Nordic Thingy:91 User Guide v1.2 4418_1336 v1.
Contents Revision history. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv 1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 Kit content. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.1 Downloadable content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Related documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8 Getting started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.12 Interface . . . . . . . 6.12.1 N-MOS transistors . 6.12.2 Connectors . . . . 6.12.3 Test points . . . . 7 Regulatory notices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 37 38 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 7.1 FCC regulatory notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Revision history Date Version Description January 2020 1.2 Updated Introduction on page 5 December 2019 1.
1 Introduction The Nordic Thingy:91™ is a battery-operated prototyping platform for cellular IoT, certified for global operation. It is ideal for rapid development of prototypes for cellular IoT systems and is especially suited for asset tracking applications and environmental monitoring. Nordic Thingy:91 includes sensors that gather data about its own movements and the surrounding environment.
Introduction • • • • • • • • • • • Nano/4FF Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card slot User-programmable button and RGB LEDs Environmental sensor for temperature, humidity, air quality, and air pressure Color and light sensor Low-power and high-G accelerometer Buzzer 4 x N-MOS transistor for external DC motors or LEDs Rechargeable Li-Po battery with 1400 mAh capacity Charging through Universal Serial Bus (USB) PC connection through USB Normal operating temperature range: 5oC ~ 35oC nRF9160 • Multimode LTE
2 Kit content The Nordic Thingy:91 kit consists of hardware and access to software components, hardware design files, applications, and documentation. Figure 1: Nordic Thingy:91 hardware content The Nordic Thingy:91 kit contains the following: • Nordic Thingy:91 device with a rubber enclosure serving as a protective cover • An eSIM (SIM card) from iBASIS supported by the nano/4FF SIM card slot of Nordic Thingy:91 • An information leaflet WARNING - Power adapter is not included in the kit.3 2.
Kit content • Precompiled HEX files • nRF52840 USB to UART bridge • nRF9160 modem firmware • nRF Connect SDK PC tools • nRF Connect LTE Link Monitor • Segger Embedded Studio • nRF Connect Programmer Web applications • nRF Connect for Cloud Hardware files The hardware files can be downloaded from the Nordic Thingy:91 product page. The zip file and its subdirectories contain the hardware design files for the Nordic Thingy:91.
3 Getting started Setting up Nordic Thingy:91 requires completing the following steps. Before you start: • Unpack Nordic Thingy:91. • Make sure to update the Nordic Thingy:91 firmware as explained in the section Firmware update on page 15. • Make sure you have an nRF Connect for Cloud account and sign in to nRF Connect for Cloud. Once you are signed in, perform the following steps. 1. Add new LTE device. Figure 2: Adding new LTE device in nRF Cloud 2. Verify and activate the SIM card.
Getting started Figure 4: Inserting the SIM card 4. Once the SIM card is inserted, power on Nordic Thingy:91. You will find the power switch next to the micro-USB port. Figure 5: Nordic Thingy:91 Power switch Wait for yellow breathing in the indicator LED. If the LED does not turn yellow, check Table 2: Nordic Thingy:91 Operating modes and LED indications on page 14 to determine the present state of Nordic Thingy:91. 5. Associate the Nordic Thingy:91 to your user account.
Getting started 6. For optional activation of GPS, go outdoors and press the SW3 button for a minimum of 10 seconds until the indicator LED begins breathing purple. • Purple breathing: GPS is active and searching • Green breathing: GPS has fix Wait for green breathing in the indicator LED which indicates that your Nordic Thingy:91 has GPS fix. Check that the position data and the environment sensor data are sent to nRF Connect for Cloud. 3.
4 Firmware The firmware of Nordic Thingy:91 has been developed using the nRF Connect SDK. It is open source, and can be modified according to specific needs. The asset tracker application firmware, which is pre-loaded in the Nordic Thingy:91, enables the device to use the environment sensors as described in Environment sensors on page 33, and provides an option of tracking the device using GPS.
Firmware • Go to the desired application folder. For example, the folder path is ncs/nrf/applications/ asset_tracker when compiling the source code for the asset tracker application on the nrf9160_pca20035ns target and ncs/nrf/samples/usb/usb_uart_bridge when compiling the source code for the USB-UART bridge sample on the nrf52840_pca20035 target.
Firmware # Mode LED 1 Connecting White breathing 2 Connected Waiting for user association Yellow breathing 3 Environment data only Blue breathing 4 GPS Searching Purple breathing 5 GPS fix Green breathing 6 Low Battery Red slow breathing 7 Error Red fast breathing Table 2: Nordic Thingy:91 Operating modes and LED indications 4.3 GPS Nordic Thingy:91 has GPS which, if activated, allows the device to be located globally using GPS signals.
