Seeed XIAO BLE nRF52840 Sense

Seeed Studio XIAO Series are diminutive development boards, sharing a similar hardware structure, where the size is literally thumb-sized. The code name “XIAO” here represents its half feature “Tiny”, and the other half will be “Puissant”.

Compared to the regular XIAO BLE nRF52840, this module adds two new sensors, an IMU and a Microphone.

Features

• Versatile Microcontroller: Incorporate the Nordic nRF52840 chip with FPU, operating up to 64 MHz, mounted multiple development ports, supported by Arduino / CircuitPython
• Wireless Capabilities: Implement Bluetooth 5.0, BLE functions with onboard antenna, also provide NFC connectivity
• Elaborate Power Design: Provide ultra-low power consumption as 5 μA in deep sleep mode while supporting lithium battery charge management
• Thumb-sized Design: 21 x 17.5mm, Seeed Studio XIAO series classic form-factor, suitable for wearable devices
• Perfect for Production: Breadboard-friendly & SMD design, no components on the back

Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 Sense has an ultra-low power consumption of only 5 μA in the deep sleep mode, the embedded BQ25101 chip supports battery charge management which prolongs its use time. Moreover, Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 Sense supports the USB Type-C interface which can supply power and download code. It also has rich On-chip Memory of 1 MB flash and 256 kB RAM, and an Onboard Memory of 2 MB QSPI flash. There are 11 digital i/o that can be used as PWM pins and 6 analog i/o that can be used as ADC pins. It supports UART, IIC, and SPI all three common serial ports. 1 Reset button, 1 3-in-one LED, 1 Charge LED, and 1 Bluetooth antenna are on board, allowing developers to debug their code very easily.

As the advanced yet smaller version of the Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840, it carries two extra onboard sensors. One of them is a digital microphone created through Pulse Density Modulation(PDM) module on the nRF52840 chip. It can receive audio data in real-time which allows it can be used for audio recognition. The board can receive audio data through the MSM261D3526H1CPM microphone. The other one is 6-axis Inertial Measurement Unit(IMU) which can be applied in TinyML projects like gesture recognition.

The powerful performance makes it perfect for machine learning applications, and the tiny size allows it to be used in wearable devices and Internet of Things projects, not just for prototypes but the mass production. Furthermore, Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 is friendly to the communities for its strong software compatibilities, which supports Arduino, Micropython, and CircuitPython. Except for the software, flexible I/O allows it to speak to almost any external device.

Specification

To better support IoT and TinyML AI projects, there is an advanced version “Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 Sense” that carries an extra 6-axis IMU and a PDM microphone.