Can I get an APK for an Android App to support the NTAG 5 Development Kits?

[SimonInCanada]

I want to run the examples available for the N-TAG 5 Boost Eval Board and I also have two FRDM-KW41Z boards, and the MCUExpresso software installed. The web page for the NTAG 5 Development kit says to download an Android App which is contained in the archive SW5870.zip, and to compile and load it to my Android phone.

I have an up to date copy of Android Studio (I just did a full reinstall) and I've had to use Android Studio before to compile fellow-developers' and manufacturers' demos and download them to Android phones, so I am familiar with it up to that point. But I can't get it to compile and download the software (the source of which is is in SW5870.zip). I've tried the usual things like adjusting the SDK levels, making sure the SDKs etc are on the PC, but the problems are legion and several hours googling and trying the suggestions in the Android Studio IDE seem to have made it worse.

I only specialise in embedded development and I'm really only interested in running the demo Android Apps to evaluate the NTAG 5 Boost (especially the Download/Change of a Tag, and the Pass-through mode, which is all the embedded system actually needs). Please, is there either (1) an APK for the Android software that goes with the NTAG 5 Development Kit, and is contained in SW5870.zip - it just doesn't name this app on the web site), or (2) Some other easy way that I can evaluate those features with an eye to porting the embedded code over to our target system, or (3) something more substantial in the way of instructions to be able to get the currently available version of Android Studio to compile the project in SW5870.zip)?

Thanks in advance, Simon

[estephania_mart]

Hello, 

I'm sorry that you are experiencing issues with the software application.

If your main interest is to evaluate the NTAG 5 I would recommend you use the other available tools, we have for the NTAG 5 that are less complex

The development board can be configured through an NFC Reader or a Master I2C MCU using a special version of NFC Cockpit. Please take a look at the following documents:

• NTAG 5 I2C Cockpit application
• NTAG 5 NFC Cockpit application

By correctly configuring the registers, according to section 3 of the NTAG 5 - Use of PWM, GPIO and event detection Application note (AN11203), you should be able to detect the state changes through both NTAG 5 Cockpit Tools.

Regards,

[SimonInCanada]

Thank you for your reply. In addition to the two FRDM-KW41Z boards that I bought recently at a cost of CA$230+ specifically to run the examples detailed on the NTAG 5 Development Kits web page, I already happened to have a LPC11U37H and an OM2NTA5332 NTAG 5 Boost board and have previously used the Cockpit software to browse the settings of the NTA5332A registers, and I set it up again and it is working. I have also read through all three of the documents you mentioned.

I hope I am not being dense (and I do also have one of the development kit boards specified in the NTAG 5 NFC Cockpit Application), but I don't see how exactly being able to run either version of the Cockpit software gives me a demonstration of the two features that I am most interested in evaluating, which I will list again here:

1) Set a random url or message from the MCU firmware into the NTA5332 and view it via NFC on the screen of an Android mobile phone.

2) Download and upload data to and from the Android mobile phone and transfer that data to/from the MCU's RAM.

These are the two features that my customer's device needs to have. The (unnamed) demonstration software that I have been unable to get to compile in Android Studio is supposed to provide these features. If it has ever worked, surely you must have an APK for it?Or can you describe to me what steps I have to take to evaluate these features using the demonstration kits that I have bought?

Kind regards, Simon

[Fabian_R]

Hello sir,

Thank you very much for your interest in using NTAG 5 for your project.

In case you do have the LPC11U37H please take a look at: SW6090 from NTAG 5 development kits | NXP Semiconductors

In this software bundle, you will be able to use of API for using the NTAG depending on your needs.

Regarding the first goal of your list, my recommendation would be to keep the application simple.  You can use the API for RTOS implementations with the NTAG 5 or, in case you are only interested in building the NDEF message and, send it to the NTAG 5 to be read by any Smartphone. It is required to build your full message according to the NFC Forum specifications and, so write this message in the required memory of the NTAG 5. You are welcome to use NXP's TagWriter app for testing.

For your second application I believe is a requirement to relay on the use of our API for configuring the pertinent registers. In order to implement a pass-through application it is completely needed to check the pertinent application note: https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/application-note/AN12364.pdf

Regarding an APK or a project that show this implementation, unfortunately we don't. These are with the use of TapLinx SDK and, ISO15693 commands. But there isn't any other support software for NTAG 5 in Android or iOS beyond SW5870 and SW6133.