What can Bluetooth 5.0 do? What kind of Bluetooth 5.0 applications are available in the market? RF-star senior advisor XCODER has the following opinions. The applications of Bluetooth 5.0 are the same as that of Bluetooth 4.x. For the time being, Bluetooth 5.0 can replace the applications of Bluetooth v4.x. Even more, it can replace the original classic Bluetooth SPP transparent transmission applications because of its higher rate. Bluetooth Mesh protocol as a part of the Bluetooth 5.0 has great potential markets in smart home and Bluetooth light control. Many companies are already joined in Bluetooth Mesh smart home market, and finally use smart speakers as the Internet entrance of smart home. The following two paragraphs are from the SIG: “The strategic decision to adopt Bluetooth as the communications platform for our smart home strategy was an obvious choice for us,” said Lijuan Chen, Head of Alibaba A.I. Labs, the department leading consumer AI product development at Alibaba Group. “Bluetooth mesh is a wireless protocol that enables us to meet our customers’ scale, performance, and reliability requirements in the home. Bluetooth is already a proven, trusted, and widely used wireless standard, and we’re confident Bluetooth mesh will be the standard in home and building automation for years to come.” “Bluetooth mesh is one of many fundamental enablers of future IoT markets, allowing for robust, secure, and scalable connectivity across the smart home, commercial building automation, industrial environments, and beyond,” said Stuart Carlaw, Chief Research Officer, ABI Research. “Bluetooth mesh, in conjunction with Bluetooth beacons, can propel these environments towards greater automation, increased sensorization, and enable valuable RTLS services. Nearly 360 million annual Bluetooth Smart Building device shipments are forecasted by 2022.” What are the main Bluetooth 5.0 chips? Some mid-end & low-end Bluetooth chip manufacturers and emerging companies in China Mainland and Taiwan are also actively joining in Bluetooth 5 market. Such as Airoha, Telink, Freqchip, Maxscend, Barrot and Bekin. The biggest drawback of ZigBee is that it cannot communicate with mobile phones. Bluetooth Mesh is an emerging technology that enables real-time interaction between devices and mobile phones, and enterprises are definitely willing to invest in it. The appearance of the SIG leaders and Alibaba in various public occasions is a clear signal to us that new technology means new opportunities.

If you’re an Internet of Things (IoT) designer, you’re probably often challenged to do more with less when it comes to security, constantly looking for new ways to protect your products against an ever-growing list of threats with lean system resources and perhaps limited experience. Knowing that these struggles are very real, in this post I’ll outline a few top IoT security risks and common misconceptions on how to address them. I will also provide an overview of how new CC3220SF Wi-Fi module RF-WM-3200B1 give you more tools to help address security challenges through a novel architecture and rich set of integrated security features. Are there IoT applications that don’t need to implement security measures? Any device that connects to the internet may be vulnerable to local or remote attacks. Attackers can target almost any connected device to try and steal manufacturer intellectual property stored in the system, gain access to user data, or even maliciously manipulate the system to compromise users or attack third parties online. As demonstrated by the major distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack late last year, labeled by experts as the largest of its kind in history, even seemingly harmless products such as home digital video recorders (DVRs) can be maliciously infected and used as “botnets” to halt operations for third-party entities. The attack last year affected services such as Twitter and PayPal, but similar attacks could potentially target large smart infrastructure technologies such as electric grid systems. According to a 2016 study conducted by Kapersky Lab, a single DDoS attack can cost an organization more than $1.6 million to resolve. Recognizing these threats,RF-star's CC3220SF Wi-Fi module integrates a host of powerful, multilayered and hardware-based security features to provide you with powerful tools to help protect products from attacks such as local or remote packet sniffing, man-in-the-middle (MITM) server emulation, hostile takeovers via over-the-air updates, remote file manipulation, data and software theft, intellectual property (IP) cloning, and many more. Watch the below video to learn more about these tools: Should IoT security features primarily focus on Wi-Fi and internet-level encryption of packets sent over the air? Having strong Wi-Fi (Advanced Encryption Standard [AES]/Wired Equivalent Privacy [WEP]) and internet-level (Transport Layer Security [TLS]/Secure Sockets Layer [SSL]) encryption is critical to help prevent local and remote network-packet sniffing, respectively. But these measures alone may not be enough to fend off hostile takeover attempts or provide full protection against theft of IP, code, data, keys and identity information stored and used in a connected system. Figure 1 illustrates these measures in action. Figure 1: Local network security features in action The CC3220 Wi-Fi module actually integrates more than 25 additional security features to help provide tools that address potential thr...

