Bluetooth: atm_beacon

Overview

A configurable beacon application that demonstrates GAP Broadcaster role functionality by advertising Eddystone URL beacons (pointing to the Atmosic website). The beacon sample supports multiple profiles with different power management characteristics and runtime behavior selection via hardware buttons.

The application supports eleven base beacon profiles with optional runtime mode selection:

Base Profiles (mutually exclusive):

  1. Power Profile (REFBCN_POWER_PROFILE): Sends 30 scannable beacons at 1-second intervals, then hibernates for 30 seconds. Optimized for low power consumption measurement.

  2. SOC-Off Profile (REFBCN_SOCOFF_BEACON): Advertises for 30 seconds, then enters SOC-off mode for 30 seconds.

  3. WURX Beacon Profile (REFBCN_WURX_BEACON): Advertises for 30 seconds, then enters hibernation with Wake-Up Receiver (WURX) monitoring enabled.

  4. Simple Harvesting Beacon (REFBCN_SIMPLE_HARV_BEACON): Sends scannable beacons continuously at 1-second intervals without hibernation. Device name: “Atmosic Harvesting”.

  5. Extended Scannable Beacon (REFBCN_EXTENDED_SCN): Sends extended scannable advertisements every 500ms. The extended scan response contains an Eddystone beacon. Uses retain with voltage drop power mode between beacons.

  6. iBeacon (REFBCN_IBEACON): Apple iBeacon format beacon with manufacturer-specific data containing UUID, Major, Minor, and calibrated RSSI. Device name: “Atmosic iBeacon”.

  7. Extended Advertising Beacon (REFBCN_EXTENDED_ADV): Sends extended non-connectable non-scannable advertisements every 500ms with a large

  8. Extended Connectable Beacon (REFBCN_EXTENDED_CON): Sends extended connectable non-scannable advertisements every 500ms with a large Eddystone URL payload. Uses retain with voltage drop power mode between beacons.

  9. Long Range Coded PHY (REFBCN_LR_CODED): Sends extended scannable advertisements on LE Coded PHY for increased range. Uses Eddystone URL format with the trade-off of lower data rate and higher power consumption. Device name: “ATMxxxx Lowest - Power” (same as POWER_PROFILE and EXTENDED_SCN).

  10. 2M Secondary Profile (REFBCN_2M_SECONDARY): Uses Bluetooth 5.0 extended

advertising with 2M PHY on secondary channel. Sends one extended advertisement with a 986-byte payload (Eddystone URL with padding), then hibernates for 1 second and repeats. Designed for testing extended advertising maximum payload capability.

  1. Long Range 500kbps Coded PHY (REFBCN_LR500_CODED): Sends extended scannable advertisements on LE Coded PHY with S=2 coding for 500kbps data rate. Offers higher throughput than S=8 (125kbps) with a trade-off of reduced range. Device name: “ATMxxxx Lowest - Power”.

Runtime Mode Selection (optional):

  1. Simple Beacon Mode (REFBCN_SIMPLE_BEACON): When enabled, allows

button-controlled runtime selection. If BUTTON_1 is not pressed (or not present), uses continuous advertising at 100ms intervals without hibernation. If button is pressed, falls back to the configured base profile.

Button Functionality

When REFBCN_SIMPLE_BEACON is enabled, the application checks the state of BUTTON_1 at boot time:

  • BUTTON_1 not pressed (or not present): Uses the Simple Beacon Profile with continuous advertising

  • BUTTON_1 pressed: Uses the configured base profile (Power or SOC-Off)

LED Indication

When using the Simple Beacon mode with power management enabled, LED_1 (if available) toggles each time the system exits from suspend-to-RAM state, providing visual feedback of power management activity.

Requirements

Atmosic EVK <board | serial>

Building and Running

This sample is built from openair/samples/bluetooth/atm_beacon.

Build command:

west build -p always -b <BOARD> openair/samples/bluetooth/atm_beacon --sysbuild -T samples.bluetooth.atm_beacon.atm

Flash command:

west flash --no-rebuild --device <DEVICE_ID> --jlink --fast_load [--erase_flash]

Configuration

Beacon Profile Selection

The beacon configuration uses a two-level approach:

Base Profile (choose one):

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_POWER_PROFILE=y (default): Enable hibernation beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_SOCOFF_BEACON=y: Enable SOC-off beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_WURX_BEACON=y: Enable WURX beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_SIMPLE_HARV_BEACON=y: Enable simple harvesting beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_EXTENDED_SCN=y: Enable extended scannable beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_IBEACON=y: Enable Apple iBeacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_EXTENDED_ADV=y: Enable extended advertising beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_EXTENDED_CON=y: Enable extended connectable beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_LR_CODED=y: Enable Long Range coded PHY beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_2M_SECONDARY=y: Enable 2M PHY extended advertising beacon demo

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_LR500_CODED=y: Enable Long Range 500kbps coded PHY beacon demo

Runtime Mode Selection (optional):

