bluetooth_rfid_notify

Bluetooth - RFID Notify

Overview

This example is intended to demonstrate the capability to scan an RFID card and send a notification to a client device using the BLE stack on Silicon Laboratories development kits. A peer device can connect and receive notifications when a 125 kHz card is scanned.

This example is also the foundation for developing automatic door lock systems, automatic car parks, and so on. The system will use BLE for wireless communication between the Silicon Labs board and the EFR connect mobile application.

Gecko SDK version

• GSDK v4.4.0

Hardware Required

• EFR32xG24-EK2703A Explorer Kit Board

• ID-12LA SparkFun RFID Reader

• 125kHz RFID Card

NOTE: Tested boards for working with this example:

Board ID	Description
BRD2703A	EFR32xG24 Explorer Kit - XG24-EK2703A
BRD2601B	EFR32xG24 Dev Kit - XG24-DK2601B
BRD4314A	BGM220 Bluetooth Module Explorer Kit - BGM220-EK4314A
BRD4108A	BG22 Bluetooth SoC Explorer Kit - BG22-EK4108A
BRD2704A	SparkFun Thing Plus Matter - MGM240P

Connections Required

The following picture shows the system view of how it works.

The I2C connection is made from the Silicon Labs's Kit to the SparkFun RFID Reader board by using the qwiic cable.

Setup

To test this application, you can either create a project based on an example project or start with a "Bluetooth - SoC Empty" project based on your hardware.

Create a project based on an example project

1. From the Launcher Home, add your hardware to My Products, click on it, and click on the EXAMPLE PROJECTS & DEMOS tab. Find the example project with the filter "rfid notify".

2. Click Create button on the Bluetooth - RFID Notify example. Example project creation dialog pops up -> click Create and Finish and Project should be generated.

3. Build and flash this example to the board.

Start with a "Bluetooth - SoC Empty" project

1. Create a Bluetooth - SoC Empty project for your hardware using Simplicity Studio 5.

2. Copy all attached files in inc and src folders into the project root folder (overwriting existing).

3. Import the GATT configuration:

   • Open the .slcp file in the project.

   • Select the CONFIGURATION TOOLS tab and open the Bluetooth GATT Configurator.

   • Find the Import button and import the configuration bluetooth_rfid_notify/config/btconfig/gatt_configuration.btconf file.

   • Save the GATT configuration (ctrl-s).

4. Open the .slcp file. Select the SOFTWARE COMPONENTS tab and install the software components:

   • [Services] → [IO Stream] → [IO Stream: USART] → default instance name: vcom

   • [Application] → [Utility] → [Log]

   • [Third Party Hardware Drivers] → [Wireless Connectivity] → [ID-12LA - RFID Reader (Sparkfun) - I2C]

5. Build and flash the project to your device.

Note:

• Make sure that the Third Party Hardware Drivers Extension already be installed and this repository is added to Preferences > Simplicity Studio > External Repos.

• Do not forget to flash a bootloader to your board, see Bootloader for more information.

How It Works

GATT Database

The application is based on the Bluetooth - SoC Empty example. Since the example already has the Bluetooth GATT server, advertising, and connection mechanisms, only minor changes are required.

Advertisement Packet Device name: RFID Notify

GATT Database

• Device name: RFID Notify
• [Service] RFID Notify
  • [Char] RFID Card
    • [N] Notify card's UID.

Testing

Since the Bluetooth SIG has not defined a Service or Characteristic for RFID cards we will be creating a new custom service with UUID 97088d85-3d52-46c0-af4d-8afe385b0f00 and a custom characteristic with UUID 5d6e3d9f-aac5-48cb-ae46-c99aaa2a5911. The custom characteristic has read and indicate properties and we assign an id of card_uid so that we can reference it in our application. The card_uid characteristic is 6 bytes which will contain the UID of the last card scanned.

When a card is scanned, the application will notify all connected devices, with the notification enabled, of the updated card_uid value.

You can use a smartphone app, such as the EFR Connect application on your phone, to connect to the board. Please, follow some steps below:

• Open the EFR Connect app.

• Open the Bluetooth Browser.

• Find the device advertising as RFID Notify.

• Click on Connect button.

When the device is connected, you have to find the RFID Notify service, then RFID Card and enable "Notify" for this characteristic as in the following picture:

After finishing all the steps above, you can tap an RFID card on the reader module and observe the value change. The Hex value represents the card's UID.

You can launch Console that's integrated into Simplicity Studio or use a third-party terminal tool like TeraTerm to receive the data from the USB. A screenshot of the console output is shown in the figure below.