Bluetooth Mesh

Nordic Semiconductor released the first to market Bluetooth Mesh solution through introduction of nRF5 SDK for Mesh. The Software Development Kit (SDK) allows engineers to develop with Bluetooth^® Mesh. The launch of the SDK coincides with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s (SIG) formal adoption of Bluetooth Mesh 1.0.

nRF5 SDK for Mesh can be downloaded from Nordic’s website and includes the company’s first release of its Bluetooth Mesh software protocol (“stack”). The SDK is compatible with the nRF51^® and nRF52^® Series Systems-on-Chip (SOCs), and the S110, S130, and S132 Bluetooth 4.0-compatible SoftDevices (Nordic’s Bluetooth low energy stacks). With the nRF5 SDK for Mesh, developers who already have a Nordic nRF52 Development Kit (DK) can immediately start building Bluetooth Mesh-based applications.

^{Nordic nRF52-DK}

Bluetooth Mesh extends Bluetooth low energy wireless connectivity to multi-node applications in consumer, smart home, and industrial applications. The technology is an ideal solution, for example, for enterprise lighting installations covering large areas. With Bluetooth Mesh, users will be able to instantly and simultaneously control up to hundreds of Bluetooth low energy-equipped lights from a single Bluetooth 4.0 (and later) smartphone or tablet. Other key applications for Bluetooth Mesh include back-end for beacons and industrial monitoring.

^{Bluetooth Mesh Network topology which can be created with the nRF5 SDK for Mesh Source: Nordic Semiconductor}

Nordic’s Bluetooth Mesh stack incorporates additional features not included in the Bluetooth SIG’s Bluetooth Mesh 1.0 specification. Nordic’s stack includes secure side-by-side and blocking device firmware updates (DFU), a feature which allows scalable, secure DFU across the Mesh without interruption of service while the new firmware is transferred. The Nordic Bluetooth Mesh stack also includes a solution for provisioning over relaying nodes and a serialization interface which allows control of the Mesh over a serial interface when using a two-chip Bluetooth Mesh solution. (For example, when employing an Internet gateway as part of the application.)

The Alpha Version of the nRF5 SDK for Mesh is available now.

nRF5 Software Development Kit Shop nRF52 Development Kit E-Mail Contact