Project Name: Smart BLE Motion Capture Technology Projection Location: China, Thailand, Singapore, Brazil The combination of sensor technology and Bluetooth communication is realized in more and more applications. VR motion navigation system and head-mounted wireless mouse system are sensitive to the movement of limbs or head through sensor technology. The sensing data is transmitted through RF-star’s BLE modules and Dongle devices, and finally obtained by the PC to realize data analysis. This type of application allows the players of VR somatosensory games to have a more relaxed and enjoyable experience or allows some people who are inconvenient to operate the hand mouse to use the computer through head movements.

With the rapid development of indoor positioning technology and the gradual implementation of the related projects, the indoor positioning technology based on Beacon has matured step by step, thus, Bluetooth Beacon is widely used in indoor positioning service. According to the survey data of Markets & Markets, the global indoor location market size to grow from USD 6.1 billion in 2020 to USD 17.0 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.5% during the forecast period. The major factors driving the growth of the indoor location market are the increased number of applications powered by beacons and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags and growing integration of beacons in cameras; and Light Emitting Diode (LED) lightning, Point of Sales (PoS), and digital signage. The proliferation of smartphone connected devices and location-based applications is also expected to drive the market growth. North America is expected to hold the highest share in the global indoor location market, while Asia Pacific (APAC) is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The region is witnessing significant developments in the market. North America is projected to hold the largest market size during the forecast period. Key factors favoring the growth of the market in North America include the increasing investments in the development of various technologies and application of indoor location solutions. The growing number of indoor location players across regions is expected to drive the market growth further. Asia-Pacific market will play an important role in driving the development of the global market, especially due to the rapid growth of China, India and Southeast Asian countries. In 2018, the market scale of China's indoor positioning was RMB 3.5 billion, an increase of 47.7% compared with 2017, with a compound annual growth rate of 39.3%. Business expansion based on data has become the most popular business model, especially the accumulation of economies of scale, which has gradually reduced the cost of positioning solutions. In particular, the cost advantages of positioning solutions based on Beacon technology have become more prominent, which also brings new opportunities for indoor positioning industry. For more information about this report visit: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/indoor-location-market-989.html The positioning accuracy of Beacon is 2 m ~ 3 m, which can basically meet the application needs of factory visitor tracking, indoor navigation of shopping mall, and anti-lost alarm of valuables. This kind of Beacon devices often have very high requirements for battery life. Let’s see how Beacon devices achieve a long battery life as follows. Beacon device has the advantages of ultra-low power consumption and low cost. Achieving better positioning accuracy needs large numbers of Beacon devices deployed in the sites. Most Beacon solutions on the market are used coin cell CR2032, because CR2032 ...

The post will briefly introduce what RF-WM-3220B1 WiFi module is, what features it has and where it is applied in. What is RF-WM-3220B1 WiFi module? RF-WM-3220B1 is a Wi-Fi IoT module built on basis of TI CC320SF IC, which is embedded with a Cortex-M4 MCU. It supports a variety of peripherals i.e. camera interface, I²S, SD/MMC, UART, SPI, I²C, ADC and GPIO. The module supports IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standards, and is able to work at Station, AP and Wi-Fi Direct modes. Antenna wise, it offers 3 options: ceramic antenna, IPEX base and antenna welding. RF-WM-3220B1 supports TCP/IP protocols and relevant applications. It can be widely applied in a big variety of IoT scenarios i.e. home automation, home appliance control, security systems, smart energy, internet gateway, industrial control, smart metering, wireless audio, wireless doorbell and sensor networking nodes etc. The module has two operation modes: AT Command Mode and Data Transparent Transmission Mode. With AT Command Mode, the developer can write a series of AT commands to route the transmission of the data. While in Data Transparent Transmission Mode, the modules automatically transmit the data by broadcasting the UDP packets with designated destinations. The developer or user does not have to instruct how the data transmission is routed in the latter mode. However, to switch between operation modes for the network or change the work mode of a module, the user has to use some simple AT commands to instruct the modules. Applications of RF-WM-3220B1 WiFi module Features of RF-WM-3220B1 WiFi module The module which works at Station mode can exchange data between any devices in the LAN, beside it can through a router to enter the internet, and communicate among remote devices. One module works at AP mode as TCP Server, and the other modules works at Station mode as TCP Client to communicate with it. Pin Assignment Package Size Module Thickness No. Parameter item Parameter details Description 1 Chip CC3220SF TI 2 Size 31*20mm - 3 Weight 5g - 4 Frequency Band 2402 MHz ～ 2480MHz   6 PCB 4-layer Impedance-matching, lead-free 7 Supply Voltage 2.3~3.6V DC The voltage higher than 3.6V is forbidden 8 Operation Range 100m Open area; +17dBm; 9 Max Power Max +17dBm 50mW 10 Power consumption Averge:1.AP Mode:74mA                                    2.STA mode Active:20mA                      3.STA Mode Always                                Connected(Long Sleep                          Intervals:400ms):1.5mA   4.STA Mode Hibernate:35uA 11 Communication interface IO See details in Pin definition 12 Antenna type PCB/IPEX 50Ω characteristic impedance/- 13 Operating temperature -40 ~ +85℃ Industrial-grade 14 Operating hum...

