SLTB004A
MSRP $19.99
MSRP $19.99
OVERVIEW
Wireless Gecko EFR32™
- Wireless SoC with multi-protocol radio
- ARM® Cortex® M4 core with 256 kB RAM and 1024 kB Flash
- Low Energy Consumption
- Flexible MCU peripheral interfaces
Kit Features
- 2.4 GHz radio configuration with on-board antenna
- Segger J-Link Integrated Debugger
- USB CDC virtual serial port
- 8 Mbit SPI ultra low power NOR flash for local storage
Mobile App
- Mobile app for Android and iOS
- iOS app implemented in swift
- Android app implanted in native code
- Source code available at GitHub
Mobile App Features
- View sensor data
- Control LEDs and detect button pushes
- Stream sensor data to the cloud
Cloud Streaming
- Data is stored in Firebase
- Web frontend is implemented in ReactJS
- Using Alt.js as the flux implementation
- D3.js for data driven charts
- All source code available
GETTING STARTED
Setting up your Thunderboard Sense Kit
Requirements
- Thunderboard Sense 2
- Coin cell battery or Micro-USB cable (not included)
- Android or iOS mobile phone
Unleash the power of Thunderboard Sense. Let's start with unboxing, downloading the app, and exploring the sensors and basic features.
Note: Refer to the BLE Demo User's Guide for more detailed information on the Thunderboard Sense BLE demo
Step 1: Unbox Thunderboard Sense
- Purchase a Thunderboard Sense 2 if you don't already have one.
- Remove Thunderboard Sense from the box.
- Supply power to your Thunderboard Sense: place a battery in the coin cell battery holder on the bottom of the board, or plugin a micro-USB cable.
Note: The air quality sensor and RGB LEDs require external power. You will need to power the board via USB to test these.
Step 2: Use the Thunderboard Mobile App
- Download the Thunderboard mobile app
- Enable Bluetooth on your mobile phone
Launch the app to discover your Thunderboard Sense.
Press the Reset button on the Thunderboard Sense to restart advertising.
After connecting with the Thunderboard Sense you will be taken to the app dashboard.
Step 3: Try the Sensors
When you have successfully connected the Thunderboard Sense we are ready to test the board features.
- Select the motion and calibrate the board and test the accelerometer and gyroscope.
- Select "Environment" to test a number of environmental sensors
- Humidity and Temperature: Blow or cover the temp. sensor with your finger
- Light: Cover or shine a light on the board
- UV: Measure UV index from the sun or a UV light
- Sound: Talk, whistle, sing or clap to record audio levels
- Pressure: Move the board from floor to ceiling to test the barometric pressure sensor
- Magnetic Field and Door State: Move a magnet near the Hall Effect sensor and observe the effects
- Humidity and Temperature: Blow or cover the temp. sensor with your finger
- Select "I/O" to test a buttons and LEDs.
- Switches: Press the two push buttons on the board
- LEDs: The app switches will turn on/off the small LEDs on the board
- RGB LEDs: Control the color and brightness of the RGB LEDs
Developing with your Thunderboard Sense Kit
Requirements
- Thunderboard Sense
- Micro-USB cable
- Simplicity Studio
- Bluetooth SDK
Step 1: Get Simplicity Studio
Download Simplicity Studio and run the installer. If you already have Simplicity Studio installed, you can skip to Step 5.
Step 2: Connect to your computer
Connect the Thunderboard Sense to your computer using a micro-USB B cable. A blue LED should turn on next to the USB connector to verify connectivity.
Step 3: Install drivers
Follow the Installation Wizard so it can install the basic drivers.
Step 4: Log-in
By logging in, you will get access to the required wireless stacks and SDKs for Thunderboard Sense. You do not need to register your Thunderboard Sense at this time.
Step 5: Install the latest software
5a. If this is your first time to install Simplicity Studio, simply follow the Install Wizard recommendations based on the detected “Connected Devices”.
5b. If you already had Simplicity Studio installed, click on the “Update Software” button and choose the “Install Wizard” from the bottom of the dialog box.
5c. Insure that latest version of the "Bluetooth SDK" (version 2.6 or later) is installed.
5d. In the Launcher window, click to change the preferred SDK, and choose the Gecko SDK Suite featuring the latest Bluetooth SDK.
Step 6: Cloning a Project
In the Launcher perspective, with your Sense kit selected in the Devices window, select the desired project from the available “Software Examples”. This action will clone the pre-tested project. From here you can explore and modify and source code, compile, and debug.
TECH DOCS
SOFTWARE & TOOLS
COMPATIBLE BOARDS
COMMUNITY & SUPPORT
Knowledge Base Articles
Browse our knowledge base articles for information about specific products.
View Knowledge BaseUser Forums
Browse technical questions, share your ideas, and learn more about our latest solutions.
Search the forumsProjects using Thunderboard Sense
Get inspired by other users on the Silicon Labs community. These projects use the Thunderboard Sense, Raspberry PI, Python and other gadgets to create cool gateways, environmental monitors and experiments.
Explore the Capabilities of Thunderboard Sense
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How is your local air quality right now? A built-in gas sensor helps you monitor the air you breathe
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6-axis gyroscope and accelerometer gives you all the important data to track motion exactly.
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Use ZigBee, Thread, Bluetooth or your own wireless communication protocol. It’s all supported!
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The barometric pressure has ±1 hPa absolute accuracy so you can create tamper proof equipment or measure height with ±1 meter accuracy.
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Run and use the Sense kit standalone with batteries, or program and debug with USB and Simplicity Studio
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A multiprotocol Wireless Gecko handles your computation and communication, from sub-GHz to 2.4 GHz!
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Need some hearing aid? Is the sound level OK? Use the the built-in MEMS microphone!
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Acquire node sensor data, monitor and diagnose, analyze and predict - all with open source iOS/Android and cloud demos