Nordic Semiconductor becomes the first to make Bluetooth Channel Sounding accessible via an open source Android app.
Nordic Semiconductor has announced an industry first, bringing Bluetooth Channel Sounding support to an open source Android app. Available through the nRF Toolbox app, the release marks a major milestone in Bluetooth innovation, giving developers direct access to evaluate, test, and build smartphone-connected products using Nordic’s nRF54L Series SoCs and Bluetooth Channel Sounding technology.
The open source nRF Toolbox app completes Nordic’s end-to-end Bluetooth Channel Sounding ecosystem, enabling the developer community to explore advanced ranging and positioning features previously confined to proprietary systems.
A public demonstration highlights full interoperability between Android’s built-in Bluetooth Channel Sounding API and Nordic’s hardware and Bluetooth stack, using a Google Pixel 10 smartphone and an nRF54L15 Development Kit as a Channel Sounding reflector. The demo achieves distance estimation accuracy of ±1 m up to 20 m, paving the way for precise indoor positioning, presence detection, and distance-ranging applications.
Developers can now design dedicated Bluetooth LE tags for use cases such as tracking medical equipment in hospitals, locating employees in industrial environments, or enhancing visitor experience in museums and retail spaces. All nRF54L Series SoCs support Channel Sounding reflector capabilities, with example code available in the nRF Connect SDK.
“Bluetooth Channel Sounding is one of the biggest enhancements to Bluetooth LE, and Nordic is proud to lead its adoption. By combining the nRF54L Series with our new open source Android app, we provide developers with the tools they need to explore, evaluate, and build innovative smartphone-connected products,” said Petter Myhre, Product Marketing Director at Nordic Semiconductor.
The demo will be showcased at Embedded World North America (November 4–6), and the open source nRF Toolbox app is available now on the Google Play Store.
