Toys & gaming
Wireless is a natural fit for toys and gaming.
Bluetooth Low Energy wireless solution allows smartphone gaming device to pair with companion apps and other devices for multi-player action
Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC supports Central and Peripheral Bluetooth LE roles so up to eight users can play Augmented Reality-based games concurrently on smartphones
Nordic Semiconductor today announces that Shenzhen Geekplay Technology Co. Ltd, a Guangdong, China-based developer of Augmented Reality (AR) tech-toys and gaming apps, has selected Nordic’s Bluetooth® Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) nRF52832 System-on-Chip (SoC) as the wireless connectivity solution for ‘Geek Unit’, its portable AR gaming device.
The Geek Unit hardware attaches to the back of the user’s compatible Bluetooth 4.0 (and later) iOS or Android smartphone and converts real-world scenery and objects into an exciting gaming arena through one of two partner apps, named ‘Geekplay’ and ‘Geek Unit’.
Enabled by the Nordic SoC’s support of both Central and Peripheral Bluetooth LE roles, each device establishes a low-latency link to the user’s smartphone—as well as up to seven other smartphone-attached Geek Unit devices at the same time—allowing multiplayer AR-based gaming in a diverse range of physical environments.
Users can launch either the Geekplay app for a large-scale game of AR ‘laser tag’ where tangible objects act as battle obstacles, or the Geek Unit app to access 360° scalable arena games developed by Apple ARKit, an advanced AR technology platform. The Geek Unit device is supplied with a built-in lithium battery that offers approximately 300 days of standby time and 15 hours of continuous operation thanks in part to the ultra low power (ULP) capabilities of the Nordic SoC.
The Geek Unit hardware attaches to the back of the user’s compatible Bluetooth 4.0 (and later) iOS or Android smartphone and converts real-world scenery and objects into an exciting gaming arena through one of two partner apps, named ‘Geekplay’ and ‘Geek Unit’.
Enabled by the Nordic SoC’s support of both Central and Peripheral Bluetooth LE roles, each device establishes a low-latency link to the user’s smartphone—as well as up to seven other smartphone-attached Geek Unit devices at the same time—allowing multiplayer AR-based gaming in a diverse range of physical environments.
Users can launch either the Geekplay app for a large-scale game of AR ‘laser tag’ where tangible objects act as battle obstacles, or the Geek Unit app to access 360° scalable arena games developed by Apple ARKit, an advanced AR technology platform. The Geek Unit device is supplied with a built-in lithium battery that offers approximately 300 days of standby time and 15 hours of continuous operation thanks in part to the ultra low power (ULP) capabilities of the Nordic SoC.
Nordic has always offered us professional service and fast response times. The company is willing to help us improve our products, which is rare and extremely valuable for a startup like Geekplay
Spencer Dai, Geekplay
Nordic’s nRF52832 multiprotocol SoC, a member of Nordic’s sixth generation of ULP wireless connectivity solutions, combines an 64MHz, 32-bit Arm® Cortex® M4F processor with a 2.4GHz multiprotocol radio (supporting Bluetooth 5, ANT™, and proprietary 2.4GHz RF software) featuring -96dB RX sensitivity, with 512kB Flash memory and 64kB RAM.
The SoC is supplied with Nordic’s S132 SoftDevice, a Bluetooth 5-certifed RF software protocol stack for building advanced Bluetooth LE applications. The S132 SoftDevice features Central, Peripheral, Broadcaster and Observer Bluetooth LE roles, supports up to twenty connections, and enables concurrent role operation..
“By adopting Bluetooth LE wireless connectivity through the Nordic SoC, our products can set up high-speed personal arena networks for smooth communication and cable-free gaming among multiple players,” says Spencer Dai, Branding Director at Geekplay.
“Nordic has always offered us professional service and fast response times. The company is willing to help us improve our products, which is rare and extremely valuable for a startup like Geekplay.”
