u-blox has confirmed that its Bluetooth® 5 modules are being built into wearable devices that are helping combat the global COVID-19 pandemic. Available as either a wristband or a pendant, the TDS‑50 has been developed by Electronic Precepts to present a highly-effective track and trace solution, with data being directly stored on the device and then periodically sent to a web server. In addition, through the social distancing function that is also featured, wearers are given visual and vibrational alerts if another TDS-50 wearer comes within a 2meter distance of them for over 45 seconds. The device can be used anywhere, from schools to businesses or in airport settings.
The TDS-50 units needed a compact form factor to make them comfortable for the user to wear. They also had to support ultra-low-power operation, with the ability to deliver passive scanning (for social distancing purposes) over a period of up to 240 hours. Consequently, the wireless communication module specified had to meet both of these key criteria fully. Given the immediacy of the COVID crisis, it was crucial as well that the solution could be brought to market very rapidly - with the constituent RF electronics being quick and simple to incorporate into the design and having all the necessary standards approvals in place.
The u-blox ANNA-B112 had all the attributes needed for this application. With dimensions of just 6.5mm x 6.5mm x 1.2mm, this space-saving, highly-integrated and pre-approved system-in-package (SiP) is optimized for situations where a swift turnaround is mandated. It is based on Nordic’s nRF52832 chip-level Bluetooth technology, with a 64MHz Arm® Cortex®-M4 processing resource plus 512kB of embedded flash memory. Supporting 1.4Mbit/s data rates, it is highly suited to wearables applications and does not impact heavily on battery reserves.
u-blox was able to satisfy all the expectations with the ANNA-B112 module, allowing them to bring this track and trace device to the market within a very short timeframe, while also addressing the stringent space and power constraints that had been set. Over ten thousand TDS-50 units have already been shipped and demand is ramping up every day.
This collaboration with Electronic Precepts gives u-blox a valuable opportunity to highlight all of the key elements that make u-blox technology so appealing to numerous industry sectors. It underlines the ability to provide cutting-edge wireless solutions that have all the necessary processing and data storage capabilities, while also taking up minimal space and drawing only a relatively small amount of power.
