Texas Instruments SimpleLink™ Bluetooth® low energy protocol stack

BLE-Stack 2.2.0

Release Notes

June 16, 2016

Introduction

This is version 2.2.0 of the TI Bluetooth® low energy protocol stack (BLE-Stack) Software Development Kit (SDK). The BLE-Stack SDK allows for the development of single-mode Bluetooth low energy (BLE) applications on TI’s SimpleLink Bluetooth low energy CC2640, multi-standard CC2650 and dual-band CC1350 wireless microcontrollers (MCUs) supporting version 4.2 of the Bluetooth specification. The CC13xx and CC26xx family of wireless MCUs includes a 32-bit ARM® Cortex™-M3 as the main application CPU running at 48 MHz, a dedicated Cortex-M0 processor for the radio / Physical Layer (PHY), and an autonomous Sensor Controller Engine. The BLE protocol stack is built on top of the TI Real-time Operating System (TI-RTOS) which provides advanced power management and flexible peripheral driver capabilities allowing the development of highly optimized & power efficient standalone or network processor applications. The TI-RTOS SDK is installed during the BLE-Stack SDK installation.

Version 2.2.0 of the BLE-Stack is a major update to TI’s existing royalty-free Bluetooth low energy software protocol stack which adds support for all core specification version 4.2 Low Energy (LE) features as well as new development kits. This protocol stack enhancement is in addition to support of all Bluetooth LE core specification version 4.1 features, including support for up to 8 master or slave BLE connections. A few examples of what can be created using the sample applications in this SDK and/or the additional resources found in the Examples section below include Bluetooth beacons incorporating the popular Apple iBeacon® and Eddystone™ formats, glucose, heart rate and fitness monitors, dongles for cable replacement via a BLE Serial Port Bridge and industrial motor monitors.

See What's New below for an overview of new features in this release. The Bluetooth core specification version 4.2 features supported in this release allow development of the most secure and power efficient products incorporating the Bluetooth low energy specification.

This document is divided into the following sections:

Documentation & Layout

The BLE-Stack SDK contains the following components:

SDK Path

Description

blelib

BLE protocol stack code provided in library form (i.e. Host, Controller, etc.)

sap_3_00_01_07

Simple Application Processor (SAP) libraries & documentation for interfacing to the Simple Network Processor (SNP)

docs

Included documentation (see below)

examples\<kit>

Sample applications, organized by evaluation kit (see supported kits below)

examples\hex

Prebuilt hex firmware files for selected sample applications

examples\util

Boot Image Manager (BIM) sample applications for OAD

src

Source code used by sample application & stack projects

tools

Tools used for build and debug (libsearch, frontier, BTool)

 

The following documents are included in the ‘docs’ folder. Document links assume the SDK is installed locally at the default install path.

 

Document

Description

SWRU393_CC2640_BLE_Software_Developer's_Guide.pdf

BLE Software Developer’s Guide for developing applications with this SDK. Newer version may be online by referencing the literature ID: SWRU393

CC2640 Simple Network Processer API Guide.pdf

API Guide for interfacing to the Simple Network Processor (SNP). Located in the sap_3_00_01_07\docs folder.

CC2640 BLE OAD User's Guide.pdf

Reference guide for implementing firmware upgrade using the TI Over the Air Download (OAD) profile on supported applications

TI_BLE_Vendor_Specific_HCI_Guide.pdf

Network Processor Vendor Specific API reference guide for the HostTest project

TI-RTOS 2.18.00.03 Docs Overview

TI-RTOS Kernel & Driver documentation overview page (local installation)

What’s New

2.2.0

Revision History

This is a summary of previous BLE-Stack v2.x releases. To see the full release notes, refer to the Archived Releases section of the BLE-Stack download page: www.ti.com/ble-stack

2.1.1

2.1.0

2.0.0

Installation and Usage

The full procedure for building applications with this SDK is described in Section 2.6 Setting up the Development Environment of the included SWRU393_CC2640_BLE_Software_Developer’s_Guide. A supported IDE is required. Refer to the Dependencies section below for a list of supported IDEs.

