ARM has collaborated with Nordic Semiconductor to integrate Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology with the ARM mbed IoT device development platform, which the companies said will help in development of new internet-connected products such as wearables, fitness, toys and healthcare.
The integration is anticipated to facilitate developers to rapidly develop new Bluetooth-connected devices and applications that take advantage of Nordic’s system on chips (SoCs).
ARM System Design Division executive vice president and general manager John Cornish said that Nordic’s wireless SoCs will help bring to life the next generation of internet-connected devices.
"ARM wants to give developers broad access to solutions that fuel the innovation and exciting diversity of devices that will characterise the Internet of Things," Cornish said.
"ARM will continue to work with its partners to ensure that the right ecosystem of tools and technology is in place for a diverse professional developer audience to create smart, connected products."
Nordic’s ultra-low power (ULP) wireless chips, which are claimed to work for longer periods on small batteries, are incorporated in wireless PC peripherals, gaming controllers, sports and fitness sensors, advanced multi-media controllers, and digital/satellite TV remote controls.
Nordic Semiconductor chief executive officer Svenn Larsen said that the collaboration would allow delivering key BLE solutions based on the industry-standard Cortex-M processor family through the mbed platform, so that developers can move quickly to innovate with this technology.
"The Internet of Things will be powered by small, ultra low power SoCs that need to be cost-effective for the consumer opportunities, and this agreement brings together two technology leaders to get these solutions into developers’ hands more efficiently," Larsen said.
ARM mbed is a joint scheme that offers hardware and software building blocks to developers for faster development of ARM-based intelligent connected devices including open-source code for microcontrollers, radios, peripherals, middleware and cloud services.
The latest collaboration would allow ARM mbed to let developers to rapidly create Bluetooth connected products, reveal proof-of-concept and move rapidly to high-volume manufacturing of devices.
