Wearable devices are made possible with next-gen Bluetooth low energy application software

July 23, 2012 // Paul Buckley

Texas Instruments has launched the company’s 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.  
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 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.
TI’s BLE-Stack 1.2 Bluetooth low energy application software offers the benefit of royalty-free software available to all using TI’s CC254x Bluetooth low energy SoC and supports fourteen profiles with associated sample applications
The software supports 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 offers an eight percent reduction in average current consumption.

Availability and Pricing

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.

The BLE-Stack, CC254x SoC family and development kits are available on www.ti.com/ble-pr

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