Download and run the BLE-Stack V2.2.0 SDK installer on a Windows® 7 or later host platform machine: ble_sdk_2_02_00_xx_setup.exe, where ‘xx’ is the build revision number.  By default, the BLE-Stack SDK will be installed to:

 c:\ti\simplelink\ble_sdk_2_02_00_xx and referred to as $BLE_INSTALL$ in the documentation.

Changing the default installation path or drive may require a manual update to environment variables used by sample application projects; refer to the SWRU393_CC2640_BLE_Software_Developer’s_Guide for more details. TI recommends making a backup of the SDK installation prior to development. The above installer includes the TI-RTOS SDK installer which will be automatically launched during the installation process. The included TI-RTOS installation is required for developing applications with the BLE-Stack SDK.

Please see the available sample applications located in \examples\<kit> as a starting point for using the BLE-Stack SDK to develop a BLE application. The SWRU393_CC2640_BLE_Software_Developer’s_Guide uses the Simple BLE Peripheral (simple_peripheral) sample application found in \examples\cc2650lp\simple_peripheral as a guide. Additional software examples and getting started material are provided in the “Examples” section below.

TI-RTOS version 2.18.00.03 default installation path: C:\ti\tirtos_cc13xx_cc26xx_2_18_00_03

XDC Tools 3.32.00.06 default installation path: C:\ti\xdctools_3_32_00_06_core

Upgrade Information

The 2.2.0 SDK uses a new directory and file format from previous BLE-Stack SDK releases. Existing applications developed with earlier SDKs require porting to this release. Refer to the SWRU393_CC2640_BLE_Software_Developer’s_Guide and online porting guide on the TI BLE Wiki: www.ti.com/ble-wiki.

Dependencies                                                                          

The SDK was built & tested with the following Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and components on a Windows 7 host platform. Using another IDE version or TI-RTOS installation not listed below may result in compatibility issues with this SDK release.

TI-RTOS version 2.18.00.03

 

The following IDEs are supported by this SDK:

IDE

Version

Tool Chain

Notes

Code Composer Studio (CCS)

6.1.2 (or later)

TI ARM Compiler v5.2.6

A free CCS v6 license is provided when used with a TI CC26xx or CC13xx development kit that includes an XDS100v3 or XDS110 debugger. The 15.12 LTS Compiler is not compatible with this SDK. Refer to Section 2.6.3 Code Composer Studio in the SWRU393_CC2640_BLE_Software_Developer’s_Guide for the procedure to install TI ARM Compiler version 5.2.6.

IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM

7.50.3

Included

A time limited evaluation version may be available. Please note the fully functional (non size-limited) version of IAR is required.

 

BTool is accessed at \tools\btool and can be launched from the SDK Start Menu (Start -> Texas Instruments -> SDK). The cc2650lp_host_test_rel.hex prebuilt firmware can be flashed to the CC2650 LaunchPad for use with the BTool PC application via the LaunchPad’s USB connection.

Device Support

This release supports Bluetooth low energy on the following SimpleLink wireless MCUs: CC2640, CC2650 and CC1350 in all package configurations. The multi-standard CC2650 wireless MCU supports Bluetooth LE as well as other wireless protocols, such as ZigBee®, RF4CE and 6LoWPAN. The CC2640 supports Bluetooth LE only and is recommended for designs that only require Bluetooth LE connectivity. All code generated from the BLE-Stack v2.x SDK is binary compatible and exchangeable with both the CC2650 and CC2640 wireless MCUs. All TI CC26xx development kits feature the CC2650 which can be used for development & prototyping of CC2640 based designs. No changes to the IDE project’s device CPU settings are required when using this SDK to generate code for the CC2640 or CC2650 wireless MCUs.

 

The CC1350 sample applications in this SDK are for BLE-only operation in the 2.4GHz ISM frequency band and are not targeted for concurrent dual-band operation.

 

The following development kits are supported by this SDK release:

Kit Name

SDK Name

Description

CC2650 LaunchPad

cc2650lp

Full BLE evaluation, development & prototyping kit with integrated XDS110 debugger. Support for optional BoosterPack™ accessories, such as an LCD. Getting started demo with Project Zero. Can be used as a standalone debugger for custom board development.

