Dialog releases the most powerful wireless MCU: supports Bluetooth 5.1 direction finding function and can achieve centimeter-level positioning!

Author: Xinzhixun Rurouni Ken
Source: Xinzhixun

For a long time, in many people's impression, Dialog's label is "Apple's power management chip supplier". And just last October, Apple also won the authorization of Dialog's power management patents, as well as some related personnel and assets for US$300 million. At the same time, Apple also prepaid Dialog US$300 million in advance as the cost of purchasing products in the next three years (2019-2021). This also shows Dialog's technical strength in the field of power management.

However, in addition to the power management business, Dialog also excels in Bluetooth low energy (BLE) and low-latency wireless audio solutions.

Dialog's Bluetooth Low Energy Layout

Compared with the traditional classic Bluetooth technology, the biggest feature of Bluetooth BLE is the reduction in cost and power consumption, and it is suitable for fields with high real-time requirements. In addition to the slower transmission rate, it also supports one-to-many broadcasting, and through Mesh technology, it can also achieve many-to-many, and can be applied in a wider range of fields.

According to Gartner data and Dialog's internal estimates, the market size of Bluetooth low-power applications in the IoT field was US$1.7 billion in 2017, and will grow to US$3.1 billion by 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 17%; and the market size of Bluetooth low-power applications in the automotive electronics field was US$780 million in 2017, and will grow to US$1.5 billion by 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 17%. This shows that the market prospects for low-power Bluetooth applications are broad.

Dialog has been working in the Bluetooth low energy market for a long time. According to reports, Dialog currently has a very wide range of Bluetooth low energy SoC product portfolios for the IoT market, including the DA146xx series with higher scalability and security and the DA145xx series with smaller size and lower cost.

It is reported that the cumulative shipments of Dialog's Bluetooth low-power SoCs have exceeded 250 million sets, with an annual growth rate of 50%.

Dialog DA1469x released

On February 21, the Bluetooth SIG held a media conference in Beijing to introduce the content and technical details of the Bluetooth Core Specification 5.1 recently launched by the Bluetooth SIG. The new Bluetooth Core Specification V5.1 introduced the long-awaited "direction finding" function. This new function can help devices determine the direction of Bluetooth signals, thereby helping to develop centimeter-level real-time positioning and indoor positioning Bluetooth solutions.

Mark de Clercq, Director of Low Power Connectivity Business Unit at Dialog Semiconductor

In order to further provide more powerful processing power, more resources, larger coverage, and longer battery life for a wide range of IoT connected consumer applications, while keeping up with the latest Bluetooth 5.1 standard of the Bluetooth Technology Alliance, Dialog held a new product launch conference in Beijing on February 25, officially announcing the launch of its most advanced and feature-rich wireless connection multi-core microcontroller unit (MCU) SmartBond™ DA1469x Bluetooth low energy SoC series.

New multi-core architecture and industry-best connectivity

The DA1469x Bluetooth low energy SoC series uses a multi-core architecture. To support complex applications, algorithms and data processing capabilities, the DA1469x is the first mass-produced wireless microcontroller SoC series based on the ARM Cortex-M33 (96 MHz) core. It can provide more powerful processing capabilities for computationally intensive applications such as high-end fitness trackers, advanced smart home devices and virtual reality game controllers.

To enhance the sensing capabilities of the DA1469x series, it is also equipped with a sensor node controller (SNC), which is based on a programmable micro DSP and can run autonomously and independently process data from sensors connected to its digital and analog interfaces, waking up the application processor only when needed.

In addition, to meet the connectivity requirements of a variety of applications, the DA1469x series also integrates a new radio transceiver. The expansion of coverage is mainly due to the upgrade of output power from 0 dBM to 6 dBm, and the receiving sensitivity is also increased by 4 dBm. Moreover, users can choose whether the output power is 6 or 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 dBm or even lower in the application, which can be dynamically adjusted according to different application requirements. Combined with the software-configurable protocol engine based on the ARM Cortex-M0+ core, it not only supports the latest Bluetooth 5.1 protocol, but also supports subsequent protocol upgrades.

Support the latest Bluetooth 5.1 "direction finding function"

At the same time, the DA1469x series also adds support for the latest Bluetooth 5.1 "direction finding function", namely the angle of arrival (AoA) and the angle of departure (AoD) features, to achieve precise positioning. According to the Bluetooth Technology Alliance, published data shows that this function can detect the direction of the signal within a 5-degree angle and more accurately determine the location of the tracked object from the direction. At the same time, Bluetooth positioning with centimeter-level position accuracy can also be achieved.

Among them, the AoA method is mainly aimed at Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), object tracking and landmark information. Its working process is that the transmitter sends special data packets through a single antenna, and the receiver receives data with the help of multiple antennas arranged in an array. Due to the different spacing between the antennas, the antenna will obtain the phase difference of the received signal. When switching between active antennas, IQ samples are obtained from the received signal. Finally, the relative phase of the signal is calculated through data. After the angle between the devices is obtained, the direction-finding function can be achieved through trilateral measurement.

