Texas Instruments Inc. (TI), leading the industry with the most complete wireless connectivity portfolio for embedded applications, announced the extension of its remote control solutions offering with a new Bluetooth® low energy advanced remote control kit. As a technology, Bluetooth low energy allows for remotes with mouse-like pointing and keyboard functionality as well as gesture-, touch- and motion-based input controls so users can take their viewing and gaming experience to the next level. In addition to control of traditional home consumer electronics, the Bluetooth low energy remote control solution enables direct control of Bluetooth Smart Ready devices like PCs, laptops and tablets devices. It also enables Bluetooth Smart devices like a mobile phone to configure the advanced remote control solution over-the-air, for example, to upload new firmware. TI’s Bluetooth low energy advanced remote control solution has received broad industry support from manufacturers and software providers (see quotes below).
The Bluetooth low energy solution builds upon an already successful remote control family based on TI’s ZigBee® RF4CE technology. Now, manufacturers have the ability to complement their ZigBee RF4CE remote designs with Bluetooth low energy technology with ease, due to pin-to-pin and SoC digital domain compatibility between TI’s CC253x ZigBee technology and the CC254x Bluetooth low energy SoC. For example, valuable research and development time used to port IR database, sensor fusion algorithms, drivers and other IP can be reused between the two technologies. Additionally, the BLE-Stack™ 1.3.1 release contains the advanced remote sample application software in addition to general enhancements to the stack software. For more information, visit www.ti.com/ble-remote-pr-lp.
“Expanding our remote control portfolio to incorporate Bluetooth low energy complements the investment manufacturers have already made with our RF4CE platform, and creates adjacent market opportunities that encourage the growth of new applications and services for consumers,” said Stig Torud, product manager, Wireless Connectivity Solutions, TI. “We are excited to work with the market leaders in remote control technology to bring Bluetooth low energy-based remotes to market.”
Texas Instruments is committed to bringing new technologies into the remote control market, making it easy for manufacturers to integrate Bluetooth low energy technology into their current products.
Key features and benefits:
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• Gerbers and bill of materials available • Royalty-free, TI BLE-Stack software • FCC and ETSI certified |
• Fast time-to-market |
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• Low power consumption |
• Longer battery life |
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• Best-in-class link budget at adjacent/alternate channel rejection |
• Longer range and excellent co-existence |
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• Based on the CC2541 |
• Better reliability with market-proven solution |
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• Six-axis sensor – accelerometer and gyroscope • Sensor fusion software from Movea and Hillcrest Labs • Certified HID over GATT profile |
• Supports multiple styles including pointing-, gesture- and keyboard-like remotes • Connect directly to a Bluetooth Smart Ready devices |
Availability
To demonstrate the technology and jumpstart customers’ development, TI’s CC2541 remote control development kit is released now and can be ordered on the TI eStore.