Büchi BLE-Dongle
Büchi BLE-Dongle
Büchi BLE dongle – Compatible. Mobile. Future-proof.
The BUCHI Bluetooth® dongle (also called BLE dongle) is used to wirelessly connect laboratory equipment – especially Rotavapor® systems – to smartphones, tablets and the BUCHI Cloud.
Arendi handled the complete development of all hardware and software components – from feasibility analysis to industrialization. In addition to hardware and firmware development based on the Nordic nRF52832 and the company's proprietary COS operating system, they also provided antenna design, testing equipment for manufacturing, support for type approval, and .NET MAUI communication libraries for app integration.
"Arendi has demonstrated efficiency, pragmatism, and professionalism in the collaboration."
Matthias Wagner
Head of Electronics Development at Büchi
"Arendi has demonstrated efficiency, pragmatism, and professionalism in the collaboration."
Matthias Wagner
Head of Electronics Development at Büchi
Initial situation, goals & challenges
The starting point for the project was to find a wireless solution for transmitting measurement data from existing devices with a bus-based RS485 interface via Bluetooth LE – without modifying the existing protocol to ensure full backward compatibility. This required a comprehensive technical implementation without altering the protocol itself.
The dongle form factor and its associated positioning behind the laboratory equipment necessitated a custom antenna design optimized for radiation efficiency to achieve maximum wireless performance.
The goal was to develop the complete product from concept to a fully industrialized and certified end device.
Project results & customer benefits
The project resulted in the successful development of an industrial-grade Bluetooth LE/RS485 dongle that wirelessly and backward-compatiblely integrates existing laboratory equipment into modern IT environments. The customer benefits from a future-proof interface solution that enables mobile applications and cloud synchronization – without requiring any modifications to the existing protocol. An additional advantage: The customer did not need to develop its own wireless expertise or allocate internal resources for the actual dongle development.
Implemented solution
A preliminary project by Arendi AG confirmed the successful implementation of the RS485 interface on the Nordic nRF52832 chip – the basis for the entire product development. The antenna design was created using Sonnet 3D EM simulation. Arendi developed the radio test and measurement equipment for manufacturing and provided support for type approval and industrialization. .NET MAUI-based communication libraries were developed and provided for app integration.
- Nordic nRF52832 Single-Chip Solution
- Electronics development with Altium Designer
- PCB antenna with Sonnet 3D EM simulation software
- RTOS Arendi COS
- Firmware updates (FOTA)
- .NET MAUI communication library for Windows and Android
Competencies
- Bootloader
- Communication stacks & protocols
- Display drivers
- Firmware architecture
- Firmware update over the air (FOTA)
- Hardware interfaces and drivers
- Lean embedded firmware
- RTOS and cooperative schedulers
- Small to medium-sized uP systems
- RF design
- Software design in C
- Software design in C#
- Wireless technologies
- IoT short range
Competence areas
- Embedded systems & firmware
- Hardware & design
- Software & architecture
- Wireless, IoT & cloud
Technologies
- Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
- .NET MAUI for mobile
- COS
Services
- Requirements management
- Product development
- Industrialization
Industry
Laboratory & measurement technology
Customer
BÜCHI Labortechnik AG
Competencies
- Bootloader
- Communication stacks & protocols
- Display drivers
- Firmware architecture
- Firmware update over the air (FOTA)
- Hardware interfaces and drivers
- Lean embedded firmware
- RTOS and cooperative schedulers
- Small to medium-sized uP systems
- RF design
- Software design in C
- Software design in C#
- Wireless technologies
- IoT short range
Competence areas
- Embedded systems & firmware
- Hardware & design
- Software & architecture
- Wireless, IoT & cloud
Technologies
- Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
- .NET MAUI for mobile
- COS
Services
- Requirements management
- Product development
- Industrialization
Industry
Laboratory & measurement technology
Customer
BÜCHI Labortechnik AG
Competencies
- Bootloader
- Communication stacks & protocols
- Display drivers
- Firmware architecture
- Firmware update over the air (FOTA)
- Hardware interfaces and drivers
- Lean embedded firmware
- RTOS and cooperative schedulers
- Small to medium-sized uP systems
- RF design
- Software design in C
- Software design in C#
- Wireless technologies
- IoT short range
Competence areas
- Embedded systems & firmware
- Hardware & design
- Software & architecture
- Wireless, IoT & cloud
Technologies
- Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
- .NET MAUI for mobile
- COS
Services
- Requirements management
- Product development
- Industrialization
Industry
Laboratory & measurement technology
Customer
BÜCHI Labortechnik AG