The AoD method is mainly aimed at indoor positioning systems (IPS). Unlike the angle of arrival method, the transmitter is a multi-antenna and the receiver is a single antenna. When the transmitter switches between active antennas arranged in an array, it sends a special data packet. The receiver receives the signal through a single antenna and obtains IQ samples, and finally calculates the relative phase of the signal. Now, with the introduction of a new direction-finding function, Bluetooth proximity solutions will be able to add features related to the direction of the device. For example, the item tracking solution will not only inform the user that they are close to the location of the property tag, but also let the user know the direction it is in, significantly improving the user experience.

It can be said that the new Bluetooth 5.1 "direction-finding function" has opened up new opportunities for devices that require precise indoor positioning, such as building access control, keyless unlocking systems, and object tracking.

The DA1469x series released by Dialog also adds support for the Bluetooth 5.1 "direction finding function". At the same time, DA1469x supports Apple's HomeKit kit. Mark said, "If you want to integrate into the smart home ecosystem, there is also mesh support. These are the software applications we provide to customers. In addition, we provide AoA and AoD application programming interfaces (APIs) and software, so customers can use these software tools to integrate these functions into smart door locks."

▲Demonstration of Bluetooth 5.1 “direction finding function” supported by DA1469x series

It should be noted that antenna design is very important for both standard applications and Bluetooth direction finding applications. Dialog will provide very clear application notes and antenna reference designs so that customers can imitate these designs to ensure the best performance. There was also a matching RF antenna in Dialog's demonstration that day, and Mark said that the RF antenna design will be announced later.

Excellent system power management and control

We all know that power management technology is Dialog's strength, which also makes the DA1469x series' power consumption control very good. DA1469x integrates the most advanced power management unit (PMU), which can provide the best power management in the industry by controlling different processing cores and activating them only when needed.

Mark de Clercq, Director of Low Power Connectivity Business Unit at Dialog Semiconductor, said, "In addition to the state-of-the-art power management unit mentioned above, the DA1469x series has seven independent power domains. Independent power domains can provide power when you need it. For example, when you need to use Bluetooth, only the Bluetooth-related power domain will be powered. When you need to use a sensor, only the sensor node controller will be powered. According to each different function, the power consumption can be guaranteed to be the lowest."

In addition, the DA1469x series' integrated PMU can also provide three regulated power rails and one LDO output to power external system components without the need for an additional power management IC (PMIC).

Rich user interface

The DA1469x series also features a range of key interfaces including display drivers, audio interfaces, USB, high-precision ADCs, haptic control drivers capable of driving ERM and LRA motors, and programmable stepper motor controllers.

Excellent safety performance

In addition, in the IoT field, security is also very important, so the DA1469x series has made a lot of efforts to optimize the security engine.

"In terms of security, the first thing to do is to ensure IP security. It is very important that external data can be verified, as well as secure booting. We have added security options to the QSPI flash controller, which can perform verification and encrypted images from external flash. To prevent unnecessary key access, we also have dedicated separate OTP secure key storage. Key management is performed in hardware, and access from the processor or external ports can also be blocked. All security functions are accelerated in hardware to implement AES, hash functions, and true random number generators. These functions are dedicated to the processor and independently implement end-to-end Bluetooth link encryption. The Bluetooth processor highlighted on the right has its own encryption engine to encrypt data links. These functions are exclusive to the processor." Mark introduced.

In addition, regarding possible physical attacks, Mark said: "We store the security keys in an independent one-time programmable (OTP) block. Even if someone launches a physical attack and tries to access the keys from the serial circuit board or processor, the keys are shielded and protected, and the encryption core is completely isolated from the serial circuit and processor. This security feature allows some applications to not need to add external security elements, but banking-level applications will add an additional layer of external security elements to achieve more advanced security features and avoid more complex physical attacks, such as chip de-layering."

Board space and cost advantages

Mark said that the DA1469x series is a true single-chip system solution, because it is highly integrated, it makes terminal application development very simple. It can help customers reduce system costs and board space, and because the number of components is reduced, production reliability is also improved.

Specifically, the DA1469x series has a very high level of integration, which not only greatly reduces the board area on the PCB, but also makes its cost lower than the combination of multiple discrete devices. According to data released by Dialog, the DA1469x can reduce the PCB board space by 38mm², and the BOM cost can be reduced by $1.28.

Availability

The DA1469x series includes four products: DA14691/5/7/9. DA14691/5 supports general MCU applications, while DA14697/9 supports some specific applications. Currently, these four products have started mass production and samples are available.

At the same time, Dialog also provides a professional version and USB dongle development kit. In addition, Dialog will jointly launch the DA14691 module in the second quarter with AzureWave. This module is certified by Dialog, and customers can use it directly without additional certification.

In terms of software development tools, developers using the DA1469x product family can take advantage of Dialog’s software development kit, SmartSnippets™, which provides them with the tools they need to develop best-in-class applications on this new MCU.