Pmod BLE: Bluetooth® Low Energy Interface

The Digilent Pmod BLE is a powerful peripheral module meant for use with any UART enabled development board. This Pmod employs the Roving Networks RN4870 to create a fully integrated BLE interface. This chip features an onboard Bluetooth stack that makes connecting and communicating with any Bluetooth 4.X device possible through simple UART commands. The RN4870 also features four built-in GATT services: Device Information, Airpatch, BeaconThings, and UART Transparent data streaming. It also allows up to five custom public services and up to four custom private services, each allowing up to eight custom characteristics. The Pmod BLE is an affordable, versatile, low energy addition to the wireless Pmod library.

The RN4870 Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy module is designed for easy implementation into a broad range of applications. Supporting the latest Bluetooth standard, it delivers up to 2.5x throughput improvement and more secure connections versus Bluetooth 4.1 based products. Developers can easily interface to the device via a standard UART interface, available on most microcontrollers and processors. The RN4870 has a completely integrated Bluetooth software stack and offers a shielded regulatory certified version with a built-in antenna. Developers are freed from the complexities of Bluetooth software and RF development and can simply utilize the RN4870 as a wireline replacement. Interfaced to a BLE enabled smartphone or Bluetooth internet gateway, applications can be monitored, controlled, and updated from anywhere in the world making them a perfect fit for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.