Raspberry Pi has introduced an enormous improve for Raspberry Pi Pico W homeowners: the radio chip’s Bluetooth 5.2 assist is now virtually totally unlocked in each C/C++ and MicroPython.
The Raspberry Pi Pico W launched in June final yr as a barely dearer sibling to the favored Raspberry Pi Pico. Its general design remained largely unchanged, retaining the breadboard- and surface-mount-friendly castellated pin headers and micro-USB connector, and it was nonetheless powered by the dual-core Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller — nevertheless it gained an Infineon CYW43439 radio module for Web of Issues (IoT) tasks.
The Raspberry Pi Pico W now has official Bluetooth assist in each C/C++ and MicroPython, as a free firmware improve. (📷: Raspberry Pi)
The CYW43439 is a dual-mode module with each 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2 capabilities — however, at launch, solely Wi-Fi performance was accessible. Six months after launch, Raspberry Pi introduced it was engaged on unlocking the Bluetooth mode — however whereas the Raspberry Pi Pico C/C++ Software program Improvement Package (SDK) gained preliminary Bluetooth assist 4 months in the past, MicroPython has been lagging behind till now.
“Routing each Wi-Fi and Bluetooth site visitors over the one three-pin SPI bus between RP2040 and CYW43439 has been a considerable engineering problem,” says Raspberry Pi co-founder Eben Upton of the difficulties confronted alongside the best way. “We’d like to specific our due to our associates at Infineon, and specifically Graham Smith, for his or her help in productionizing this functionality. Right here at Raspberry Pi, Peter Harper was liable for the Pico W host-side software program; Graham Sanderson developed the SDK; and Alasdair Allan wrote the docs. Final, however not least, Damien George is (after all) liable for making MicroPython work.”
The brand new MicroPython firmware unlocks Bluetooth Traditional and Bluetooth Low Power (BLE) modes, although the previous lacks assist for Asynchronous Connectionless Hyperlink (ACL) and Synchronous Connection Oriented Hyperlink (SCO) modes — one thing Raspberry Pi is working to deal with in a future replace. BLE mode, in the meantime, helps each Central and Peripheral working modes — and the corporate has launched two MicroPython demo tasks to exhibit broadcasting and receiving a temperature studying to point out off its new assist.
The corporate has launched C/C++ and MicroPython code examples, as a part of an up to date knowledge e book for the Pico W. (📷: Raspberry Pi)
The software program stack offering Bluetooth assist is BlueKitchen’s BTstack library — a industrial license for which is offered as customary with each Raspberry Pi Pico W offered, Upton confirms, that means there needs to be no licensing points with utilizing a Bluetooth-enabled Pico W in industrial merchandise. “Matthias Ringwald offered intensive help with integration and verification,” Upton provides.
Present Raspberry Pi Pico W homeowners will have the ability to improve to the brand new MicroPython firmware instantly by downloading it from the official web site; there is no want to purchase new {hardware}. Anybody seeking to get began with Bluetooth in both C/C++ or MicroPython, in the meantime, will discover the small print within the knowledge e book Connecting to the Web with Raspberry Pi Pico W (PDF).