5 Firmware update You can update the modem firmware and the application firmware on Nordic Thingy:91 using multiple methods. Modem firmware update can be done using an external debug probe such as nRF9160 DK. Application firmware update is supported through USB leveraging the built-in serial recovery mode of Nordic Thingy:91. The device also supports application firmware update using an external debug probe. 5.
Firmware update 6. Click Select device and select the appropriate debug probe entry from the drop-down list in the nRF Connect Programmer. 7. Click Update Modem in the Cellular Modem pane on the right and choose the zip file with the latest modem release. 8. Click Write in the Device pane on the right and wait for the update to complete. Note: If you have issues updating modem firmware, then do Erase All before trying to update the modem again. 5.
Firmware update Figure 8: Connecting to Nordic Thingy:91 using nRF Connect Programmer 5. Click Add HEX file on the right pane (named as File). Figure 9: Selecting the firmware image file using Add HEX file option in the nRF Connect Programmer 4418_1336 v1.
Firmware update 6. Click Browse from the drop-down list that appears as a result of the previous step in the nRF Connect Programmer as shown in the following figure. Figure 10: Selecting the firmware image file using Add HEX file (Browse) option in the nRF Connect Programmer 7. Select the MCUboot compatible HEX file from the file browser that opens up. 8. Click Write on the Device pane in the right as shown in the following figure. 4418_1336 v1.
Firmware update Figure 11: Updating the application firmware using Write option in nRF Connect Programmer The MCUboot DFU dialogue box appears as shown in the following figure. Figure 12: MCUboot DFU dialogue box 4418_1336 v1.
Firmware update 9. Click Write in the MCUboot DFU dialogue box and wait for the update to finish. 5.2.1.2 Updating application firmware on nRF9160 using an external debug probe Firmware updates on the nRF9160 SiP of Nordic Thingy:91 can be performed by using an externally connected debug probe. To update the application firmware on nRF9160 using an external debug probe, complete the steps in this section. 1. Set the Nordic Thingy:91 SWD selection switch (SW2) to nRF91.
Firmware update 6. Click Browse from the drop-down list that appears as a result of the previous step in the nRF Connect Programmer as shown in Figure 10: Selecting the firmware image file using Add HEX file (Browse) option in the nRF Connect Programmer on page 18. 7. Select the MCUboot compatible HEX file from the file browser that opens up. 8. Click Write on the Device pane in the right as shown in Figure 11: Updating the application firmware using Write option in nRF Connect Programmer on page 19.
6 Hardware description This chapter focuses on the hardware components of Nordic Thingy:91 with detailed descriptions of the various hardware blocks that are present on the device. The sensors available in Nordic Thingy:91 are not calibrated in production. Nordic Semiconductor does not specify the accuracy of measurements. Users who want to reuse parts of this design to create measurement devices should conform to documentation of the specific sensors. 6.
Hardware description Figure 14: Nordic Thingy:91 PCB, top Figure 15: Nordic Thingy:91 PCB, bottom 6.3 nRF9160 The nRF9160 is the main device of Nordic Thingy:91. It is a compact, highly integrated SiP that makes use of the latest low-power LTE technology. It has advanced processing capabilities and security features. It also has the accessibility and flexibility to be used with a wide range of single-device low-power cellular IoT applications. For more information, see nRF9160 Product Specification.
Hardware description Figure 16: nRF9160 schematic 6.3.1 Antenna tuning To improve antenna efficiency, Nordic Thingy:91 has dynamic antenna tuning. Different tuning components are used for different frequencies. This is achieved by using tuning components between two SP8T RF switches. The switches are automatically controlled by the nRF9160 LTE modem and set to the correct state based on the frequency of operation. Six paths are used for LTE frequency, and one path is used for GPS frequency.
Hardware description Figure 17: Antenna tuning circuitry schematic 6.3.2 RF measurements The LTE signals are propagated through a coaxial connector. This makes it possible to perform conducted measurements or attach external antennas. By default, when no cable is attached, the RF signal is routed to the onboard antenna. When connecting the adapter, the internal switch in the SWF connector will disconnect the onboard antenna and connect the RF signal from the nRF9160 to the adapter.
