TI supports the growth of wearable devices with next-gen Bluetooth low energy application software

Master-slave feature enables design of single-chip-based products with support for peripheral and central device modes

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Jul 20, 2012, 08:00 ET

DALLAS, July 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN), the industry leader in wireless connectivity solutions, today launched its latest Bluetooth® low energy application software, the BLE-Stack 1.2, based on the Bluetooth v4.0 release. The BLE-Stack 1.2 is designed to further drive Bluetooth Smart and Smart Ready devices such as wearables—a market experiencing large growth as manufacturers take advantage of the increased numbers of Bluetooth v4.0-enabled smartphones and tablets. Additionally, the latest BLE-Stack includes support for fourteen profiles with associated sample applications for fast development of Bluetooth low energy-compliant sensor devices. TI's BLE-Stack 1.2 is available royalty-free to all using TI's CC254x Bluetooth low energy system-on-chip (SoC) solutions. The BLE-Stack, CC254x SoC family and development kits are available today on www.ti.com/ble-pr. TI's Volker Prueller will address the growth of wireless connectivity in wearable devices during the keynote of the Wearable Technologies Conference, July 24, 2012 in San Francisco.

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To better serve the growing Bluetooth low energy wearables market, TI's BLE-Stack 1.2 has an advanced master-slave switch feature, increased stack configurability, and further power optimization, which enable the design of low-power, single-chip-based products with Bluetooth Smart capabilities. The TI BLE-Stack's new master-slave feature enables a CC254x SoC to support both master and slave modes at different times by allowing an application to easily switch between the two modes. For example, a Bluetooth Smart sports watch (peripheral) built with a CC254x can be connected to a Bluetooth Smart Ready smartphone (central device). The same sports watch can then switch to central device mode to obtain data from other peripheral devices, such as a heart rate monitor and a blood pressure sensor.

"TI's CC2540 Bluetooth low energy SoC enables Recon's MOD Live Heads-up Display (HUD) to elevate real-time user experience through connectivity. Users can connect the HUD, mounted inside alpine goggles, to an Android smartphone enabling the user to see caller ID, SMS and navigate their music playlists direct-to-eye without removing their phone from their pocket or worrying about battery-life," said Hamid Abdollahi, CTO, Recon Instruments.

TI's Bluetooth low energy devices for sensor applications are true one-chip integrated solutions. Combined with TI's protocol stack, profile software and sample applications, the CC254x SoC family forms a flexible and cost-effective single-mode Bluetooth low energy solution. To simplify design and speed time to market of Bluetooth low energy applications, TI's solutions come with an extensive selection of development tools, technical documentation, reference designs and application expertise.

"By enabling devices that can switch between master and slave mode modes, TI is driving the growth of wearable and sensor-based devices to take advantage of the increasing number of smartphones and tablets with Bluetooth low energy," said Sid Shaw, product marketing manager, Wireless Connectivity, TI. "For end users this translates into a smooth Bluetooth user experience – ease of use, long battery life and small-sized portable devices."

Key features and benefits: TI BLE-Stack 1.2 Bluetooth low energy application software

Features

Benefits

Royalty-free software available to all using TI's CC254x Bluetooth low energy SoC
Support for fourteen profiles with associated sample applications

Early realization of single mode Bluetooth low energy applications

Bluetooth Smart Ready and Bluetooth Smart master and slave topology switch feature

Flexible applications that can be both Bluetooth Smart and Smart Ready at different times

Support for Bluetooth low energy central and peripheral configurations, with up to three simultaneous connections

When set to the central configuration, a CC254x SoC can support up to three simultaneous connections. For example, a central health device can simultaneously be connected to a heart rate monitor, blood pressure sensor and health thermometer

Power-optimization in software (eight percent reduction in average current consumption)
Configurable stack saves Flash and RAM memory
Support for Serial and USB bootloaders for easy reconfiguration
No external microcontroller required
GAP central role profile for single-chip central Bluetooth low energy applications
Reference design and development kits pre-integrated with TI TPS62730 step down converter, which reduces the current drawn from the battery by as much as 20 percent (CR2032 coin cell)

Development framework for low-power, small-form-factor applications

BTool includes support for multiple connections, encryption, pairing, bonding

Free tool for testing of Bluetooth low energy peripheral applications

Bluetooth SIG Certified and interoperability tested
Comprehensively tested against TI's dual-mode Bluetooth solutions for mobile devices (BlueLink™ 7.0 (BL6450), WiLink™ 6.0 (WL127x) and WiLink 7.0 (WL128x) )

With both sides of the link, TI delivers a fully tested, robust Bluetooth low energy ecosystem

Tools, availability, packaging and price
The BLE-Stack 1.2 Bluetooth low energy software stack is available today from TI, royalty-free to all using TI's CC254x Bluetooth low energy system-on-chip family. The CC2540DK-MINI, CC2540DK and CC2541EMK development kits are available today on TI's eStore for USD $99, $299, and $99, respectively.

Find out more about TI's low-power RF and wireless connectivity solutions

About TI's mobile connectivity portfolio
TI provides the industry's broadest portfolio of mature, low-power wireless connectivity solutions. With expertise in more than a dozen technologies, TI ensures customers the best-suited wireless connectivity for every type of application. TI's product portfolio is complemented with the support and tools that customers and developers need to quickly and easily bring wirelessly connected designs to market. Visit the company's Wireless Connectivity Portal for an overview of TI-supported technologies, the full product portfolio, and example use cases.

About Texas Instruments
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SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated