Is it possible to connect to Wi-Fi using Thingy:91 and nRF7002-DK, without using both boards' other main nRF ICs?

[Gova]

Hi all,

I am new to nRF7002 DK and to any interfaces out of Thingy:91.

So your patience would be really appreciated.

I saw that, nRF7002 is a companion IC and needs SPI or QSPI interface to talk with Host MCU.

I also was able to see that, Thingy:91's SPI pins are taken out as Test Points.

To basically connect to internet over Wi-Fi and make a simple HTTP Post request to my server, is it possible to use nRF9160 IC in Thingy:91 and nRF7002 IC in the DK alone and do it?

Only these two ICs will be available in my custom Board, and only when Wi-Fi is not available, I would like to connect using NB-IoT.

As of now, I have a thingy:91 board, nRF7002-DK board, Segger J-Link programmer and a cable to program Thingy:91.

I was not able to find any information on the nRF7002-EK / Shield anywhere and I dont have one.

Can I make the above requirement work with what I have?

If so, can anyone please let me know the steps involved in it?

I would be super grateful, if someone can help me out.

Thanks a ton in advance.

[Øyvind]

Gova said:

I assume that, connecting to the Access Point and transmitting data (eg. using Rest APIs) is possible using nRF7002, but it is actually not directly available in the SDK as of now. Only scanning, for Wi-Fi locationing is available as of now.

Our developers are working on more support and content for the nRF70 series. In regards to LTE and Wi-Fi coexistence, this is currently not fully developed. 

Gova said:

This means, it is not possible to connect nRF9160 and nRF7002 alone, and it will involve nRF52840 also, which will be contradictory for our requirement, as mentioned in the title of the ticket. We have only nRF9160 and nRF7002 in our custom board. So my understanding is, with thingy91 and nRF7002-DK. it is not possible to avoid nRF52840 and make only cellular and Wi-Fi wok. 

No, my statement was that there is a spare header which you could use as there is no direct pins to the nRF9160 that you can connect to. The spare header is easier to connect to and allows the use of QSPI, instead of SPI test points.

More information on the nRF70 series can be found:

Working with nRF70 Series

nRF70 Series Product Specifications

nRF7002 Product page

Wi-Fi solution page

The latter states 

Our nRF91 and nRF70 Series devices excel when used in conjunction for asset-tracking applications. The nRF9160 SiP enables cell-based and GNSS/GPS-based locationing. Many asset tracking applications include an extra Wi-Fi IC for SSID-based Wi-Fi locationing. The nRF70 Series is the perfect choice for this use case. We have sample applications for our nRF9160 SiP as a host and support for integration in our Cloud Location Services on nRF Cloud.

Wi-Fi locationing bridges the gap between cell based locationing and GNSS. Less power hungry than GPS/GNSS and more accurate Wi-Fi is an ideal addition to most locationing systems. Especially in areas where there is bad GPS reception, like in city centers or Inside buildings.

Kind regards,
Øyvind

[Gova]

Hello Øyvind,

Thanks for all your replies.

Have a good day.