Best Chess Player in History Teams up with Nordic
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quarter 3 | autumn 2013 Rosy future for the IoT Time is right for smart watches Mouse inventor remembered Cover story Best chess player in history teams up with Nordic ?C/@B3@!j/CBC;< ! opINIoN @]agTcbc`ST]`bVS7]B BW[SWa`WUVbT]` a[O`beObQVSa ;]caSW\dS\b]` ` S [ S [ P S ` S R 1=D3@AB=@G Geir Langeland 0Sab^ZOgS`W\ QVSaaVWab]`gbSO[a c^eWbV<]`RWQ world chess number 1 mirrors CapRINo CaThaRINa CouRTesY: nordic is sponsoring world chess number 1 magnus Carlsen and his Nordic’s philosophy run-up to the World Championship ike many new companies, in the early days here at Nordic Semiconductor we encouraged a culture of dynamism and collaboration. to make progress against established companies with good Contents products it was vital our fledgling company offered customers something they couldn’t already buy. 3-5 NeWS and that ‘something’ had to extend beyond chips that delivered years of high performance service. l Latest developments from Nordic a combination of innovative engineering, willingness to listen to customer feedback, responsive support, and focus on our core strength of ultra low power (uLP) wireless connectivity, enabled Nordic to build a 6 NeWS eXtra loyal customer base and decent market share across many application areas. Working with the chess world no. 1 today the uLP wireless sector is fast moving and highly competitive, and has changed from one dominated by proprietary engineering to one offering huge opportunities for interoperable technologies 7-8 WIreLeSS treNDS such as aNt+ and Bluetooth low energy. the ability of the latter to easily link peripherals to smartphones tech news from around the globe and tablets promises greater revenues for established vendors, but also increases competition as other semiconductor companies are tempted to enter the uLP wireless market. that makes it even more 9 COMMeNt important that Nordic sticks to the principles that have seen it thrive and mark it out from rivals. Next step for watches World chess number 1 Magnus Carlsen adopts a similar philosophy. Like Nordic he comes from Norway, has succeeded in a challenging field against international competition, is constantly innovative, avoids 10 BuSINeSS BrIeFING mistakes, and is totally reliable. Magnus has peaked at a record high according to the elo rating system that Smart tVs encourage rF remotes is used to grade top chess players, giving him the right to be called ‘the best player in chess history’. 11 BuSINeSS BrIeFING It is with great pride therefore that Nordic has sponsored Magnus Carlsen in a three-year deal (see page rosy future for Internet of things 8). engaging Magnus as part of the Nordic team will not only push us to adhere to the philosophy that has driven the company forward over the last 20 years, but also remind us of what we need to do to remain 12-13 uLP PrODuCt competitive as the uLP wireless sector undergoes rapid change. SeLeCtION GuIDe Magnus takes on the reigning world chess champion, Vishny anand, in a 12-match playoff for the world all of Nordic’s chips in one place title in Chennai, India, later this year. Nordic will support him all the way to that game and beyond. and in return, he will offer Nordic’s staff many insights into what it takes to reach the top… and stay there. 14-15 aNt aPPLICatION “Self-confidence is very important,” Magnus said in an interview with the Financial Times. “If you don’t electronics power bike revolution think you can win, you will take cowardly decisions in the crucial moments, out of sheer respect for your opponent. You see the opportunity but also greater limitations than you should. It is better to overestimate 16-17 INDuStrY your prospects than underestimate them.” PerSPeCtIVe Despite Magnus’ highly professional approach to the game, he believes chess should be fun and the smart watch’s time has come is looking forward to playing occasional ‘friendlies’ against willing volunteers from Nordic’s staff and customers alike. as a reader of ULP WQ, it’s possible you could find yourself sitting across the board from 18-19 INDuStrY the best player on the planet. It might be a good idea to start thinking about your first move today! PerSPeCtIVe OS support drives Bluetooth Smart Yours Sincerely, 20-21 IN tHe PreSS Multiprotocol SoCs solve dilemma 22 OBItuarY Mouse inventor remembered Geir Langeland Director of Sales & Marketing 23 PeOPLe & PLaCeS trine Sylliåsen goes white water rafting Contributors Page 9 Page 16 Page 18 thomas Embla Bonnerud is Jack Shandle is a freelance writer Sally Ward-Foxton is a freelance the Bluetooth® word mark and logos Director of Product Management at specializing in semiconductors. In journalist specializing in electronics. are registered trademarks owned by the Nordic. Here he comments on the this issue, he considers the rise of Here she explains why Bluetooth low Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Nordic Semiconductor is