Applications of USB and IEEE 802.15.4 MAC Library in Nrf52840?

[soumil]

Hi,

What are the different applications of using the USB and the IEEE 802.15.4 library? What different things can we build by using these libraries? Any examples would help.

[Sigurd]

Hi,

USB:

The on-chip USB and VBUS regulation allows for direct connection to USB hosts for data transfer and direct USB power for hosted applications.

In the SDK we have several examples that shows different use-cases:

• USB Mass Storage Device example
• Example that shows the CDC ACM USB class, commonly known as Virtual COM port
• Examples that shows HID mouse and HID keyboard
• USB audio class module example

IEEE 802.15.4:

IEEE 802.15.4 defines the physical (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers and forms the basis for numerous upper layer networking specifications including Thread, 6LowPAN, Zigbee and Wireless HART.

Our main focus is aimed at Thread, where we offer an complete SDK for Thread solutions on the nRF52840 i.e., nRF5 SDK for Thread. The main application for Thread is smart home automation. We have a demo video showcasing this here.

[soumil]

Thanks Sigurd. This is really helpful. Can you explain a bit when you say direct USB power for hosted applications. Are you saying that if this device is connected to a phone through usb, it can charge it as well?

[Sigurd]

You can power the chip from USB. The nRF52840 can operate from +5.5v down to 1.7v supply voltages allowing direct supply from rechargeable batteries and USB supplies.

If you can power the nRF52840 from a smartphone, depends on the smartphone. The phone will have to support USB On-The-Go for this to work.

[soumil]

Okay thanks Sigurd. What about the audio class module example? In this case can I play audio through the usb or is it something else?

[Sigurd]

Yes, that is correct. It's for audio over USB. See this page.