ST’s New Software Kit for Bluetooth® Mesh Networking
Complete Software Package enables creation of networked smart objects and accompanying mobile apps
STMicroelectronics is enabling the next wave of control-by-phone innovation with new software for creating smart objects that connect using the latest Bluetooth® wireless networking features. The official Bluetooth body, the Special Interest Group (SIG), made a giant leap with the release of the new Bluetooth 5 specification that standardizes mesh networking: connecting large numbers of devices capable of communicating among themselves as well as directly with mobile phones. All smartphones currently on the market can connect to objects in Bluetooth Mesh networks without needing a central gateway or router, allowing easier control of smart lighting, general building automation, and other Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications such as environmental sensing, asset tracking, and industrial monitoring.

Mesh networking in Bluetooth 5 presents an industry standard that enables OEMs to create interoperable products that provide flexibility and freedom of choice for users.
ST’s BlueNRG-MESH Software Development Kit (SDK) enables creation of networked devices and the smartphone apps needed to control them. So far, it is the market’s only three-part SDK that provides two app-developer packages for Android and iOS, and the embedded-development software for building smart objects such as light fittings and sensors. Together, these three packages provide all the software building blocks engineers need to get their applications running using ST’s BlueNRG mesh-ready Bluetooth Low Energy ICs.
“Bluetooth 5 will become a powerful force in the IoT market, and we have invested heavily to deliver solutions that support its important new features, like mesh networking,” commented Benedetto Vigna, President, Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group, STMicroelectronics. “Adding BlueNRG-MESH to the ST BlueNRG portfolio ushers in an era of connected smart things all around us, like smart-home appliances or lighting switches, and enables secure and convenient control from the feature-rich and stylish user interface of a smart mobile application.”
For more information on the BlueNRG-MESH Software Development Kit, visit the ST website at STMicroelectronics BlueNRG-MESH product page.
The STMicroelectronics website address is www.st.com
[Reprinted with kind permission from STMicroelectronics - Release Date 3rd October, 2017]