The Thingy:52 development kit is a a fully-loaded sensor platform that is ready for web and app connections. Like the nRF52 DK, the Thingy:52 platform is built on the nRF52832. The nRF52832 is Bluetooth 5 ready, although it does not support the new long-range LE Coded PHY.
The Thingy:52 development kit is designed for developing demos right out of the box. The range of components provided with this dev kit is impressive and useful for many Bluetooth prototyping scenarios.
Peripherals include:
- LEDs
- Color/light sensor
- Gas sensor
- Humidity (and temperature) sensor
- Pressure (and temperature) sensor
- Digital microphone
- Speaker
- Button
- 9-axis IMU (accelerometer, compass, gyroscope)
The kit comes fully assembled with a charged battery. Demo firmware is flashed by the factory, allowing you to test out the device immediately by using demo smartphone applications.
Nordic provides excellent documentation for the Thingy:52. Source code for the iOS, Android, and web applications are available for download. Nordic also provides an example Node.js library for working with the Thingy:52.
This is an extremely versatile prototyping platform for Bluetooth sensing applications. It’s also just fun, since it comes pre-loaded with peripherals for you to play around with.
More on the Thingy:52:
- Nordic Thingy:52 Development Kit
- Thingy:52 Documentation
- Thingy:52 Firmware Source
- Thingy:52 Reference Web Application Source
- Thingy:52 Reference Android Application Source
- Thingy:52 Reference iOS Application Source
- Thingy:52 Node.js Library Source
About the nRF52832
The nRF52832 is the mid-tier Bluetooth 5 chip. The nRF52832 is built on a Cortex-M4F processor. The nRF52832 provides a significant increase in flash, RAM, and peripherals over the nRF52810. These improvements make the nRF52832 an attractive choice as a primary processor for your system or for exploring new BLE features like IPv6 support. The nRF52832 includes an on-chip NFC tag to support out-of-band pairing. You can utilize the NFC pairing method for a simpler process of exchanging authentication information between two bluetooth devices.
nRF52832 Specifications:
- 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4F 64MHz Processor
- 1.7v to 3.6v operation
- 512kB flash + 64kB RAM
- On-chip NFC tag for Out-of-Band (OOB) pairing
- Up to +4dBm output power
- -96dBm sensitivity, Bluetooth low energy
- 3 x Master/Slave SPI
- 2 x Two-wire interface (I²C)
- UART (RTS/CTS)
- 3 x PWM
- AES HW encryption
- 12-bit ADC
- Real Time Counter (RTC)
- Digital microphone interface (PDM)
- On-chip balun
More on the nRF52832:
- Nordic nRF52832 SOC
- AllAboutCircuits: The Progression of Bluetooth LE SOCs – a look at the Nordic nRF52832