Possibility of nRF5340 microcontroller acts as a webserver that can generate a minimal webpage via Zigbee

[Jagadeep Ram]

I'm interested to know if can I have the Zigbee protocol on the nRF5340 microcontroller and use a web browser (from my phone for example) and get a http page from the MCU?

1) The nRF5340 MCU shall contain Zigbee protocol (not BLE5) and a simple https page.

2) A client device can be a simple smart phone with the chrome browser for example.

3) Should able to get the page from the MCU by typing a URL on the client web browser. 

I want to know if this is technically possible and please share some working example if it is so.

Thank you!

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi,

You cannot use a Zigbee to host a webserver on your device. Thread might be more what you are looking for. You should be able to host the webserver directly on the Thread device, but we do not have any examples showing this. A better solution would be to host the web server separately, and for the Thread device to poll the server to then send to the phone (via a Border Router). For this you can start looking at the Thread: CoAP Server and Thread: CoAP Client samples.

Best regards,

Marte

[Jagadeep Ram]

Thank you Marte,

Can you please let me know more about the "Border Router"?

Is it a physical router or a software or APP on android OS?

Is it possible to communication between the MCU and an android web browser without any additional hardware?

The requirement is that MCU should send a webpage directly to a user phone without the help of other hardware. I understand that this can be achieved via BLE5, but I would like to explore this option too as there is no requirement to have a dedicated BLE APP and use web browser for GUI instead.

Sorry for asking basic questions.

Thank you

[Marte Myrvold]

Hi,

A Border Router is a device that acts as a link between a Thread network and a non-Thread network (for example WiFi), and can forward information between these networks. Phones are not Thread devices, so you will need a Border Router to communicate between your Thread network and your phone. In nRF Connect SDK you can use a Raspberry Pi as Border Router or you can run it using a Docker container. See Thread Border Router for more information.

Depending on your use case it seems like NFC, or simply using a QR code, might also be a solution, if all you want to do is to send a webpage from the device to a phone without using any additional devices (Border Router) or an app (as with BLE).

Best regards,

Marte