Looking at different solutions to an asset tracking system I'll be working on as my senior project later this year (getting a head start so time isn't as much of an issue, class is in Spring 2020). I saw from this answer (https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/48766/an-inquiry-on-ble-5-1-direction-finding-using-nrf52811) that Nordic are still working on the locator antenna array and other development hardware/software needed to fully implement AoA, so assuming that becomes available soon enough I'm wondering what my implementation should look like and probably still have some misconceptions to clear up...
What I want to do for now, roughly, (if possible) is have a Thread mesh using NRF52811-based beacons with onboard pressure sensor (probably BMP280) for height, accelerometer for movement notification (possibly also magnetometer if I want to also try correlating geomagnetic mapping, might be getting ahead of myself)... and would it make sense to use a crypto coprocessor like ATECC608A for secure storage, OTA, and crypto acceleration in each beacon too? Also a few-MiB SPI flash chip to hold OTA updates and maybe basic caching?
Then on the other side of the equation, I know Thread uses border routers and AoA uses a locator with antenna array, so my question here is could these be combined on a single board? Like another NRF52811 on a raspberry pi shield AND switched antenna array (I know the Pi 3 is Thread certified with ready software, but I wonder could an esp8266 work instead of the Pi, just relaying data to be processed in the cloud)? Considering this because I assume two wall/ceiling mounted locators (per floor) should cover enough space for my needs even if the range is limited to 1Mbps PHY as I've read.
So just want to make sure I'm at least on the right track, and thanks in advance for any advice!
Bonus question: If something like an "NRF52833" with 5.1 support and NFC comes out at some point, could I use the NFC tag emulation on each beacon for provisioning with an NFC reader on the hybrid border router/locator? (I say this because Fanstel's NRF52811 module (BT833AF) product page briefly mentions a Q3 2019 ETA for a new SoC which I can't find more info about anywhere else, so unless that's some kind of mistake or privileged info, any confirmation on that?)
