New-Tech Europe Magazine | Oct 2017 | Digital Edition

Easy to Integrate BLE module from AMBER wireless for smart IoT solutions

Matthias Hauser, AMBER

Industry 4.0 and IoT rely upon devices networking together. Although the Internet Protocol (IP) and WLAN connectivity are at the forefront of the Internet of Things, there are scenarios in which other techniques have advantages. Bluetooth Low Energy for example. With its AMB2621 Bluetooth-LE-4.2 module, AMBER wireless, a Würth Elektronik eiSos Group company, opens up new possibilities in the Smart Factory and Smart Home. The main thrust is the use of smartphones or tablet PCs as the user interface for other devices. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) offers the perfect basis, as this wireless

interface is integrated in modern smart devices as standard and can transmit “small quantities of data” very energy-efficiently. This makes BLE interesting, not only for mains powered industrial machine, but also for battery-powered devices, such as mobile temperature sensors or household devices like smoke detectors, which can be equipped with such an interface. Furthermore, for devices with displays there is the potential to save the display and if required to visualize data on a smartphone or tablet connected over BLE. Interface configuration The Smart Factory or the Smart Home rarely originate as green field developments. Intelligent networking of devices and sensors

is far more likely to be introduced as an upgrade to existing products and solutions. AMBER wireless therefore paid special attention to easy integration. From its inherent design, AMB2621 has a firmware stack which can be controlled via a serial interface with commands similar to the AT command set. The commands available allow developers to configure the BLE interface for their purposes to allow adjustment of the power and speed of data transmission, as well as the resulting electricity consumption of the respective application. Other commands control connection set- up, data transmission and switching to various power saving modes.

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