CC1350 LaunchPad

cc1350lp

CC1350 Sub-1GHz and BLE dual-band solution evaluation, development & prototyping kit with integrated XDS110 debugger. Support for optional BoosterPack accessories, such as an LCD. Can be used as a standalone debugger for custom board development.

CC2650 SensorTag

cc2650stk

IoT demonstration platform with multiple sensors and voice capability. Support for optional DevPack add-on accessories. Some sample applications require the Debugger DevPack for programming.

CC2650 Remote Control

cc2650rc

Voice remote control featuring a digital mic, IR emitter, MEMS motion sensor and more. Additional information can be found on TI’s Remote Control page.

SmartRF06 Development Kit

cc2650em

Development kit with integrated XDS100v3 debugger and support for pluggable CC2650EM evaluation modules. Includes LCD & buttons. Default module used for SDK sample applications is the CC2650EM_7ID (7x7 package).

 

Development kits not listed above are considered experimental.

 

Validation Information

This release is a production version. Refer to the TI BLE Wiki “How to certify your product” page for details regarding Bluetooth certification and how to reduce Bluetooth certification time by using TI’s Qualified Design ID (QDID).

CC1350 Bluetooth SIG RF-PHY Certification: This SDK release has completed internal RF-PHY pre-certification testing on the CC1350 LaunchPad in TI’s lab and is expected to go through external Bluetooth SIG RF-PHY certification in August 2016. Updates to RF-PHY QDID for the CC1350 LaunchPad will be published on the TI BLE Wiki “How to certify your product” page when available.

Upgrade and Compatibility Information

·         No support for pre-production silicon, minimum supported silicon revision:

o   CC13xx: PG2.1

o   CC26xx: PG2.2

·         Use of the 32 kHz crystal-less feature requires CC26xx silicon revision PG2.3 or later. Refer to Application Note SWRA499 - Running Bluetooth low energy on CC2640 Without 32 kHz Crystal

·         SmartRF Flash Programmer 2 v1.7.3 or later is required

Examples                                                                                      

·         Sample applications are included in this SDK. Additional software examples, application notes, reference designs & guides may be found on the TI BLE Wiki and the SimpleLink GitHub page.

·         CCS Cloud™ examples that use projects from this SDK, via a supported web browser, can be found at the online TI Resource Explorer including the Project Zero Getting Started Demo for the CC2650 LaunchPad.

·         Standalone TI-RTOS driver & kernel examples can be found in the TI-RTOS installation and accessed from the TI Resource Explorer within CCS (View -> Resource Explorer).

·         Sensor Controller Studio can be used to develop applications for the embedded Sensor Controller Engine.

·         TI Designs™ Reference library with complete Bluetooth low energy system designs, such as the UART to BLE Bridge.

Known Issues     

·         The 15.12 LTS Compiler is not compatible with this SDK. Refer to Section 2.6.3 “Code Composer Studio” in the SWRU393_CC2640_BLE_Software_Developer’s_Guide for the procedure to install TI ARM Compiler version 5.2.6.

·         Link order in CCS projects may sometimes be incorrect when the workspace is created. See porting guide wiki for workaround procedure.

·         Hexadecimal characters may not be displayed correctly on the LCD DevPack.

·         Number of simultaneous connections may be limited when attempting concurrent LE Secure Connections pairings. Suggested workaround is to perform LE Secure Connections pairing on an individual connection basis.


Versioning

This is SDK version 2.2.0. The included .revision file contains revision tracking identifiers.

Technical Support and Product Updates

Additional Resources

For more information, visit www.ti.com. Web links may not be valid after release.

LaunchPad, BoosterPack, TI Designs, SimpleLink, Code Composer Studio, SmartRF, BLE-Stack are trademarks of Texas Instruments.

ARM, Cortex are registered trademarks of ARM Limited.

CCS Cloud is a trademark of Apalia LLC.

iBeacon is a trademark of Apple Inc.

Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG.

Eddystone is a trademark of Google Inc.

Windows 7 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Inc.

Copyright 2010 – 2016 Texas Instruments, Inc.