Nordic Semiconductor ASA has demonstrated the world's first Bluetooth low energy smart navigation remote for the latest connected TVs and set-top boxes. The nRFready μBlue™ Smart Remote reference design is set to be a game changer for the remote control of connected TVs and set-top boxes by combining Bluetooth low energy ultra-low power wireless connectivity and interoperability with advanced navigation features such as a multi-touch TouchPad™, motion control, and a QWERTY keyboard.

"We see a revolution happening in the TV and set-top box space with the roll-out of content-on-demand, on-line gaming, social media, and other interactive digital features," commented Geir Langeland, Sales and Marketing Director at Nordic Semiconductor. "This means that the remote control is also changing because traditional one-button-one-operation IR simply cannot cope with the demands of web-like content browsing, navigation, and interaction."

He continued, "The only viable remote control technology alternative is RF which can support all of these demands and advanced features while providing a good end-user experience at a pricing level that supports mass-market consumer adoption. With the nRFready µBlue Smart Remote, Nordic Semiconductor is making it extremely easy for connected TV and set-top box manufacturers to create such remotes by delivering a complete hardware and software reference design."

The nRFready µBlue Smart Remote will be provided as a simple upgrade to Nordic's existing (proprietary) 2.4 GHz RF Smart Remote. The reference design features a multi-touch enabled TouchPad™ from Synaptics, a miniaturized QWERTY keyboard, a six-axis motion sensing solution from Invensense, and an ultra-low power accelerometer from ST Microelectronics. Based on the new HID profile for Bluetooth low energy, the remote will provide seamless interoperability with a range of Bluetooth v4.0-enabled (or Bluetooth Smart Ready) host platforms including TVs, set-top boxes, smartphones, and computers.