The SIG released a new generation of Bluetooth Core Specification 5.2 at CES2020 in Las Vegas, including LE ISOCHRONOUS, LE PWOER CONTROL, LE ATTRIBUTE PROTOCOL. This article talks about LE ISOCHRONOUS. 1. BT 5.2 LE AUDIO Market As we all know, before BT 5.2, Bluetooth audio transmission used the classic Bluetooth A2DP mode for point-to-point data transmission. Now the emergence of Bluetooth LE Audio has broken the monopoly of classic Bluetooth on the audio market. At the 2020 CES, SIG announced that the new Core Specification BT 5.2 supports multi-stream Audio which will enable the transmission of multiple, independent, synchronized audio streams between an audio source device, such as TWS headphones, multi-room audio synchronization. LE Audio will also add Broadcast Audio, enabling an audio source device to broadcast one or more audio streams to an unlimited number of audio sink devices. Broadcast Audio can be widely used in airports, bars, gyms, cinemas, and conference centers and other sites. The emergence of BT 5.2 hits a blow to the Apple TWS, and provides support for multi-channel simultaneous audio transmission. 2. BT 5.2 LE Audio Transmission Principle The Bluetooth LE Isochronous Channels function is a new method of using Bluetooth LE to transfer data between devices. This feature provides a mechanism to ensure synchronization between multiple sink devices receiving data from the same source. The protocol stipulates that each frame of data sent by the Bluetooth transmitter will have a time limit, and the expired data (data that violates the time-bound validity period) that is not transmitted, is discarded. Consequently, the receiving devices receive data that is valid with respect to its age and acceptable latency to ensure the synchronization of data received by multiple slave devices. In order to realize the new function, ISOAL is a new layer in the Bluetooth stack which sits in the controller above the link layer. It provides flexibility in the way that lower layers of the stack and upper layers work together, allowing to provide data stream segmentation and reassembly service. The ISOAL provides segmentation, fragmentation, reassembly, and recombination services for the conversion of the SDUs from the upper layer to the PDUs of the baseband resource manager and vice versa. The ISOAL uses fragmentation/recombination or segmentation/reassembly operations to convert service data units (SDU) into protocol data units (PDU), or vice versa. The ISOAL controller accepts or generates SDUs through the supported 1M and 2M encoding PHYs. The maximum length of each SDU is the Max_SDU. Use the HCI ISO data packet to transmit the SDU to the upper layer or from the lower layer to the air. For the application requirements of LE connection mode and non-connection mode, the BT 5.2 LE AUDIO protocol specifies two data stream transmission framework models. 3. BT 5.2 Synchronous data stream transmission based on LE connection Connection-oriented isochron...

HVAC application comes. How can BLE or Wi-Fi work in HVAC? RF-star BLE solution enables the HVAC to be digitally intelligent. Recent development of IoT and digital technologies created a new way for the HVAC industry to build smart energy management solutions. Such technologies are more oriented to equip the HVAC system with capability of timely and precise perception of fluctuating cooling or heating demand of its serviced space. The system can hence intelligently adjust thecooling or heating outputbased on such perception. Adopting Bluetoothlow energy technologies significantly facilitates HVAC vendors in implementing such new smart solutions.

