BLE 6 dongle/DK recommendation for multi-beacon data capture (indoor positioning)

[Alberto01]

Hi everyone,

We are a research group at a university, working on indoor positioning systems based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. We are currently evaluating different devices for a data capture campaign using BLE 6 from multiple beacons.

During our research we identified the nRF54L15 DK as a possible option for this purpose. We would like to know whether this board already offers a "plug-and-play" experience, without requiring extensive firmware development on our end, or whether there is another solution better suited to that kind of use that would speed up integration into an existing capture setup.

On that note, we would like to ask a few more questions:

1. Is there any dongle or, alternatively, a development board that supports capturing BLE 6 signals and performing Channel Sounding with multiple beacons?
2. Is there an API that allows retrieving, on a computer, the Bluetooth signal information received from different BLE 6 beacons: identifier, RSSI, Channel Sounding data, and other fields relevant to localization tasks? In this regard, we are considering incorporating the L03 Bluetooth 6 beacon, made by MokoSmart (https://www.mokosmart.com/l03-bluetooth-6-0-beacon/), into our campaign, and we would like to know if anyone has any information on its compatibility with Nordic's BLE 6 ecosystem.

Thanks in advance for any input!

[Pallavi Patil]

Hi Alberto,

The nRF54L Series has official support for Channel Sounding, with a BT qualified host and controller available in nRF Connect SDK from v3.0.1 and onwards. We have nRF54L15 Tag which can be used  where multiple devices connect to a single central and they all do channel sounding, then the central can triangulate based on the results where it is located. We currently have this sample which demonstrates how to use the ranging service to provide ranging data. 

I looked into the specifications of the MokoSmart and it is based on BT 5.1 which doesnt support channel sounding. I would recommend you to use   nRF54L15 Tag which is nordic chip based on nRF54L15 and we can provide full assistance for it.
Please get back to us if you have more questions.

Regards

Pallavi

[Alberto01]

Thanks Pallavi, this is really helpful!

To give you a bit more context on our use case: in our previous work with earlier BLE versions, we used a classic fingerprinting approach, with multiple fixed BLE beacons transmitting and a single receiver that scans and logs the signals (mainly RSSI) at different reference points, which we then use to build a positioning model.

We'd like to know if the nRF54L15 (DK/Tag) could replicate this same scheme, acting as that kind of scanner/receiver for fingerprinting, and also do Channel Sounding. We might try to compare both methods using the same hardware.

And since MokoSmart doesn't support Channel Sounding, are there other transmitter options you'd recommend? Ideally something similar to a standalone beacon, with its own power supply and enclosure. We're also wondering if the nRF54L15 Tag itself could work that way, or if it's only designed for the receiver/central side.

Thanks so much for your help!

Best regards,

Alberto

[Pallavi Patil]

Hie again,

The nRF54L15 tag can be used scanner/reciever and it is designed to work as both peripheral and central. I have seen such demos myself , so I think that you can use nRF54L15 tag for the purpose. Given its form factor and inbuilt battery, I think it suitable for your application. Please let us know if you need more help.

Regards

Pallavi