Nordic Evaluation Kit Seamlessly Integrates Wi-Fi 6 with Other Protocols

Multi-protocol support is important for expanding the potential market for a wide range of devices from Industrial IoT (IIoT) to smart home applications, but it can create added complexity and costs for developers. Nordic Semiconductor offers a solution that makes it easier to integrate Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) capabilities with protocols such as Bluetooth low energy (BLE), Thread, Zigbee, and cellular IoT.

That solution comes in the form of an evaluation kit for developing applications based on Nordic's nRF7002 companion IC with integrated RF. The nRF7002 module provides a low power solution for embedding Wi-Fi 6 technology with ultra-fast speeds, improved range, greater reliability, and extended battery life. nRF70 Series ICs employ a unique wireless coexistence support that ensures other communications protocols can operate seamlessly with Wi-Fi.

Featuring 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual-band capability, the nRF7002 is fully backward compatible with earlier Wi-Fi versions (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and infrastructure. The Wi-Fi 6 companion IC supports a wide variety of host controllers—including non-Nordic hosts—and can be used with both Linux and RTOS operating systems. It can take advantage of advanced security features, including secure boot, Trusted Firmware-M, hardware unique keys, and device firmware update (DFU) procedures.

Arduino shield form factor board

The nRF7002-EK (Figure 1) includes the nRF7002 IC in an Arduino shield form factor expansion board with an interface connector that plugs into compatible development kits for other Nordic transceiver ICs, specifically to more easily integrate low-power Wi-Fi 6 with other communications protocols.

Figure 1: Nordic's Arduino shield plugs into other development kits to more easily add capabilities of its Wi-Fi 6 companion IC to applications utilizing other Nordic solutions. (Image source: Nordic Semiconductor)

Among the Nordic wireless solutions with which the nRF7002EK can be used to add Wi-Fi 6 are:

• The nRF52840 and nRF5340 ultra-low power Bluetooth 5.4 SoCs with multiprotocol 2.4 GHz transceivers that support Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth mesh, NFC, Thread, and Zigbee. The nRF5340 features dual Arm Cortex-M33 processors and offers a balance of performance and power efficiency. The nRF52840 is the most advanced SoC in the nRF52 family, with a single Arm Cortex-M4 processor that is suitable for more complex IoT applications with greater performance.
• The nRF9160, first in a series of low power System-in-Package (SiP) cellular devices for IoT. This SiP includes an LTE-M/NB-IoT modem, supports cell-tower-based and GPS-based location services, and includes an RF front-end (RFFE) and integrated power management, all in a compact 10 mm x 16 mm x 1 mm package.

The nRF7002-EK can also be used to emulate the nRF7000 for applications needing Wi-Fi SSID-based locationing, and the nRF7001 for 2.4 GHz band Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Combining an nRF9160 cellular SiP and an nRF7000, for example, enables developers to combine global navigation satellite system (GNSS), cellular-based locationing, and SSID-based Wi-Fi locationing capabilities within one application, ensuring the best possible location results.

Creating multi-protocol applications

The nRF7002-EK kit piggybacks onto Nordic development kits for transceiver solutions, specifically the nRF52840-DK, the nRF5340-DK, and the nRF9160-DK. Each of these development kits includes hardware, preprogrammed firmware, documentation, hardware schematics, and layout files.

The evaluation kit plugs directly into a compatible development kit (Figure 2). Depending on the application, developers can use the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) or Quad Serial Peripheral Interface (QSPI).

Figure 2: The nRF7002-EK (top) plugs directly into other Nordic development kits such as the nRF5340-DK shown here. (Image source: Nordic Semiconductor)

Nordic's open source nRF Connect SDK provides the tools and libraries necessary for developing applications on the development kits, including building and programming firmware for the nRF7002-EK. The SDK supports Microsoft Windows, Linux, and MacOS, integrates the Zephyr RTOS, and is compatible with most of Zephyr’s applications and samples.

The SDK also includes the nRF Machine Learning application, which integrates with the Edge Impulse development platform to gather data from sensors, train the ML model, and deploy the model to the target Nordic device. Other potential applications utilizing the nRF7002-EK include:

• Asset tracking
• ­Battery-operated Wi-Fi products
• ­Smart home, smart city, and smart agriculture
• Industrial sensors
• ­Wearables and medical

Nordic's tools provide an easy way to evaluate and harness the nRF70 Series of Wi-Fi companion ICs with other wireless solutions, ensuring seamless connectivity and multi-protocol coexistence, Wi-Fi-based locationing with nRF Cloud Location Services, and SSID sniffing of local Wi-Fi hubs.

Utilizing the nRF-7002-EK with one of the compatible Nordic development kits helps developers circumvent common challenges such as compatibility issues, signal interference from multiple wireless transmissions, power management, and security vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

The Nordic Semiconductor nRF7002-EK is a powerful and versatile tool for integrating Wi-Fi 6 capabilities seamlessly with other communications protocols for IoT and smart device applications. Utilizing the popular Arduino shield form factor, it easily interfaces with compatible Nordic development kits to unlock Wi-Fi 6 for host devices, and is fully integrated into the nRF Connect SDK for simpler development of multi-protocol applications.