The IoT technology is constantly updated and iterated, and the indoor positioning technology has also undergone earth-shaking changes. From room-level positioning, decimeter-level positioning to high-precision centimeter positioning, the evolution of technology is always unexpected! Various positioning technologies of indoor positioning solutions appear in turn. Which technology is most suitable for indoor positioning? Let’s take a comprehensive perspective to understand the Bluetooth indoor positioning solution. Overview of Beacon Indoor Positioning Technology There are two Beacon indoor positioning technologies: 1. Passive location: Use the Bluetooth gateway to capture the broadcast data transmitted by the beacon on the person/object. The gateway is deployed and installed in the environment. And the gateway will return the collected beacon data to the server through the network. The server obtains the real-time position coordinates of the beacon through a positioning algorithm based on the coordinates known by the gateway. 2. Active position: Use the APP on a mobile device to get the Beacon broadcast data. The APP will have a positioning algorithm. Based on Beacon broadcast data, we can know the person's location who holds the mobile device. The location and navigation in the room are realized through APP or Applet, which is suitable for shopping malls, parking lots, and hospitals. Features of Beacon indoor positioning technology Compared with Wi-Fi positioning technology, Beacon technology suffers less environmental interference. Beacon product is based on the battery power supply. With the advantages of Bluetooth low energy consumption, long service life, small size, and the high penetration rate of Beacon devices, Bluetooth positioning is the most commonly used technology in indoor positioning technology. In daily life, smartphones and smart speakers support Bluetooth. The popularity and mass use of Bluetooth makes Bluetooth chips at a low price. And the BLE price is lower than traditional UWB/RFID solutions. How does Bluetooth realize indoor positioning? The Bluetooth working frequency is 2400 MHz ~ 2483.5 MHz. When Bluetooth initiates a broadcast, in addition to its own MAC address, the strength of the Bluetooth signal will also be broadcasted, namely RSSI information. The RSSI reflects the signal strength of the broadcast data packet. According to the RSSI, when the Bluetooth receiver is closer to the transmitter, the signal strength is stronger, on the contrary, will be weaker. The relationship between the signal strength and the distance from the transmitter can be found through the transformation of signal strength. By deploying a Bluetooth transmitter in the room, namely a beacon, the Bluetooth receiver can determine its indoor location after receiving the RSSI signal broadcasted by the transmitter. This positioning method is called active positioning, and the positioning accuracy is 3 meters to 4 meters. Through a reasonable algorith...

In recent years, thanks to the rapid development of new technologies such as IoT communication technology and artificial intelligence, domestic smart home products have passed through the three stages of automation, intelligence and IoT, and entered the era of whole-house intelligence. Giants from the communications, Internet, home appliances, home furnishing, real estate and other industries have released smart home strategies and laid out product ecology. The market competition is extremely fierce. In June 2021, the research institute IDC released the "Quarterly Tracking Report on China's Smart Home Device Market." The report shows that in the first quarter of 2021, China’s smart home device market shipped 46.99 million units, a year-on-year growth of 27.7%. In the smart home market, Apple entered the market earlier with the HomeKit platform, established a more mature ecology, and became the leading player in the smart home market. Relying on the iOS system to further increase the stickiness of Apple users, the HomeKit smart home platform has built a complete ecosystem of whole house intelligence through centralized management and intelligent operation. 1. HomeKit builds Apple fans smart home ecology Apple released HomeKit, a smart home platform, in 2014. In 2015, the first batch of HomeKit smart home products were released, which can control lighting, indoor temperature and other electrical appliances through iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Since Apple itself does not produce HomeKit hardware, HomeKit is just a certification protocol, so manufacturers are gradually supporting the HomeKit protocol. Since the release of iOS 10, people can use the "Home" APP added to the iOS system to manage and control smart home devices that support the HomeKit framework. 1.1. "Home" centralized management HomeKit supports centralized management of devices on the "Home" APP, and no other APP is required for each smart device. However, judging from the products released on the market that support the HomeKit protocol, each product still has its own APP launched by the manufacturer to increase customer retention. The settings in the supporting APP are usually more abundant than the functions in the Home APP. For example, Aqara's smart sockets, detailed power consumption curves and statistics can be seen in the original APP. The "Home" APP covers four parts: accessories, scenes, rooms, and automation. (1) The concept of an accessory is well understood, which means that a single smart device is added to the APP. (2) Scene refers to the unified state of multiple devices into corresponding states at a certain moment. For example, the lunch break scene will contain closed curtains and closed lights. (3) The rooms are classified according to space to facilitate the unified management of multiple devices. (4) Automation is to set some conditions to trigger automatic execution of commands. Automation can actually be understood as a scene triggered by a specific condition, su...

