 & BLE RISC-V SoC had shown up in the source code, and tried to derive specs and a block diagram from the info seeing it was similar to ESP32-C3, but swapping the WiFi radio for an 802.15.4 radio. We don’t need to guess anymore, as Espressif Systems has just announced ESP32-H2 RISC-V WiSoC with support for Zigbee 3.x, Thread 1.x through the 802.15.4 radio, as well as Bluetooth LE 5.2. So overall it’s very close to what we discussed from the information in the source code with ESP32-H2 highlights including: CPU – 32-bit RISC-V core (at up to 96 MHz) RAM – 256 KB SRAM Storage – External flash support Wireless connectivity IEEE 802.15.4 radio with Zigbee 3.x and Thread 1.x support, Matter protocol Bluetooth 5.2 (LE) radio designed in-house, with support for direct connection, Bluetooth Mesh, Bluetooth LE Audio Future […]

July 28, 2021July 28, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

ESP32-H2 Bluetooth LE & 802.15.4 RISC-V SoC shows up in ESP-IDF source code

Espressif Systems is working on yet another RISC-V chip with ESP32-H2 SoC offering Bluetooth LE and 802.15.4 connectivity showing up in the ESP-IDF framework source code. A code comparison shows ESP32-H2 is very similar to ESP32-C3 with a single RISC-V core, albeit clocked at up to 96 MHz, and the first Espressif SoC without WiFi, as the WiFi radio is replaced with an 802.15.4 radio for Thread, Zigbee, etc… that can be used for the development of Home Automation, Smart Lighting, and wireless sensor network applications. While looking at the source code differences between ESP32-C3 and ESP32-H2, the really only major differences were the 802.15.4 radio and lower maximum frequency, and at the current time, it looks like most of the rest is unchanged, so it’s possible they kept the same amount of RAM (400KB), storage, and most of the same peripherals, but it could just well be the code […]

May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Ebyte E104-BT11 Bluetooth Mesh module features Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 MCU

Ebyte E104-BT11 is a Bluetooth Mesh module offered in four variants with support for gateways (G) and node (N) versions, as well as PCB or IPEX antenna versions. Interestingly it is based on Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Cortex-M33 microcontroller also found in ITEAD Zigbee 3.0 USB dongle, so it’s not impossible that it could be repurposed for Zigbee or Thread with firmware from Silabs. Ebyte E104-BT11 module specifications: Wireless MCU – Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ up to 80 MHz with DSP and FPU, up to 1024 kB flash, up to 96 kB RAM, 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 for Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, or Thread Wireless connectivity Bluetooth Mesh/BLE support with default firmware, up to 10,922 devices supported Max Tx power – 20 dBm Rx sensitivity- -88 to -97 dBm (-97 dBm typ.) Max data rate – 1Mbps Antenna – PCB antenna up to 200-meter range, or IPX antenna up […]

January 11, 2021August 24, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

MKR SharkyPro BLE, Zigbee, OpenThread development board follows Arduino MKR form factor

Just a few days ago, we mentioned STMicro launched STM32WB5MMG wireless module to simplify Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, OpenThread connectivity by allowing 2-layer baseboards for the module. It turns out there’s also such a module from a third-party with namely Midatronics SharkyPro module based on STM32WB55, and the company also launched MKR SharkyPro I & II development boards following Arduino MKR form factor. MKR SharkyPro specifications: Wireless Module – SharkyPro module Wireless MCU – STMicro STM32WB55CG/CE dual-core Arm Cortex-M4 core at 64 MHz (application processor) and Arm Cortex-M0+ core at 32 MHz (network processor) with 512KB flash, 256KB SRAM Connectivity – Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Bluetooth Mesh 1.0, OpenThread, Zigbee, and other IEEE 802.15.4 proprietary protocols Antenna – Onboard chip antenna (SharkyPro I) or SMA antenna connector (SharkyPro I) Power 3.3V supply voltage Consumption – 13 nA in shutdown mode, 600 nA in Standby mode + RTC + 32 KB RAM Dimensions […]

January 8, 2021August 24, 2021 by Saumitra Jagdale - 3 Comments

STM32WB5MMG Wireless Module simplifies Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, OpenThread connectivity

The STM32WB5MMG (STM32) is a wireless microcontroller module by STMicroelectronics. It is a compact ultra-low-power module that allows customers to design 2-layer PCBs and integrates everything up to the antenna, including an IPD (integrated passive device) for reliable antenna matching in order to reduce the overall costs. The STM32 wireless module is compatible with BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) 5.0, OpenThread, Zigbee 3.0, dynamic and static concurrent modes, and 802.15.4 proprietary protocols. It also supports simultaneous dual-protocol mode that allows IEEE 802.15.4 radio-based protocols like Zigbee 3.0 and OpenThread for direct connection with any BLE device. Overview of STM32 Wireless Module The STM32 wireless module is a SiP-LGA86 package (System in Package Land Grid Array) with various external components including: STMicro STM32WB55 Cortex-M4/M0+ wireless MCU LSE crystal HSE crystal Passive components for SMPS Antenna matching and antenna IPD for RF matching and harmonics rejection Key Features of STM32 Wireless Module Dedicated […]