With the continuous update of the Bluetooth version, more and more customers prefer Bluetooth 5.0. So far, pretty much original chip manufacturers have launched their own BLE SoC chips. Among them, the nRF52832 of Nordic Semiconductor is the follow-up work of nRF51822, which brings BLE SoC to a new level. There’s a lot to be excited about this BLE device, which brings higher performance, lower power consumption, and more features. This post will introduce you to the smart nRF52832 beacon, its key features, applications, and the differences between nRF52832 and nRF52840. Let us get started:
Key features of nRF52832 Bluetooth beacon
nRF52832 BLE beacon is very attractive to product developers, and its rich peripheral resources are convenient for users to carry out multi-directional development. Nordic has fixed many early problems to make your product more reliable. Following are the distinguishing features of the Bluetooth nRF52832 Beacon.
RAM: The nRF52832 chip has built-in 512KB of Flash+64KB of RAM. Nordic says there will be 400KB of Flash available for development applications. More free Flash and RAM means nRF52832 can support multi-protocol, including BLE Bluetooth Low Energy consumption, ANT, and 2.4GHz proprietary protocol, and switch automatically at runtime. Multi-protocol support ensures the flexible use and development of the nRF52832 chip in different application scenarios!
Support NFC-A tags: The nRF52832 chip also introduces NFC technology, which supports NFC-A and can be used as a ‘tag’. With the smartphone, it can be used for short-distance security connection, eliminating the complicated process of creating a connection such as entering a password.
Power consumption: The nRF52832 chip has ultra-low peak, average and idle mode power consumption, and almost reduces power consumption by half on the basis of nRF51822, and can run on a standard button battery for many years!
Processor processing speed: The nRF52832 SoC single chip uses a 32-bit ARM® Cortex™-M4F CPU. The core frequency of the Cortex-M4F is as high as 64Mhz, and it has powerful computing capabilities and floating-point computing technology. It can be well applied in the environment where wearable devices and industrial equipment need to have very complex algorithms built in.
Support Bluetooth 5.0: The nRF52832 has on-chip hardware support for Bluetooth 5.0, which can provide higher throughput, faster data transmission speed and more broadcast packet data volume.
RF performance: The Bluetooth nRF52832 chip provides a sensitivity of -96dBm, relatively speaking, it can provide a longer data transmission distance.
Power efficiency: The nRF52832 chip can work with a power supply voltage from 1.7V to 3.6V. All independent peripherals and clocks provide complete power-down flexibility to minimize power consumption when not required for task operation.
Output power: nRF52832 chip can realize -30dBm—+4dBm wide output power adjustment
In addition, the nRF52832 chip also supports:
3 master/slave SPI
2 x 2-wire interface (I²C)
UART (RTS/CTS)
3 PWMs
AES hardware encryption
12-bit ADC
Real Time Counter (RTC)
The block diagram of Bluetooth nRF52832
Applications of Bluetooth nRF52832
nRF52832 is wirelessly compatible with Nordic nRF51 series, nRF24L and nRF24AP product series. This makes it an ideal option in quite a few products such as wearable products, human-machine interface devices, wireless charging applications, etc., and becomes a perfect single-chip solution for these applications. Some typical use cases of BLE nRF52832 beacons will be shown below.
– Internet of Things (IoT)
The applications in the field of IoT are diverse, such as home automation, building automation, sensor networks, industrial, retail, etc.
– Personal Area Networks
This includes health and fitness sensor and monitor devices, medical equipment, key fobs and watches, and more.
– Interactive entertainment devices
This includes remote controls, gaming controllers, etc.
– Beacons
– A4WP wireless chargers and devices
– Remote control toys
– Computer peripherals and I/O devices
This includes keyboard, mouse, multi-touch trackpad, gaming, etc.
The differences between nRF52832 and nRF52840
nRF52840 is a super upgraded version of nRF52832 to a certain extent.Although it is also Bluetooth 5.0, the overall stability and performance have been improved to a great extent. The following is a brief explanation of the performance difference between nRF52832 and nRF52840.
- Both of them can support Bluetooth 5.0, the same MCU is M4F, the difference in RAM is that NRF52840 is 256KB, while NRF52832 is only 64/32KB. FLASH nRF52840 is larger than nRF52832, nRF52840 FLASH is 1MB, nRF52832 is only 512/256KB.
- The peak power consumption current of nRF52840 is almost double that of nRF52832.nRF52840 is at 14.8mA, while nRF52832 is at 7.5mA.
- The sleep current is 0.4μA for nRF52840 and 0.3μA for nRF52832.
- The sensitivity of nRF52840 is a bit worse at -95dBm, while nRF52832 has -96dBm. But it has little effect on this -1dBM.
- The output power of nRF52840 is exactly double that of nRF52832.
Why choose Bluetooth nRF52832 beacon
The nRF52832 SoC offers ultra-low power consumption and high design flexibility to support a wide range of wireless communication protocols, making it extremely powerful. It is ideal for ANT, Bluetooth Low Energy and 2.4GHz ultra low power wireless applications. Combining breakthrough performance and power efficiency, the nRF52832 redefines the single-chip Bluetooth® Smart category. Not only does it feature a unique on-chip NFC™ tag and user-friendly Touch-to-Pair functionality, but it also offers a new level of design flexibility not found in any existing Bluetooth smart solution.
The higher processor performance of the nRF 52832 allows developers to enhance the appeal of their products to users, including adding new features and improving the user experience. This single-chip integration enables smaller products and lower BOM costs, while higher power efficiency supports longer battery life, making the nRF52832 an ideal solution for energy harvesting and power supply applications. In addition, its best-in-class radio performance supports up to 2x connection reliability, interference immunity, distance and data throughput. It also supports greater network topology and protocol complexity, as well as advanced security features. MOKOBlue offers a family of nRF52832 Bluetooth modules with flexibility and ultra-low power consumption.
FAQs about Bluetooth nRF52832 beacon
1. What is the range of the nRF52832 Bluetooth beacon?
The range of the nRF52832 Bluetooth beacon varies depending on the implementation and environment, but is typically between 30-50 meters. This may be affected by interference from other equipment, obstructions, and the presence of walls and other structures.
2. What is the battery life of the nRF52832 Bluetooth Beacon?
The battery life of the nRF52832 Bluetooth beacon depends on a number of factors, including transmission interval, power output, and battery capacity. Generally, its battery life can range from a few months to several years.
3. How doe that nRF52832 Bluetooth beacon work?
The nRF52832 BLE beacon periodically transmits small amounts of data, called advertisements, which contain information such as a unique identifier and battery level. The advertisement can be received by nearby BLE enabled devices (e.g., smartphones) and used for location-based services and proximity detection.
4. Can the nRF52832 Bluetooth Beacon be programmed?
Yes, the nRF52832 Bluetooth beacon can be programmed to meet specific requirements. This typically involves programming the microcontroller and configuring the BLE radio to transmit the desired advertising data.
5. How is the nRF52832 Bluetooth beacon powered?
The nRF52832 Bluetooth Beacon can be powered by battery or external power, depending on the implementation. When powered by batteries, it can be designed to run for long periods of time without frequent battery replacement.