Hardware description Figure 19: External GPS antenna connector The LNA enable signal is controlled by the logic circuitry. It is enabled only when the antenna tuning circuitry is set to operate at the GPS frequency band. The LNA makes the GPS receiver more sensitive to GPS signals and less sensitive to interference from other sources nearby. Figure 20: GPS circuit schematic Note: GPS signals do not usually penetrate ceilings or other structures.
Hardware description Figure 21: SIM card schematic 6.4 nRF52840 For USB, Bluetooth, and NFC passive tag connectivity, Nordic Thingy:91 uses a nRF52840 SoC. It is a powerful, highly flexible, ultra-low power SoC that incorporates a Bluetooth Low Energy radio and a 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F CPU. For more information on the SoC, see nRF52840 Product Specification. Figure 22: nRF52840 schematic 6.4.1 NFC passive tag Nordic Thingy:91 supports an NFC passive tag.
Hardware description Figure 23: NFC passive tag antenna connector The NFC passive tag uses two pins, F1 (NFC1) and E2 (NFC2), to connect the antenna. These pins are shared with GPIOs (P0.09 and P0.10), and the PROTECT field in the NFCPINS register in UICR defines the usage of these pins and their protection level against abnormal voltages. The content of the NFCPINS register is reloaded at every reset. Note: The NFC passive tag pins are enabled by default.
Hardware description I/O Label Description P0.08 ADXL362_CS Low-power accelerometer chip select line P0.09 ADXL362_INT1 Low-power accelerometer interrupt line P0.10 ADXL362_INT2 Accelerometer interrupt line 2, selectable by solder bridge P0.11 SDA I2C data line P0.12 SCL I2C clock line P0.13 N-MOS_1 Gate of N-MOS transistor externally available P0.14 N-MOS_2 Gate of N-MOS transistor externally available P0.15 N-MOS_3 Gate of N-MOS transistor externally available P0.
Hardware description I/O Label Description P0.00 XL1 Low frequency crystal P0.01 XL2 Low frequency crystal P0.02 N.A. Not used P0.03 SPARE7 Analog/digital GPIO externally available P0.04 N.A. Not used P0.05 SPARE2 Analog/digital GPIO externally available P0.06 SPARE1 Digital GPIO externally available P0.07 N.A. Not used P0.08 N.A. Not used P0.09 NFC1 NFC passive tag antenna P0.10 NFC2 NFC passive tag antenna P0.11 MCU_IF0 nRF9160 interface P0.12 N.A. Not used P0.
Hardware description I/O Label Description P1.02 N.A. Not used P1.03 N.A. Not used P1.04 COEX1 nRF9160 COEX interface P1.05 IF_SWK_CLK nRF9160 SWD interface clock line P1.06 N.A. Not used P1.07 COEX0 nRF9160 COEX interface P1.08 SDA I2C data line P1.09 SCL I2C clock line P1.10 N.A. Not used P1.11 SPARE8 Digital GPIO externally available P1.12 N.A. Not used P1.13 BOOT Boot button P1.14 N.A. Not used P1.15 N.A. Not used Table 5: nRF52840 pin map 6.
Hardware description Figure 24: Low-power and high-G accelerometers schematic When Nordic Thingy:91 is in low-power sleep mode, any user interaction will be detected by the lowpower accelerometer. The accelerometer has an SPI interface and it can detect motion on three axes. By default, the INT2 line of the accelerometer is not connected to nRF9160. If you want to use the INT2 line, solder SB6. For detecting shocks, Nordic Thingy:91 uses a high-G accelerometer.
Hardware description 6.7 Environment sensors To monitor its surroundings, Nordic Thingy:91 has a multi-sensor chip that contains several sensors for detecting different environmental properties and a separate color and light sensor. The multi-sensor chip contains sensors for temperature, humidity, air quality, and air pressure. Figure 26: Environment sensor schematic The color sensor onboard Nordic Thingy:91 senses red, green, blue, and infrared light.
Hardware description 6.9 LEDs and buttons Nordic Thingy:91 user interface consists of RGB LEDs and two buttons. 6.9.1 RGB LED Nordic Thingy:91 is equipped with three RGB LEDs. Two of the LEDs are used to light up the light well and are controlled by the same signals using transistors as switches. The third LED is located near the color sensor and is used as auxiliary light for color measurements. Figure 29: LED schematic 6.9.2 Buttons Nordic Thingy:91 has two buttons.
