Nordic Semiconductor Showcases Bluetooth LE Audio with Auracast Development Solutions

Nordic Semiconductor has used the latest trade shows globally to showcase its latest low power wireless solutions, and introduced a series of new development solutions targeting Bluetooth LE Audio. At the Embedded World Exhibition that took place in Nuremberg, Germany, Nordic offered demonstrations of its new nRF5340 Audio Development Kit (DK), a design platform for rapid development of LE Audio products, and the Nordic Thingy:53 a rapid prototyping solution, both based on Nordic’s nRF5340 SoC.

Packetcraft, the wireless software licensor, announced that its Bluetooth LE Audio software achieved qualification from the Bluetooth SIG enabling developers to quickly refresh products with support for audio sharing, including the recently announced Auracast broadcast audio. The company is already providing commercial licensees with Bluetooth SIG qualified LE Audio software supporting the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Generic Audio Framework specifications.

CEVA announced that its latest RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.3 IP family now supports Auracast broadcast audio, the new audio sharing standard, based on the Bluetooth LE Audio broadcasting specification, unveiled by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). According to CEVA, Auracast broadcast audio is set to transform the shared audio experience, enabling an unlimited number of Auracast receiver-compliant devices such as TWS earbuds, headphones, hearing aids and wireless speakers to simultaneously receive audio broadcast from one or several Auracast transmitter devices.

When the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the trade association that oversees Bluetooth technology, announced the upcoming release of LE Audio at CES 2020, the new specification promised two major benefits: the new LC3 codec to provide higher audio quality with the same battery life, and Broadcast Audio, enabling personal and location-based Audio Sharing. Now the Bluetooth SIG announced a new consumer brand for what was previously known as Audio Sharing, now as Auracast broadcast audio.