radino40 DW3000
Hardware
The radino40 DW3000 combines an nRF52840 microcontroller from Nordic Semiconductor with the DW3000 radio chip from Qorvo into the compact radino40 form factor. The Qorvo DW3000 component is an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) transceiver, fully IEEE802.15.4-2015 / 802.15.4z compliant, and offers an accuracy of up to 10 cm. The UWB data rate is up to 6.8 Mbps. It is designed for channels 5 and 9 of the UWB band and provides advanced features that make it suitable for use in the FiRa Standard.
The nRF52840, with its 32-bit ARM® Cortex®-M4 CPU with FPU, 64 MHz clock frequency, 1MB Flash, and 256 kB RAM, provides optimal computing performance and low-power functionality. In addition, it offers its own 2.4 GHz radio interface with numerous supported radio standards.
The radino40 DW3000 offers optimal integration of the UWB radio chip with minimal sleep current consumption (<2.3µA with RTC), making it the best choice for long-lasting, battery-powered RTLS systems.
Features:
- DW3000 UWB chip
- Interoperability with the Apple U1 chip (Beta evaluation)
- Supports UWB channels 5 (6.5 GHz) and 9 (8 GHz)
- Fully aligned with the FiRa™ PHY, MAC, and certification development
- Data rates: 110 kbps, 850 kbps, 6.8 Mbps
- nRF52840 from Nordic Semiconductor
- 32-bit ARM® Cortex®-M4 CPU with FPU, 64 MHz
- 1 Mbyte Flash, 256 kbyte RAM
- Dynamic multiprotocol transceiver:
- Bluetooth 5 / Bluetooth Low Energy
- IEEE 802.15.4/Thread
- ANT/ANT+
- Proprietary 2.4 GHz
- 4x4 channel PWM unit with EasyDMA
- 12-bit 200 ksps ADC
- 5x 32-bit timers with counter mode
- USB 2.0, I²C, QSPI, SPI, UART, NFC-A
- Quadrature decoder (QDEC)
- 3x RTC
- 37 GPIOs
- Sleep current <2.3µA
Applications
- perfect Module for FiRa Systems
- Ultra low power RTLS Systems
FiRa Smartphone Ranging Demo
Reference Android app: live DS-TWR ranging to three anchors, EKF-filtered 2D position (σ = 3 cm)
The radino40 DW3000 ships with a production-ready FiRa™ firmware that ranges directly with UWB-capable smartphones — no gateway, no pre-configuration.
Ready to try: the FiRa set contains three anchors with the radino40 DW3000 in a quad housing, plus charging case, charger and cable — see FiRa – positioning with a smartphone. The setup with carrier boards below is the route for your own development.
What you need
- 3× radino40 Spider RP-SMA (901.327E) fitted with a radino40 DW3000
- 3× UWB antenna 902.067C (channel 5+9)
- A UWB-capable phone: Android 12+ with FiRa-capable UWB chip (verified incl. current Samsung Galaxy models) or iPhone with U1/U2 chip
How it works
- Flash the FiRa firmware onto the anchors (USB bootloader, no debugger needed) and power them up — anchors carry no configuration and are fully interchangeable.
- The phone discovers the anchors over BLE and negotiates all FiRa session parameters (channel 9, DS-TWR, static STS) automatically.
- Secure UWB double-sided two-way ranging starts — distance to each anchor at 10 cm precision.
- With three anchors the reference app computes a live 2D position with EKF filtering (σ ≈ 3 cm in the setup shown).
Smartphone support
- iPhone: Apple Nearby Interaction (standard Qorvo NI BLE service); distance and — where the phone provides it — direction data
- Android: documented BLE session-setup protocol — reference app available for download below
Downloads & documentation
- Android reference app „UWB Positioning" (APK as ZIP, evaluation version) — unzip, install the APK on a UWB-capable phone (Android 12+, „install from unknown sources" must be allowed)
- Datasheet radino40 DW3000 (305000184A003) — software platform: see section “Software Deliverables”
- radino40 DW3000 SDK incl. FiRa firmware and demo projects: available from In-Circuit on request (sales@in-circuit.de)
Suitable application development boards
| Compatible ADB | ADB Image | Form Factor / Features | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| radino40 Spider RP-SMA |  | Breadboard adapter for all radino40 modules, RP-SMA socket. | Active |
| SpiderR40ESP32C3 |  | Carrier board with a second processor, ESP32-C3 (WiFi, Bluetooth LE). USB-C, RP-SMA socket, all connections of the module on solder pads, 2.54 mm pitch; 50.8 × 25.4 mm. Supplied with the radino40 soldered on. | Active |
Software
Pinout
