Aug 03, 2017—Qualcomm Technologies has built Near Field Communication (NFC) 13.56 MHz technology into its latest audio chip, along with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) functionality, in order to make it easier for consumers to pair wireless devices. The CSRA68100 is the latest audio chip released by Qualcomm with BLE functionality, the company reports, and the first to include an integrated NFC radio.
Qualcomm offers a family of entry-level flash devices known as the QCC300x range of products for speaker and headset manufacturers to build into their devices. The goal, explains Chris Havell, Qualcomm's senior director of product management, is to make smart-home deployments accessible to anyone with a smartphone who acquires a device using the chips. The QCC300x family, including the CSRA68100 chip, was released last month.
Qualcomm's Chris Havell
Qualcomm says its latest family of audio chips all offer BLE functionality. The primary use case is intended to be the enabling of connection to other BLE-enabled devices, such as sensors. Future updates to the software application stack for the CSRA68100 could allow the chip to serve as part of a BLE-enabled mesh network within a user's home or business. TheNFC function in the CSRA68100 chip could enable faster Wi-Ficonnection and more automatic Bluetooth pairing, Havell says. One possible application would be to use the NFC functionality in a smartphone to connect a networked speaker or audio device to a local Wi-Fi network.
If a user had the proper Wi-Fi credentials for a specific location—such as his or her home—stored on an NFC-enabled phone, that person could then tap the phone against the NFC-enabled speaker in the home.
NFC could also be used to pair Bluetooth-enabled devices more automatically. This is becoming a more valuable application, Havell says, as users acquire a growing number of Bluetooth-enabled devices. Those with multiple Bluetooth devices must scroll through the possible items to find the one they want to pair with. "As end users are increasingly surrounded by Bluetooth-enabled products," Havell notes, choosing the correct item is becoming more complex. In fact, consumers can expect a proliferation of Bluetooth-enabled thermostats, lighting controls and security options in homes and at other locations in the near future, he adds.