What Is Automotive Battery Management System(BMS)? With the recent implementation of government regulations aimed at reducing CO2 emissions to combat climate change, the global electric vehicle industry is expected to witness significant growth in the coming years. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, annual electric vehicle shipments worldwide are projected to reach 30 million by 2030, and 60 million by 2040. At the core of an electric vehicle lies its battery pack, which is a complex assembly comprising multiple modules, each consisting of hundreds of battery cells. In total, a battery pack may contain thousands of cells. The Battery Management System (BMS) serves as the "brain" of an electric vehicle's battery pack. It is a vital component of the vehicle responsible for ensuring its safe and efficient operation, with its performance having a significant impact on the EV's driving range and battery life. The primary function of a BMS is to manage the health, performance, and safety of the battery, making it a critical component for the successful operation of an electric vehicle. Various wireless solutions are being considered for the implementation of wireless BMS. While some of them are proprietary and designed specifically for the wireless BMS use case, opting for a standard solution like Bluetooth comes with significant advantages. What Are Advantages of Wireless BMS Embedded Bluetooth Modules? Here are the reasons why Bluetooth LE module is suitable for wireless BMS: 1. High throughput: With a data rate of over one megabit per second, Bluetooth far exceeds the rates offered by many proprietary alternatives. This ability to transfer large amounts of data quickly is especially crucial for BMS, as a significant amount of information must be sent to the central processing unit, which scales with the number of battery modules. In addition, the high data rate of Bluetooth also results in lower latency, which is essential for ensuring the safety of the system. 2. Reliable connectivity: Bluetooth technology is known for its ability to provide reliable data transmission even in noisy environments. This makes it a suitable option for wireless BMS, which typically involves several battery modules communicating with a central unit using Bluetooth technology. 3. Secured Connection: In addition to its other advantages, Bluetooth technology provides a highly secured connection for wireless BMS. This is achieved through encryption and authentication mechanisms that prevent unauthorized access, ensuring the safety of the vehicle and its occupants. 4. Low-power consumption: Bluetooth technology, specifically Bluetooth LE, is known for its low-power consumption, making it an ideal wireless communication protocol for BMS. Additionally, when using Bluetooth LE with PAwR (Passive Advertisement with Reply), the central unit periodically sends advertising packets, and observers only listen during these advertising events and can go to sleep in between....

RF-star Chengdu team has traveled to the Western Sichuan Plateau in July. The impressive natural landscapes with snow-covered mountains, endless grass landscapes, countless yak herds, and local monasteries leave us literally speechless! 

With the advent of the Internet information age, mobile and portable smart products have drove countless enthusiasts crazy as soon as they were launched. Wearable devices have gradually developed from MP3 to wireless Bluetooth headsets and VR devices. The rapid growth of the wearable device market is closely related to the development of Bluetooth technology. With the popularization of Bluetooth 4.0 technology and the rise of mobile Internet, the application of Bluetooth technology has also developed from portable devices such as mobile phones and tablets to the Internet of Things, medical and other fields. The development of solutions based on Bluetooth technology is getting better and better. It brings new opportunities to the Internet of Things market. When talking about Bluetooth, we often hear words such as BLE, Beacon, iBeacon, Eddytstone, etc. What are the connections and differences among them? The following is a detailed explanation of the Bluetooth technology involved in common Bluetooth technical terms and applications. 1. Explanation of Bluetooth Technical Terms BLE: Bluetooth Low Energy. Beacon: Beacon is based on Bluetooth low energy proximity sensing by transmitting a universally unique identifier picked up by a compatible app or operating system. iBeacon: iBeacon is the name for Apple’s technology standard introduced in 2013, which allows Mobile Apps (running on both iOS and Android devices) to listen for signals from beacons in the physical world and react accordingly. Eddystone: Eddystone is a BLE format developed by Google in 2015. It’s opensource and multiplatform, so you can use it with both Android and iOS. The Bluetooth that we often say in our daily life usually refers to BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). As the name shows, the current Bluetooth technology consumes very low power consumption. The power consumed by turning on Bluetooth on the phone for a long time is negligible. 2. The Origin and Classification of BLE The original specification was developed by Nokia in 2006 under the name Wibree. The company developed a wireless technology adapted from the Bluetooth standard which would provide lower power usage and cost while minimizing its differences from Bluetooth technology. The results were published in 2004 using the name Bluetooth Low End Extension. Wibree is a new radio frequency technology that can work alongside Bluetooth but using just a fraction of the power. The technology was marketed as Bluetooth Smart and integration into version 4.0 of the Core Specification was completed in early 2010. The BLE protocol stack is shown in the figure below. BLE is a set of protocols different from Classic Bluetooth, and the corresponding device does not implement backward compatibility. Therefore, BLE has formed three device types. 1) Bluetooth devices - Pre-4.0 devices - Bluetooth BR/EDR (Classic Bluetooth). A Classic Bluetooth device is able to communicate with other Classic Bluetooth devices and Bluetooth Smart Ready devices. ...

