nRF7002 Expansion Board-Plug-in board for adding low-power Wi-Fi 6 capabilities to the Thingy:53

Nordic Semiconductor just released a new add-on for their Thingy:53 IoT prototyping kit.

It’s called the nRF7002 EB, and it brings Wi-Fi 6 to the table. This means you get one device that can talk through Matter, Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, and dual-band Wi-Fi.

The nRF7002 Expansion Board is a great addition because it comes with the nRF7002 Wi-Fi 6 companion, a dual-band antenna for both 2.4 and 5 GHz, and a connector for checking radio frequency stuff. It can do its thing on its own with those special edges or tag along with the Nordic Thingy:53.

The Thingy:53 is a handy little device for trying out IoT ideas quickly. It’s built using Nordic’s nRF53 system-on-chip, which has two processors for managing tasks and a Bluetooth 5.0 radio for wireless connections. So, when you bring in the nRF7002 Expansion Board, you’re adding Wi-Fi 6 capabilities to the mix, making it even more versatile. It is a small and efficient IoT prototyping device that uses Nordic’s top-tier nRF53 system-on-chip (SoC). Inside the nRF5340, there are two processors, called Arm Cortex-M33, dividing the workload between running applications and handling networking tasks. Additionally, it features a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (BLE) radio for wireless connectivity. This combination makes Thingy:53 a powerful tool for quickly testing and developing IoT ideas.

Nordic Semiconductor has introduced the nRF7002 EB expansion board for their Thingy:53 IoT platform, adding Wi-Fi 6 for communication via Matter, Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, and dual-band Wi-Fi. The expansion board includes the nRF7002 Wi-Fi 6 companion IC, a dual-band antenna, and an SWF connector for RF measurements. Its flexible design allows standalone use with castellated edges or as an expansion module for the Thingy:53. Built on Nordic’s nRF53 system-on-chip, the Thingy:53 features dual Arm Cortex-M33 processors, a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (BLE) radio, and integrated sensors for diverse applications, making it a suitable platform for edge machine learning. Collaborating with Edge Impulse facilitates the easy creation and deployment of machine learning models on Nordic’s SoC nRF53 family, simplifying data collection, model creation, and testing via a mobile device connected through Bluetooth.

Nordic Semiconductor introduced a new expansion board for their Thingy:53 IoT rapid prototyping platform: the nRF7002 EB adds Wi-Fi 6, providing a single device that can communicate via Matter, Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, and dual-band Wi-Fi.

The nRF7002 Expansion Board contains the nRF7002 Wi-Fi 6 companion IC, dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz) antenna, and an SWF connector for RF measurements. The board’s design is intriguing because it works standalone with its castellated edges or as an expansion module for the Nordic Thingy:53.

Thingy:53 is a compact rapid prototyping IoT device based on Nordic’s flagship nRF53 system-on-chip (SoC). The nRF5340 has two Arm Cortex-M33 processors split between application and networking tasks and a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy (BLE) radio.

Inside the Thingy:53, the SoC connects to integrated sensors for temperature, humidity, color, light, accelerometers, and a magnetometer. This combination of sensors and connectivity makes Thingy:53 an ideal platform for edge machine-learning applications. For example, it can send data and receive models from Edge Impulse.

Edge Impulse enables developers to efficiently create and deploy machine learning models on edge devices. Its platform lets you quickly build datasets, train models, and optimize libraries to run on microcontrollers like the Nordic SoC nRF53 family.

Uniting Thingy:53 with Edge Impulse made collecting data, creating a model, and testing it simple. However, the setup required a mobile device running the nRF Edge Impulse app connected to Thingy:53 via Bluetooth.

nRF7002 Expansion Board

Introducing the nRF7002 Expansion Board – a game-changer for Thingy:53 users! With this new addition, Thingy:53 can seamlessly transmit data to Edge Impulse Studio. By connecting to Thingy:53’s expansion port and undergoing a firmware upgrade, the host nRF53 SoC can now communicate with the nRF7002 through SPI and a three-wire coexistence (COEX) interface, allowing multiple radios to work harmoniously.

The nRF7002 EB is not exclusive to Thingy:53 – its versatile design lets users break away the expansion connector, leaving 18 castellated pads for soldering to another PCB. These pads connect to all the digital signal pins of the nRF70 IC, making communication with various host processors possible.

This expansion board supports Matter, a protocol benefiting from both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on a single device. For instance, nRF53’s BLE can commission the device, and then nRF70’s Wi-Fi 6 takes over for high data throughput. The nRF7002 EB, equipped with Nordic’s nRF70 companion ICs, incorporates Wi-Fi 6 features such as Target Wake Time (TWT), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), BSS Coloring, and SSID-based locations.

Ready to get your hands on the nRF7002 EB? It’s available now through Nordic’s distribution partners, with Newark offering it at $16.24 (excluding shipping). Check out the nRF7002 Expansion Board product page for more details.

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