under license. relationship between watches and the smart watch and takes a look at energy capability depends as much uLP wireless connectivity the early commercial introductions on software as hardware © nordic Semiconductor 2013 2 | autumn 2013 | ulp wIReless quaRTeR www.nordicsemi.com NEWS The latest developments from Nordic Semiconductor Leading audio manufacturer In brief ANT+ for older specifies RF remote control version Androids A leading British audio “It will feature a high An Android ANT+ accessory product manufacturer, performance CD player, from Selfloops enables Ruark Audio, will supply a Bluetooth wireless technology millions of older (versions 2.3.4+) Android smartphones Nordic nRF24LE1-based 2.4GHz with aptX, Wi-Fi for streaming to connect to ANT+ wireless RF remote control in its from computers and music sport, fitness, and health forthcoming retro-styled R7 servers, a DAB+/FM/Internet products. The accessory, which music center. radio, and inputs for a wide connects to mobiles via USB, Ruark Audio has a track record range of auxiliary devices allows data such as heart rate, of launching multiple award- including TVs and DVD/Blu-ray speed & distance, and bike winning DAB radio-based iPod/ players so that the R7 can speed, power, and cadence iPhone docks and Bluetooth double-up as home cinema from ANT+ sensors to be wireless technology speakers. audio solution.” displayed on an older Android smartphone screen. The The products have been O’Rourke continues: “But we accessory also doubles up as repeatedly voted class-leaders RotoDial is Ruark’s first RF quickly realized trying to give the remote control charger extending the battery by some of the world’s leading customer any kind of simple, life of connected smartphones. consumer audio magazines, such designed to take pride-of-place convenient, and intuitive control as What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision?. in customer living rooms. over this kind of all-on-one The flagship R7 music center “The R7, however, will be functionality was way beyond the A billion indoor has taken three years to develop anything but old fashioned in capabilities of a conventional IR location apps and was inspired by the design of terms of its functionality and [infrared] remote control . The ecosystem necessary 1960s radiograms. These units performance,” comments the “Which is why we decided to to drive the mass-market were music centers built into high Founder and Managing Director develop our first ever RF remote adoption of indoor location quality wooden cabinets and of Ruark Audio, Alan O’Rourke. control: the ‘RotoDial’.” applications to one billion downloads a year will be in place by 2016, according to ABI Research. However, ABI Japanese ODM modules claim to simplify and says that there won’t be an immediate surge as “the market accelerate Bluetooth Smart development is still very [new] with a number of major handset vendors yet to decide on what technologies they will adopt. In particular, any decision from Google will have huge repercussions, depending on whether it opens up the Android platform or not. nRF51822-based modules from Japanese manufacturers ease Bluetooth Smart product design RF modules developed by five leading code. This separation means the already RF and Open source Japanese ODMs are claimed to both simplify Bluetooth v4.0 approved RF protocol can’t be booming and accelerate Bluetooth Smart application corrupted during development. development. The modules are based on “Companies can take the RF module - Open source hardware and software use among Nordic’s multiple award-winning nRF51822 manufactured by third parties and supplied professional engineers Bluetooth low energy and 2.4GHz proprietary complete with a tested and qualified Bluetooth and hobbyists is booming System-on-Chip (SoC) and were demonstrated low energy SoftDevice stack - and then add according to a survey at Wireless Japan in May. their own software profile and application code published in EE Times Europe. Each of the modules from Japanese ODMs to develop appcessories for iOS and Android The survey found that over Braveridge, Fujitsu Component, Hosiden smartphones,” explains Mitsuo Yamazaki, half of professional engineers Corporation, SMK, and Taiyo Yuden, is Nordic Semiconductor’s Regional Sales and 82 percent of hobbyists supplied complete with Nordic’s verified and Manager for Japan. said they would consider qualified Bluetooth low energy ‘SoftDevice’. “The release of these RF modules will allow open-source resources such The SoftDevice allows developers with little many new and lightly-resourced companies to as Arduino and BeagleBone, and that there was a lot of RF expertise to quickly create Bluetooth Smart enter this market without needing any previous crossover in growth between applications because of the unique way in which RF and electronics hardware experience,” adds the two as engineers tended the RF protocol is separated from the application Yamazaki.