Sales of electric vehicles have been witnessing dramatic growth in recent years as their prices keep dropping while range keep rising. The trend further boosted the demand for EV charging piles. Unfortunately, in such a mega trend, some drawbacks of traditional charging piles were brought to attention. Just to name a few: 1) many installed charging piles are from well being utilized; 2)some of them are vulnerable to environmental interference; 3) and some impose risk to undermine safety use. Some vendors consider to have Bluetooth embedded to shake away the hassles mentioned above. RFstar’s RSBRS02ABR BLE module is such a product for this application with solid track record in this arena. This model enabled quite many OEMs in China and abroad to streamline design and assembly operations. By introducing RF-star’s BLE module RSBRS02ABR into charging pile solution, OEMs can significantly reduce the wiring work while achieving higher flexibility, incurring less installation cost, and effectively meet the demand for flexible distribution of charging stations.Furthermore, adding the Bluetooth module shake off the hassle of cable networking in charging pile installation. It can transmit data from the charging pile to your mobile through Bluetooth. After the mobile phone is connected to the Internet, the data can be uploaded to the cloud. In this way, it achieves excellent convenience to locate the charging pile, and complete transaction.

When the moon hangs in the sky, we know that the Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner. With the strong sweet-scent of the osmanthus was waved to us by the breeze in the streets and lanes in Chengdu city, the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming. On the occasion of the festival, RF-star would like to give you our best wishes here for a happy holiday. And on this special day, all staff of RF-star gathered here to participate in the lantern riddles and mooncake cooking activities to celebrate for the coming traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Let’s enjoy this happiness and rejoice together. Years come and go, but the moon in the Mid-Autumn night remains in our hearts forever. Guessing lantern riddles is a traditional folkloric entertainment activity for the Chinese. There is infinite wisdom and fun in the little riddles. From the animal names to the names of the objects, from the person names and place names to the rivers or mountains, everything can be included in the riddles and be a question or answer, which makes the riddle bring infinite extreme fun. Look, the activity has not begun yet, everyone is eager to have a try and some people roll up their sleeves to get ready to be the first person who gives the answer. With the host announced the kickoff of the activity, one after another answer being called out with the intermingled cheers and laughter, which pushes the activity to its climax. As the guessing riddles activity comes to an end, the host unveiled to move on to another activity named ”making mooncakes”. All staff brims with full of happiness and rejoice. Sweet-style mooncakes are one of the popular styles of mooncake for Chengdu people. Take one portion from each 3 colours of dough and combine them into a round. Flatten out the dough and center the filling. Seal and shape into a ball. Lightly coat the surface with prepared cooked glutinous rice flour. Press each into mooncake mould and then push lightly out on a serving plate. Each member of RF-star is busy chit-chatting and making mooncakes, which brings pleasure and warm atmosphere. After a while, several plates of crispy and delicious mooncakes come to the table. About Us Shenzhen RF-Star Technology Co., Ltd., founded in 2010, is a world leading Internet-of-Things (IoT) solution provider. RF-Star has the vision of a connected world with widely deployed IoT technology, such as BLE/BT, Wi-Fi, LoRa, ZigBee, Sub-1GHz, NB-IoT, RFID, which makes RF-star focus on creating innovative products and services, empowering industries to run intelligently and providing people a better life.