Bluetooth Low Energy Heart-rate Belt Work with Bluetooth v.4.0-enabled Smartphones

Ultra low power (ULP) RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor ASA is powering Dayton Industrial Co. Ltd's Bluetooth low energy heart-rate chest belt. Based on Nordic's µBlue nRF8001 chip, the heart rate chest belt, which is ready to go into volume production now, is expected to spur the development of brand new Bluetooth low energy smartphone-based health and fitness monitoring apps and motivational social media data sharing

This product will mean anyone that owns a smartphone with the latest version 4.0 of Bluetooth (that includes Bluetooth low energy as a hallmark feature) will be able to set-up and use a wireless heart-rate (HR) belt within seconds and so spur the development of a whole new range of Bluetooth low energy-based health and fitness apps that could include new ways of collecting, interpreting, and displaying HR training data – including motivational social media-based data and progress sharing.

The nRF8001's class-leading ULP performance and size will enable the Dayton Bluetooth low energy heart-rate belt to run for up to 1.5 years from a CR2032 coin cell under typical usage conditions (1-hour per day) while featuring an extremely slim (1.1cm-thick) and compact (3.8x6.5cm) plastic sensor housing that supports a soft fabric finished belt product weighing just 46g (less than the weight of two AA batteries).

Hong Kong-headquartered Dayton Industrial is a developer and manufacturer for top consumer brands of ultra low power wireless sports and fitness monitors and associated products such as watches and bike computers. Indeed, over half the ULP heart-rate belts shipped globally last year were manufactured by Dayton (as measured by sales revenue).

"This is not only the first Bluetooth low energy product Dayton Industrial has developed but also the slimmest wireless heart-rate belt we have ever produced," comments Johnson Chan, Product Engineering Manager at Dayton. "We have partnered with Nordic Semiconductor for many years and will continue to do so as we roll out further brand new Bluetooth low energy sports & fitness product platforms in the future."

"Heart rate monitors are one of the first and most sought after use cases for Bluetooth low energy," comments Geir Langeland, Nordic Semiconductor's Director of Sales & Marketing. "This Dayton product platform will now sit alongside established ANT+ interoperable HR belt products and other non-interoperable proprietary alternatives, and give consumers an even wider choice when it comes to monitoring their heart rate and so support an even more vibrant HR monitoring market with solutions for everyone."

Nordic Semiconductor