Casey O'Grady

It’s called a SimpleLink™ microcontroller (MCU), but is it really simple to use? The answer is yes. The CC2640R2F is part of the SimpleLink MCU platform, which fosters unified software development with rich documentation and fast evaluation in a cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE). Building on that foundation, a plethora of sample applications make Bluetooth® low energy software development as easy as 1, 2, 3 – literally:

1. Begin with TI’s Software Development Kit (SDK).

The SimpleLink CC2640R2 SDK  packages the TI real-time operating system (TI-RTOS), peripheral drivers and sample applications all in one. Beginning with the documentation overview, the SDK provides a quick start guide, migration and porting guides, and release notes (Figure 1). After downloading the SDK, you can leverage starter applications such as peripheral, central, broadcaster, observer and network processor. These fundamental projects are templates for you to begin developing and customizing your own Bluetooth low energy applications.

There is also support for more advanced projects such as multirole, over-the-air download (OAD), and Eddystone, an open Bluetooth low energy beacon format from Google. After downloading the SDK, you can leverage the feature-rich desktop-based IDE Code Composer Studio™ software. Or you can begin without downloading the SDK using Code Composer Studio Cloud, a browser-based IDE. Integrated Resource Explorer helps you easily find the necessary documentation for even faster evaluation.

2. Check Out the Bluetooth Low Energy Example Pack.

As an expansion to the SDK, the example pack supports example projects for a glucose sensor, heart-rate monitor, human interface device (HID) keyboard and voice-enabled remote control (Figure 2). This is a valuable repository of models that are easy to adapt and lay the foundation for developing a unique application.

3. Harness the Bluetooth Developer Studio TI plugin.

Beyond the generated applications included in the SDK and example pack, TI supports the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s (SIG) Bluetooth Developer Studio. This is a graphical user interface (GUI)-based environment that can help you quickly build any Bluetooth low energy profile. For example, if you’re looking to generate a weight scale profile, you can leverage the TI code generator plugin within Bluetooth Developer Studio to generate buildable source code that accelerates development time.  New users can explore TI’s SimpleLink Academy training to learn how to use the TI plugin for Bluetooth Developer Studio (Figure 3).

Following TI’s three-step process makes Bluetooth low energy software development streamlined and simple. Ready to start? Download the SimpleLink CC2640R2 SDK today.

Additional resources:

• Start evaluating with the SimpleLink Bluetooth low energy CC2640R2F LaunchPad development kit.
• Begin with Project Zero and propel your first Bluetooth low energy application.