  • CONFIG_REFBCN_SIMPLE_BEACON=y: Enable button-controlled simple beacon mode

The REFBCN_SIMPLE_BEACON option can be enabled alongside either base profile. When enabled, BUTTON_1 state at boot determines the runtime behavior:

  • BUTTON_1 not pressed (or absent): Use simple beacon (continuous 100ms advertising)

  • BUTTON_1 pressed: Use the configured base profile

Advertising Parameters

Key advertising parameters are automatically configured based on the selected profile:

Profile Advertising Parameters

Profile

Interval

Max Events

Duration

Power Mode

Power Profile

1000ms

30

30s active, 30s hibernate

Hibernate

SOC-Off Profile

1000ms

30

30s active, 30s soc-off

SOC-Off

WURX Beacon

1000ms

30

30s active, hibernate until WURX wake

Hibernate (WURX)

Simple Harv Beacon

1000ms

Unlimited

Continuous

Active

Simple Beacon

100ms

Unlimited

Continuous

Active

Extended Scannable Beacon

500ms

Unlimited

Continuous

Retain w/ voltage drop

iBeacon

32ms

Unlimited

Continuous

Active

Extended Advertising Beacon

500ms

Unlimited

Continuous

Retain w/ voltage drop

Extended Connectable Beacon

500ms

Unlimited

Continuous

Retain w/ voltage drop

LR Coded PHY

32ms

Unlimited

Continuous

Active

2M Secondary

1000ms

1

1 event, 1s hibernate cycle

Hibernate

LR500 Coded PHY

32ms

Unlimited

Continuous

Active

Hardware Requirements

For button functionality:

  • BUTTON_1 (button0 device tree node). In order for the button to work, jumpers JP25 and JP27 need to be installed on the EVK.

  • LED_1 (led0 device tree node) for power management indication

Both are optional - the application will adapt based on hardware availability.

WURX Beacon Configuration

The WURX (Wake-Up Receiver) beacon profile enables ultra-low power operation by entering hibernation with radio wake-up monitoring. The device advertises for a configurable time, then hibernates until a wake-up signal is detected.

On platforms without WURX hardware support (i.e., the device tree does not enable the atmosic,wurx node), the WURX beacon profile still builds and advertises the same payload. The device will enter hibernation after advertising completes, but without WURX wake-up capability. This allows the same beacon configuration to be used across different hardware platforms.

For detailed WURX documentation, build instructions, and configuration options, see openair/doc/wurx/wurx.rst.

Energy Harvesting Configuration

For energy harvesting support with Li-ion battery on a suitable board like ATMEVK-3430e-YQN-5, additional configuration is required. The battery management functionality is only enabled when both Li-ion battery type is configured AND harvesting is enabled.

Required Configuration in boards/ATMEVK-3430e-YQN-5.conf:

# Battery monitoring support
CONFIG_BATT_MODEL_HSC_LIION=y
CONFIG_ADC=y
CONFIG_RETAINED_MEM=y
CONFIG_RETAINED_MEM_ATM_HIB=y

Required Device Tree Configuration in boards/ATMEVK-3430e-YQN-5.overlay:

&pmu {
    batt-type = <0>;
    hsc-mode;
    batt-level = <1>;
    vddio-type = <0>;
    vstore-max = <3300>;
    vddpa-src = <0>;
    nonrf-harv;
    vharv-range = <13>;
    boost-from-vharv-inductor;
    vharv-ul;
    dig-test-out-pin = <8>;
};

&adc {
    channel@b {
        reg = <11>;
        zephyr,gain = "ADC_GAIN_1_2";
        zephyr,reference = "ADC_REF_INTERNAL";
        zephyr,acquisition-time = <ADC_ACQ_TIME_DEFAULT>;
        zephyr,resolution = <16>;
    };
};

Testing

To verify beacon functionality:

  1. Use a Bluetooth scanner app on a mobile device

  2. Look for device names in the scan list:

    Profile

    Complete Name

    Shortened Name

    Power Profile

    ATMxxxx Lowest - Power

    A0000c9

    Extended Scannable

    ATMxxxx Lowest - Power

    (none)

    Extended Advertising

    ATMxxxx Lowest - Power

    (none)

    Extended Connectable

    ATMxxxx Lowest - Power

    (none)

    Long Range Coded

    ATMxxxx Lowest - Power

    (none)

    Long Range 500kbps Coded

    ATMxxxx Lowest - Power

    (none)

    2M Secondary

    ATMxxxx Lowest - Power

    (none)

    SOC-Off / WuRx / Simple Beacon

    Atmosic Beacon

    Atmosic

    Simple Harvesting

    Atmosic Harvesting

    Atmosic

    iBeacon

    Atmosic iBeacon

    (none)

  3. The beacon should be scannable and contain Eddystone URL data pointing to http://www.atmosic.com (or iBeacon manufacturer data)

  4. For power profiles, observe the 30-second on/off cycles

  5. For simple beacon and simple harvesting beacon, advertising should be continuous