On November 14, 2019, Nordic announced the launch of the first member of the next-generation nRF53 series chip -- nRF5340 high-end multi-protocol system-level chip. The chip to build in the Nordic nRF51 and nRF52 multi-protocol series chips, and at the same time introduced a dual processor hardware architecture, with high performance and low power consumption, extensibility, high heat resistance advantages, can be widely used in smart home, indoor navigation, professional lighting, industrial automation, wearable devices, and other complex Internet applications. Based on the design of the Arm cor-M33 dual-core processor, the nRF5340 integrates high-performance application processors, programmable ultra-low power network processors, and security functions into a low-power multi-protocol SoC. At the same time, the chip also enhances dynamic multi-protocol support, and supports Bluetooth 5.1, low-power Bluetooth, Bluetooth Mesh, Thread, and Zigbee protocols. It can be configured or debugged by smart phones using low-power bluetooth, and interact with Mesh networks. The wireless transmitter is equipped with all Bluetooth 5.1 direction finding functions. The nRF5340 operates in a power supply voltage range of 1.7 to 5.5V, allowing rechargeable batteries and USB power. nRF5340 integrates a new power-optimized multi-protocol 2.4ghz radio with a transmitting current of 3.2ma (0dbm transmitting power, 3V, DC/DC) and a receiving current of 2.6ma (3V, DC/DC). The sleep current was as low as 1.1 A. The nRF5340 launched this time, the main processor Application processor is responsible for the calculation of complex functions and bluetooth protocol stack. It adopts the Arm architecture -m33 under the Arm architecture that has always been used by Nordic, and mounts DSP and floating point functions at the same time, which can be used for third-party development and Application. The kernel runs at up to 128 MHz, supports voltage and frequency regulation, and contains dedicated 1 MB of flash memory and 512 KB of RAM memory, which can meet the needs of the next generation of cutting-edge wearable devices and significantly improve performance over the previous generation of nRF52840. The sub-core Network processor can be used as the computation of additional and uncomplicated content, which also USES Arm corcor-m33, the kernel runs at 64 MHz (238 CoreMark), and is dedicated to 256 KB flash and 64 KB memory. The low power consumption and low duty cycle sensor acquisition during radio operation are optimized. Provides optimal implementation of the 2.4 GHz private protocol and ensures portability from the nRF51 and nRF52 series. The two processors can work independently of each other, connect directly through the IPC, or wake up to each other, but consider their respective protection Settings. In addition, the application processor also integrates security functions such as Arm cryptocell-312 security key storage, providing the highest level of security. It works by h...

