DO Intelligent uses Nordic nRF52840 to develop smartwatch

Nordic has announced that Shenzhen DO Intelligent Technology, a smart wearable device company, has selected Nordic’s nRF52840 Bluetooth low energy advanced multiprotocol SoC to provide the core processing power and wireless connectivity for its “ID205G” smartwatch with integrated GPS.

Sufficient computing power

Equipped with a 1.3" TFT-LCD color touchscreen display and built-in heart rate sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope, this wearable device is designed for users who need detailed health and fitness monitoring data. The nRF52840 SoC's 64MHz, 32-bit Arm Cortex M4 processor (with floating point unit (FPU)) provides enough computing power to run complex sensor algorithms, enabling the smartwatch to accurately track and calculate motion and activity data. Integrated GPS enables users to record their journeys during outdoor sports without carrying a smartphone.

“It was very easy to develop our application code using Nordic’s development kit and examples,” said Ryan He, CEO and Director of R&D at DO Intelligent Technology.

Once paired with a user's Bluetooth 4.0 (and higher) iOS or Android smartphone, using the Bluetooth LE connectivity provided by the Nordic SoC, the smart technology's "VeryFitPro" app allows the user to not only view their activity and health data and trends, but also modify the smartwatch's settings and features. For example, the watch can be programmed to provide alerts and notifications based on the user's priorities, such as incoming calls, text messages, weather forecasts, and reminders to get up and move.

The ID205G smartwatch uses a 210 mAh lithium polymer battery that provides 5 to 7 days of operation in standard use and up to 40 days in standby mode between charges, thanks in part to the ultra-low power consumption of the Nordic SoC. Compared to the nRF52840 Series, the nRF52840 SoC uses a fully automatic power management system to minimize power consumption.

The nRF52840 SoC's Arm Cortex M4 processor is coupled with a 2.4GHz multiprotocol radio (supporting Bluetooth 5.2, ANT, Thread, Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4, and proprietary 2.4GHz RF protocol software) and 1MB flash and 256kB RAM memory allocation. A new radio architecture with an on-chip power amplifier provides -95 dBm receive sensitivity (1Mbps Bluetooth LE), 8dBm maximum output power, and a total link budget of 103dBm. The SoC is equipped with Nordic's S140 software, a Bluetooth 5-certified software protocol stack for building long-range and high-data-throughput Bluetooth LE applications. The S140 software provides concurrent central, peripheral, broadcast, and observer roles, and supports high-throughput and long-range modes as well as advertising extensions.

Development made easy

“When we were selecting an SoC, our main considerations were size, usability, and excellent power consumption, which is why we chose the nRF52840,” said Ryan He. “It was simple to develop our application code using Nordic’s development kit and examples, and if we did run into issues, Nordic’s technical engineers provided quick and helpful support to resolve the issues.”