Laird has introduced a new Bluetooth 5 series that enables vital performance improvements with up to four times’ the range and twice the data throughput, opening up new product opportunities for industrial, medical, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Laird’s new BL654 Series builds upon its field-proven BL600 and BL652 series, reducing engineering burden and design risk, and speeding time-to-market when integrating Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), as well as Thread (802.15.4) and NFC capabilities into an OEM design.

In addition to the stand-out Bluetooth 5 features of enhanced data rates and LE Long Range, the BL654 also integrates BLE Mesh capabilities in a high TX power platform, providing innovative new application possibilities for low power, long-range mesh sensor networks.

Laird’s smartBASIC is a proven event driven programming language that makes integration easier for designers, especially those who may be new to Bluetooth wireless technology. The programming language offers built-in functions that replace thousands of lines of C code and allows designers to leverage Laird’s years of Bluetooth expertise. It also acts as a bridge between software and hardware, allowing an application to work on any smartBASIC radio.