Energy-Saving Bluetooth Smart Module at Hanneover Messe

AMBER wireless GmbH, a Würth Elektronik eiSos Group company, offers an extremely compact and energy-saving wireless module – the AMB2621 Bluetooth Smart module. A special feature: Besides standard control with UART commands, smartphones or other devices can be connected to form a module by initializing with the "peripheral only" operating mode.

AMB2621 is a 2.4 GHz BLE wireless module based on the Bluetooth Smart 4.2 standard, sized just 11 x 8 x 1.8 mm, offered with or without integrated antenna. AMBER wireless uses the Nordic chip nRF52832 in this module, i.e. a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 CPU and a 512 kB flash memory. The AMB2621 firmware supports the “peripheral only” operating mode allowing easy expansion of existing hardware with the BLE interface. In its default state, this mode provides static key pairing and a transparent UART interface.

“Our customers can install and use the module with ease, without having to previously configure it and without changing the interface in their application in a big way”, explains Patrick Becker, Head of Sales at AMBER wireless. “We purposefully introduced the option of operating the wireless module as ‘peripheral’ in the sense of the Bluetooth protocol, as this covers around 90 percent of applications. Devices are equipped with this kind of wireless module so you can connect with them. This means that pairing is initiated from a mobile device, for example to control building technology.”

Thanks to the “peripheral only” operating mode, the AMB2621 Bluetooth Smart module is especially energy-saving, as the UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) interface is only active once a wireless connection is established. Uncomplicated static passkey pairing is used as a security device as in the hands-free system in the car.

The AMB2621 Bluetooth Smart module is suitable for all manufacturers wishing to connect their electronic control with a mobile device. It does not make a difference whether this control has been on the market for years or is just in the development phase. AMB2621 with peripheral mode is recommended whenever the module itself does not initiate any connections (i.e. is only contacted from the outside) or no user interface can be implemented, as the rest of the product is already ready.

“Particularly against the backdrop of trends like Internet of Things, Smart Home or Smart Factory, an easy to implement interface is often the decisive advantage for our customers in the marketplace”, asserts Oliver Opitz, General Manager at AMBER wireless. “AMB2621 soldered on, smartphone app programmed and the highly modern user interface is ready.”

All BLE profiles can be used with the AMB2621, i.e. besides the “peripheral” profile mentioned, also “central”, “observer” and “broadcaster” profiles. The latter means sending beacons. Control of the module with commands allows numerous individual configurations. This enables electricity consumption, various pairing methods, emitting powers, UART speeds or the use of the power saving mode to be set with 1µA. The module can also be used for determining position by means of triangulation.

Due to the ever-growing importance of wireless connectivity in numerous application areas, AMBER Wireless is breaking new ground and exhibiting at the Hannover Messe: Smart Connected Gemeinschaftsstand, hall 8, stand D35.