Hardware description Figure 30: Schematics for battery connector, and the power switch 6.10.1 PMIC Nordic Thingy:91 uses a power management IC (PMIC) as internal power management. The PMIC includes a battery charger, a fuel gauge and two regulator outputs. The PMIC has three voltage domain outputs that are used on Nordic Thingy:91: • VSYS used for the nRF9160 SiP • One 1.8 V output used as GPIO voltage • One 3.3 V output used for analog circuitry The 1.
Hardware description Figure 32: Measuring current to the nRF9160 Figure 33: Measuring current to the nRF52840 Figure 34: Current measurement schematic 6.11 Programming and debugging interface Nordic Thingy:91 is equipped with one programming and debugging interface connector (P8) that is shared between the nRF9160 and nRF52840. 4418_1336 v1.
Hardware description The device to be programmed is selected by the SWD SELECT switch (SW2). The selection of device can also be controlled by connecting TP28 to 1.8 V or ground. Figure 35: SWD SELECT switch The SWD interface of the nRF9160 can also be connected to the nRF52840. The enabling of this connection is controlled by the nRF52840. Figure 36: SWD interface and control schematic 6.
Hardware description Figure 37: Schematics for the N-MOS transistors 6.12.2 Connectors In addition to the N-MOS drain and source on P7, power domains and extra GPIOs can be found on connectors P3-P6. For more information, see Connector pinouts on page 38. Figure 38: Nordic Thingy:91 external connectors Figure 39: Interface connectors 6.12.2.
Hardware description Pin Signal Description 1 GND Ground 2 3V3 Regulated 3.3 V domain Table 8: Pinout of connector P5 Pin Signal Description 1 SPARE1 GPIO of the nRF52840 2 SPARE2 GPIO of the nRF52840 3 SPARE3 GPIO of the nRF52840 4 SPARE4 GPIO of the nRF52840 5 SPARE5 GPIO of the nRF52840 6 SPARE6 GPIO of the nRF52840 Table 9: Pinout of connector P6 Pin Signal Description 1 1V8 Regulated 1.
Hardware description Test point Location Signal Description TP1 Bottom N.A. Reserved TP2 Bottom RF_SW1 Bit 0 of RF switch control signals TP3 Bottom RF_SW2 Bit 1 of RF switch control signals TP4 Bottom RF_SW3 Bit 2 of RF switch control signals TP5 Bottom N.A. Reserved TP6 Bottom N.A. Reserved TP7 Bottom nRF91-P0.10 GPIO of the nRF9160 TP8 Top nRF52-P0.
Hardware description Test point Location Signal Description TP33 Top nRF91-P0.16/AIN3 Analog/digital GPIO of the nRF9160, combined with N-MOS4 TP34 Top SCK SPI clock line TP35 Top MOSI SPI master output, slave input data line TP36 Top MISO SPI master input, slave output data line TP37 Top ADXL372_CS High-G accelerometer chip select line TP38 Top ADXL362_CS Low-power accelerometer chip select line Table 11: Pinout of connector P3 4418_1336 v1.
7 Regulatory notices The following regulatory notices apply to Nordic Thingy:91. 7.1 FCC regulatory notices Modification statement Nordic Semiconductor ASA has not approved any changes or modifications to this device by the user. Any changes or modifications could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment. Interference statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Glossary DK (Development Kit) A development platform used for application development. GPIO General-Purpose Input/Output Global Positioning System (GPS) A satellite-based radio navigation system that provides its users with accurate location and time information over the globe. Integrated Development Environment (IDE) A software application that provides facilities for software development. MCUboot A secure bootloader for 32-bit microcontroller units, which is independent of hardware and operating system.
Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) A new generation SIM used in UE for ensuring the integrity and security of personal data. Universal Serial Bus (USB) An industry standard that establishes specifications for cables and connectors and protocols for connection, communication, and power supply between computers, peripheral devices, and other computers. 4418_1336 v1.
Acronyms and abbreviations These acronyms and abbreviations are used in this document. DK Development Kit GPIO General-Purpose Input/Output GPS IDE NFC PUK SDK SES SIM SiP SoC USB Global Positioning System Integrated Development Environment Near Field Communication Personal Unblocking Key Software Development Kit SEGGER Embedded Studio Subscriber Identity Module System in Package System on Chip Universal Serial Bus UICC Universal Integrated Circuit Card 4418_1336 v1.
Legal notices By using this documentation you agree to our terms and conditions of use. Nordic Semiconductor may change these terms and conditions at any time without notice. Liability disclaimer Nordic Semiconductor ASA reserves the right to make changes without further notice to the product to improve reliability, function, or design. Nordic Semiconductor ASA does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or circuits described herein.
