Using 802.15.4 API on nRF52833

[Canberk]

Hello,

We would like to develop a wireless sensor network using the 802.15.4 stack in nRF SDK. 

I wanted to know if it is possible to port the existing 802.15.4 example project for nRF52840 (wireless_uart) to nRF52833. Or is there any other way we can find a 802.15.4 stack for nRF52833? The product page says it supports Thread and Zigbee. How do those stacks work without an 802.15.4 API?

Thank you.

[Marjeris Romero]

Hi,

Take a  look at our nRF IEEE 802.15.4 radio driver, which is available on Github on 3-clause BSD license and has already support for nRF52833 included.

Best regards,

Marjeris

[Canberk]

I don't think the driver you provided is in accordance with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

For instance; I couldn't find any function that implements MLME-SCAN.request primitive in section 7.1.11.1. How do I find available PANs in the local area?

I also could not find an association mechanism like the one described in the standard.

Do I have to implement all these mechanisms myself or am I missing something?

Thank you.

[Marjeris Romero]

Hi,

Sorry I may have misunderstood your question. The nRF 802.15.4 radio driver provides the PHY layer implementation and is independent of the 802.15.4 MAC layer, so it allows the driver to use any IEEE 802.15.4 MAC based stacks as for example Thread, Zigbee etc. If you want to implement your own 802.15.4 stack this would be the starting point.

But association mechanism, mlme_scan and other MAC features are not implemented there and will need to be implemented by you.

If you are looking for a fully implemented 802.15.4 stack like Zigbee or Thread we also provide a nRF5 SDK for Thread & Zigbee.

Best regards,

Marjeris

[Canberk]

The Zigbee implements features up to the application layer of the OSI model. We just need the PHY and MAC layers implemented. Also note that the IEEE 802.15.4 standard defines only these layers. What we need is basically the implementation of this standard. 

There is a 802.15.4 library named nRF_802_15_4_lib.a (or something like that) in the example project (wireless_uart) provided in the nRF SDK. The file is located inside the components folder as far as I remember. That library is exactly what we need but the SDK does not include the source files of it.

[Marjeris Romero]

Hi,

The 802.15.4 library in the nRF SDK is different from the nRF 802.15.4 radio driver on github, I will need to check with the developers for more information about 833 support on this one.

But as far as I know the radio frontend of the 833 is very similar to 840 so you can always try to port the example to 840. You will need to change the board definition and board config, and also change the flash an RAM sizes.

Best regards,

Marjeris