We believe that a better Bluetooth Mesh ecosystem will benefit everyone in the industry. Therefore, we are happy to announce that our open-source contributions to nRF Mesh have been accepted upstream by Nordic.
nRF Mesh is the leading mobile app for Bluetooth Mesh developers created by Nordic and published as open-source software.
At Kodira we use a lot of open-source software and are happy whenever we can give something back. The new features added are covered in this overview of all seven contributions.
Feature #1: Voltage Device Property Support
Visualizing power data just got easier for Bluetooth Mesh developers.
Our first contribution adds support for the voltage device property. This open-source contribution makes it possible to display properties like Present Input Voltage and other voltage related properties.
Feature #2: Generic Manufacturer Property Server
Ever wonder about the specific hardware details of your Bluetooth Mesh nodes?
Our second contribution provides support for the Generic Manufacturer Property Server. This open-source update makes it possible to show properties like Hardware Revision, Manufacturer Name, etc. as can be seen on the provided screenshot that was taken using a JUNG HOME light switch.
Feature #3: Generic Power On Off Setup Server
Take control of how your devices behave after a power outage with this latest open-source update.
Our third contribution adds support for the “Generic Power On Off Setup Server”. This allows Bluetooth Mesh users to set which power state should get restored after a device gets powered on. The following screenshot demonstrates that feature using the NightmatIQ Plus by STEINEL.
Feature #4: Generic Battery Server
Keeping an eye on battery life is critical for any wireless ecosystem.
Our fourth contribution provides support for the Generic Battery Server. This allows users to read the state of a battery powered product. It provides information such as Battery Level, Time to Discharge, etc. There are not many products supporting this feature - we used a self-made demo device and a LOYBT-TEMPx by LOYTEC electronics GmbH for testing.
Feature #5: Generic Default Transition Time Server
Smooth transitions make for a better user experience in Bluetooth Mesh smart lighting.
Our fifth contribution adds support for the Generic Default Transition Time Server. This open-source contribution allows users to set a default transition time that gets applied to all transitions of that device. For example, a dimmer uses that value to do a smooth transition from ON to OFF. We have tested this feature using a Smart+ Lightbulb by LEDVANCE.
Feature #6: Time Setup Server
Precision timing is the backbone of advanced Bluetooth Mesh automation and scenes.
Our sixth contribution provides support for the Time Setup Server. This addition allows users to set the local time and timezone of a device. This time then can be used to execute scheduled changes in scenes. A Time Server can be found in many advanced lighting products.
Feature #7: Power Level Setup Server
Rounding out our series of open-source contributions: Fine-tuning power ranges and defaults.
Our seventh and final contribution adds support for the Power Level Setup Server. This allows users to set the default power level of a device and the allowed power range. This can be used, for example, by dimmers to set a minimum and maximum dim-level. For example to prevent an LED light from blinking at very low dim-levels.
We have tested this feature using the TRIM 200 by Grässlin Zeitschalttechnik GmbH and the DIMAX 540 APP by Theben AG.
These seven contributions significantly enhance the capabilities of nRF Mesh, making it an even more powerful tool for Bluetooth Mesh development. By adding support for these additional server models, developers now have access to more comprehensive device configuration and monitoring options.
Die Kodira GmbH ist Experte auf dem Gebiet Bluetooth® LE und Bluetooth® Mesh für iOS und Android. Sollten Sie Bedarf an Beratung zu Bluetooth® Mesh Apps für Apple iOS oder Google Android haben, kontaktieren Sie uns gerne unter info[at]kodira.de oder über unser Kontaktformular.