[Silicon Labs BG22-EK4108A Bluetooth Development Review] Burn Bootloader + Debug Bluetooth iBeacon

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[Silicon Labs BG22-EK4108A Bluetooth Development Review] Burn Bootloader + Debug Bluetooth iBeacon [Copy link]

【Silicon Labs BG22-EK4108A 蓝牙开发评测】烧录Bootloader+调试蓝牙iBeacon.pdf (2.52 MB, downloads: 0)

Source code of this article soc_ibeacon.zip (3.2 MB, downloads: 0)

Development board PCB schematic diagram BRD4108A-A03-pkg.zip (2.9 MB, downloads: 0)

I would like to thank Electronic Engineering World ( EEWORLD ) and Silicon Labs & Arrow for the opportunity.

Bluetooth iBeacon devices implement broadcast beacons without linking mode. Bluetooth iBeacon services provide a simple and convenient way to send iBeacon to smartphones. This article uses the development board as a Bluetooth iBeacon device , and the EFR Connect APP installed on the Apple phone obtains iBeacon broadcasts , showing application scenarios when the distance is close or far away through Bluetooth iBeacon , such as information push and notification when customers enter and leave the store in a shopping mall.

iBeacon is a new feature introduced by Apple iOS7 , which can realize indoor positioning function for APP . Google also released a similar feature Google Eddy stone . The following table compares the features of the two :

	compatibility	Openness	type of data	Ease of use	safety
Apple iBeacon	Compatible with Android and iOS , but natively supported on iOS	Private Protocol	UUID with Major and Minor .	Simple	No safe data types
Google Eddystone	Compatible with Android and iOS , any BLE beacon can be supported	Open Source Agreement	UID, EID, URL, TLM .	Simple, but complex application scenarios require additional programming	It is safe when using EID

The operation of Bluetooth firmware requires the development board to be pre-burned with Bootloader , which boots the user's Bluetooth firmware program. Bootloader firmware can be obtained through various channels. This article uses the Demo program provided by the SDK to burn Bootloader .

This article requires you to first complete the content of " 【Silicon Labs BG22-EK4108A Bluetooth Development Evaluation】Schematic Diagram + Building Development Environment + Debugging and Lighting " .

1. Install the EFR Connect APP on your phone

Search and install the EFR Connect APP in the APP store .

In the " Develop " tab, you will see the " Browser " demo, which you will use for subsequent testing.

2. Burn Bootloader

Open Simplicity Studio and log in, then connect the BG22 development board . Simplicity Studio automatically recognizes the development board and clicks the “ Start ” button.

Select the " Bluetooth " filter in " EXAMPLE PROJECTS & DEMOS " and click " RUN " in " Demo Bluetooth - SOC iBeacon " to start burning the Bootloader , as shown below.

“ Demo Bluetooth – SOC iBeacon ” will burn both the Bootloader and the demo firmware at the same time.

3. Create a Bluetooth – SOC iBeacon project

Select the “ Bluetooth ” filter in “ EXAMPLE PROJECTS & DEMOS ” and click “ CREATE ” in “ Bluetooth – SOC iBeacon ” to create a new project, as shown below.

You can specify another project directory. Selecting " Copy contents " means copying all required files from the SDK to the local project, which can prevent the original files of the SDK from being modified . As shown below:

The " Bluetooth - SOC iBeacon " project is successfully created and the readme file is automatically displayed . As shown below:

Double-click " soc_ibeacon.pintool " to see the configuration of GPIO and peripherals in this project . It can be found that this project does not use functional peripherals :

4. Debug Bluetooth – SOC iBeacon program

Right-click the Bluetooth – SOC iBeacon project folder and select “ Build configurations->Build All ” to compile the project:

Compilation completed successfully :

Right-click the Bluetooth – SOC iBeacon project folder and select “ Debug As->1 Silicon Labs ARM Program ” to start debugging:

Click " Yes " to ignore a warning:

Click the green arrow icon to start debugging:

Open the EFR Connect APP on your phone and make sure the permissions required by the APP are allowed . iBeacon requires location permissions, which must be enabled :

In the APP 's " Develop->Browser " demo, search and view an iBeacon service broadcast , which is the broadcast received by the mobile phone when the distance is close .

For user-developed APPs , when the proximity broadcast is obtained, information can be pushed to the user to implement iBeacon applications. As shown in the following figure:

Click the red square icon to stop debugging:

5. Summary

This article first burns the Bootloader required for testing the Bluetooth program , and then gives details on how to create a Bluetooth - SOC iBeacon project, compile and start debugging. It simulates the EFR Connect APP on the mobile phone and shows that the broadcast can be received when the distance is close to the iBeacon . Users can complete more iBeacon applications when developing APPs .