ZigBee 3.0 is the only complete and interoperable Internet of things solution, which enables intelligent products to work together from mesh network layer to general language layer. Why ZigBee 3.0 ZigBee 3.0 gives users and developers more options. The standardization of the whole stack covers chips from multiple chip suppliers, ZigBee Pro network protocol stack, and ZigBee cluster Library in application layer, bringing confidence that products and services can work together. ZigBee 3.0 complete solution includes testing, certification, brand and marketing support, making the development and sales of interoperable products and solutions easier, releasing growth opportunities, and giving unlimited innovation possibilities for home, work and travel. RF-star provides the most advanced ZigBee 3.0 module in the industry. Users can use the ZigBee 3.0 module of RF-star for secondary development or in-depth cooperative development with RF-star. ZigBee 3.0 advantages Interoperability Certification procedures ensure interoperability between devices Multi vendor ecosystem uses the same application layer common language ZigBee 3.0 network can be used for devices using previous application layer standards ZigBee 3.0 equipment can also be added to the network using the previous application layer standards Different industries, same plan Home, architecture, industry, retail, health, etc Developers and users in different fields have the same choice to solve the problem of market fragmentation The same application layer can meet the requirements of the complete deployment scheme Convenient and easy to use All the required files are in one place The same certification mark shall be used on each certified product and package Stable and reliable Proven mesh network, eliminating the impact of single node failure, can be expanded to large-scale network Self healing and scalable, capable of supporting a network of hundreds of devices Global general Use 2.4 GHz frequency band to ensure that the product can be deployed globally free of frequency band license fee Practice verification · 2500 certified products and 300 million deployed products Green environmental protection Specially designed for energy capture devices and ultra-low power consumption devices ZigBee routers all have green power proxy function to provide mesh network support for energy capture devices Future guarantee Developed by more than 400 member companies who have been deeply involved in the Internet of things industry for many years and launched to the market Continuous innovation - in our ecosystem, there are not only industry giants, established enterprises, but also start-ups and new forces Complete test The integrated test and authentication program covers all layers of protocol stack: MAC / PHY, network stack protocol and application layer Examples of ZigBee Application Equipment

Project Name: Smart EV Charger                     Project Date: 2017                     Project Partner: State Grid Corporation of China and some Automobile manufactures The working principle of the smart EV charger is to exchange information such as charging data and charging instructions after establishing communication with the BLE module of the charger through the Bluetooth of the mobile phone. The biggest advantage of the BLE solution is that the charging pile does not need to be connected to the Internet. It also does not require complicated wiring. Also, the smart EV charger has strong flexibility and low construction cost. It effectively solves the transformation and upgrading of new/old residential areas or the decentralized laying of charging piles on the roadside. And it greatly improves the inconvenience operation of traditional charging. RF-star BLE module works as the most important part to transmit the data. The BLE solution assists charging pile manufacturers, operators, and commercial charging service providers to realize the intelligent, digital, and networked chargers.

IC card is another new information tool after magnetic card, which refers to integrated circuit card. Bus card is a kind of IC card. The common IC card uses RF technology to communicate with IC card reader. According to its structure, IC card can be divided into general memory card, encrypted memory card, CPU card and super smart card. 1. Memory card, whose embedded chip is equivalent to ordinary Serial EEPROM memory, has the advantages of convenient information storage, simple use, low price of IC card, and can replace magnetic card in many occasions. However, because it does not have the function of information security, it can only be used in applications with low security requirements. 2. The logic encryption card and the encryption memory card are embedded with chips, and the control logic is added outside the storage area. Before accessing the storage area, the password needs to be checked. Only the password is correct, can the access operation be carried out. This kind of information has good confidentiality. 3. CPU card, with chip embedded in the card, is equivalent to a special type of single-chip microcomputer, which has not only controller, memory, timing control logic, but also algorithm unit and operating system. Because CPU card has the characteristics of large storage capacity, strong processing capacity, information storage security and so on. It is widely used in the situation where information security requirements are particularly high. 4. Super smart card, which has MPU and memory, keyboard, LCD and power supply, is rare. IC card is divided into contact IC card and non-contact IC card according to the different interface of data exchange with the outside world. The contact IC card can read and write data after the contact of the IC card reading and writing device contacts with the contact of the IC card. The international standard ISO7816 has strict regulations on the mechanical and electrical characteristics of such cards. The contactless IC card has no circuit contact with the IC card equipment, but read and write through the contactless read and write technology, which successfully solves the problem of passive and contactless, and is a major breakthrough in the field of electronic devices. In addition to CPU, logic unit and memory unit, the embedded chip adds RF transceiver circuit. This kind of card is generally used in the automatic toll collection system of public transportation, ferry, subway and other occasions with frequent use, relatively less information and high reliability requirements. At present, the most common contactless IC card in the market is contactless logic encryption card. With its good performance and high cost performance, this kind of IC card has been favored by the majority of users, and has been widely used in public transport, medical treatment, access control and other fields. Because the non-contact logic encryption card chip adopts the stream cipher technology and the key length is not very l...