The module is designed for applications in the connected industry, smart homes, buildings, and cities, asset tracking, and eHealth.

The direction finding feature is a key component of the Bluetooth v5.1 specification that enables high precision positioning in indoor applications.

Nina-B4 is the first U-Blox module designed to act as both a transmitter and a receiver in angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) direction finding and indoor positioning applications.

For AoA, stationary beacons with multi-antenna arrays determine the angle of signals emitted by a tracking device to determine the tracker’s location to sub-meter accuracy.

When AoD is used, the tracking device triangulates its position by calculating the angle of departure of signals from the stationary Bluetooth beacons’ multi-antenna arrays.

The module enables wireless mesh networks, which offer communication between large numbers of connected devices, extending the reach of messages by relaying them from node to node until they reach their destination. Mesh networks are suitable for applications such as smart lighting systems in cities and buildings.

Featuring Bluetooth long range, the Nina-B4 series is designed for deployments in harsh environments to enable wirelessly connected and configurable equipment.

Its long range functionality not only increases the distance signals can travel in undisturbed environments, but makes communications more robust and reliable in unfavourable ones, common in production plants or on factory floors.

The module’s operating temperature range up to 105°C also improves its suitability for harsh environments.

The Nina-B4 series comes with the company’s U Connect software which provides an interface to configure the connectivity required in new and existing devices.

Nina-B4 incorporates an Arm Cortex-M4F MCU with an open CPU architecture, allowing customers to run their own applications right on the module.

It supports Zigbee and Thread, and the first members of the Nina-B4 family come with an internal PCB antenna, or alternatively, a U.FL connector for an external antenna of choice.