The highly integrated chips support multiple wireless technologies and the latest security standards, perfectly addressing the requirements of smart industrial, medical and consumer devices.
STMicroelectronics has introduced the next generation of its short-range wireless microcontrollers. These innovative all-in-one components enable wearable devices and smart objects, including smart home devices, health monitors and smart home appliances, to become increasingly miniaturized, easy to use, secure and affordable.
Short-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth® LE, Zigbee®, and Thread (popular in smart meters and buildings) are the fabric that connects smart devices to bridges, gateways, and home controllers, including smartphones. As we all look for solutions to make life more affordable, sustainable and convenient, vendors are looking to bring new, creative, high-performance solutions to market faster, within strict cost constraints. They should also be stylish: small, low profile, or even integrated out of sight into other equipment, such as smart light bulbs. Wireless technology is part of this trend of freedom, flexibility and fashion.
Wireless microcontrollers like ST's new STM32WBA5 product line enable a single-chip solution that is extremely compact, reduces bill of materials, and shortens time to market by alleviating wireless design challenges. Additionally, by being compatible with development tools and software packages from the STM32 microcontroller development ecosystem, the new line simplifies the migration of existing products designed for wired connections.
The new series' flagship STM32WBA55 microcontroller can communicate using multiple wireless standards simultaneously, including Bluetooth LE 5.4 Low Energy, Zigbee, Thread, and Matter (Thread RCP). The Matter Edge Router is a perfect match with the STM32WBA5 for this new open source connectivity standard for smart home and IoT (Internet of Things) devices. In this way, the STM32WBA55 provides an excellent user experience while simplifying the development process for hardware and software engineers, contributing to the affordability and time to market of the new product.
With this new generation, ST has also introduced support for the recently completed Bluetooth LE Audio specifications that enable interesting and innovative new products for richer audio and listening experiences. These include the new Auracast™ Bluetooth feature, which opens the door to a new world of audio streaming applications.
“Leading customers are already appreciating the improved wireless performance, flexibility and security of our latest STM32WBA wireless microcontrollers. They are creating various products including smart thermostats, tracking devices, smart chargers, headphones, power tools and smart meters,” said Benoit Rodrigues, CEO of STMicroelectronics' wireless MCU division. “The extensive software ecosystem that provides communication stacks, microcontroller-specific software packages, sample code and tools helps developers bring new products based on these MCUs to market quickly and efficiently.”
The STM32WBA series is the first wireless MCU on the market to achieve the important SESIP (Security Assessment Standard for IoT Platforms) Level 3 security certification. With this, smart devices containing STM32WBA microcontrollers are ready to comply with the US Cyber Trust Mark and EU Radio Equipment Directive (RED) regulations that will become mandatory in 2025.
“We work with smart asset tracking devices that connect via Bluetooth to mobile phones and through mobile applications to the cloud, which allows us to offer complete asset tracking management to our clients. ST microcontrollers provide wireless connectivity to our multi-mode trackers,” said Olivier Hersent, CEO of Abeeway (Actility Group). “We have selected the new wireless connectivity product, STM32WBA5, for its improved performance with ultra-low power radio capabilities, which is key for our battery-powered devices. “They ensure stable connectivity in the harsh industrial environment in which we operate, combined with security that meets the highest industry standards.”
“We believe gaming peripherals should be as unique and accessible as the gaming community itself,” said Tom Roberts, CTO, Performance Designed Products (PDP). “ST and PDP have worked together over several generations of gaming and we have used STM8 and STM32 devices for many years. ST products consistently provide the features we need in our highly competitive market segment. We recently selected ST's short-range wireless connectivity product, the STM32WBA5, based on integrated MCU and Bluetooth Low Energy technology, as the right solution for a new and innovative gaming controller. The STM32WBA offered us an ideal combination of performance, peripherals, cost-effectiveness and ecosystem support that allowed for simple and rapid development.”
The new STM32WBA5 product line will be available on st.com on March 12. Sample requests and pricing information are available at local ST sales offices. ST will introduce a ready-to-use module containing the STM32WBA, integrated with the necessary external components, including the power supply and antenna balance circuits, in June 2024.
Register for ST's next online virtual event, STM32 Summit, on March 19: https://www.st.com/content/st_com/en/events/stm32-summit.html
