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IEEE 802.15.4

I’m looking to use IEEE 802.15.4 to connect a multitude of devices together and store the data in a computer/server and allow for smartphone configuration and viewing of real time data of said devices.

Currently working with NXP micro and looking to possibly switching to STM32 micros.

Is it better to use an SoC or just a transceiver? If I wanted to connect to an iOS/Android device I would need a transceiver capable of doing both BLE and IEEE 802.15.4 correct?

Has anyone here implemented IEEE 802.15.4 and if so what specification did you use and why? ZigBee, Thread, 6LoWPAN, etc.

Re: IEEE 802.15.4

Hello,

Hope you are doing well. For 802.15.4 applications you can check our Thread and Zigbee products.

SoC vs. Transceiver

For a multi-device network where you want to minimize BOM cost and board space, an SoC (System-on-Chip) is generally the better choice. NXP offers integrated wireless MCUs that combine the application processor and the 802.15.4 radio in a single chip, removing the need for a separate host MCU + transceiver combination. A standalone transceiver makes more sense if you already have a host MCU and only need to add radio capability to it.

Connecting to iOS/Android

Yes, you are correct, to communicate directly with a smartphone over BLE while also running an 802.15.4 network, you need a chip that supports both radios simultaneously.

NXP has several multi-protocol SoCs that do exactly this:

• MCX W72: Supports OpenThread, Zigbee, and Bluetooth LE 6.0 on a single Cortex-M33 chip.
• RW612: Tri-radio: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth LE 5.3, and IEEE 802.15.4, ideal if you also need Wi-Fi for the server/cloud gateway side.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Ricardo