Nordic Semiconductor has introduced a battery-powered, dual-antenna tag to enable rapid prototyping of low-power wireless IoT tracking devices, with support for Bluetooth Channel Sounding, edge AI and Matter.

The nRF54L15 tag is a compact prototyping platform that helps developers quickly build proofs of concept for low-power wireless products, including asset tags, Bluetooth trackers, and devices compatible with Apple Find My and Google Find Hub. It provides a single, ready-to-use option for prototyping accurate tracking, edge AI and Matter-enabled applications while reducing power consumption, design complexity and time to market.

Built around Norwegian firm Nordic’s nRF54L15 system-on-chip (SoC), the tag leverages 2.4GHz radio and processing performance of the nRF54L series to deliver low power consumption and efficient operation. Its on-board dual antennas improve robustness for distance measurement using Bluetooth Channel Sounding, while integrated sensors expand its suitability for edge AI and Matter prototyping.

Powered by a CR2032 coin-cell battery, the tag is optimised for low-power operation. A low-power accelerometer enables motion-triggered wake-up, keeping the system in deep sleep when inactive and extending battery life without compromising responsiveness.

“Crowdsourced finding networks like Apple Find My and Google Find Hub have become a core feature in asset tags, Bluetooth trackers and a growing range of consumer IoT products,” said Petter Myhre, product marketing director at Nordic (www.nordicsemi.com). “The nRF54L15 tag is designed to accelerate the prototyping phase for developers building with these technologies. It is the hardware counterpart to Nordic’s existing SDK support for Apple Find My and Google Find Hub.”

The tag reduces development time for low-power IoT devices by combining connectivity, sensing and processing in a compact, easy-to-use platform. It supports development for Apple Find My and Google Find Hub networks, both crowdsourced location-finding ecosystems that use Bluetooth Low Energy and nearby smartphones to detect and report the location of tagged devices without GPS. Nordic enables this through its low-power SoCs and the nRF Connect SDK, which includes ready-to-use samples for building compatible locator tags targeting both ecosystems.

Optimised for battery-powered asset tracking, the platform delivers a long battery life, a small form factor and precise distance awareness. Its integrated six-axis IMU also enables edge AI use cases such as gesture recognition and anomaly detection, while memory resources support designs that include devices that simultaneously support Apple Find My and Google Find Hub networks.  

Bluetooth Channel Sounding further enhances distance awareness by enabling accurate and secure proximity measurements for more precise item finding and tracking.

The tag fits into Nordic’s broader Bluetooth Channel Sounding portfolio as an easy-to-use platform for exploring distance-aware wireless applications based on Bluetooth 6.0. Built on the nRF54L series, it brings Nordic’s latest Channel Sounding-capable radio technology into a compact, battery-powered form factor, helping developers evaluate accurate and secure ranging in real-world scenarios.

The tag is supported by the nRF Connect SDK, qualified protocol stacks and ready-to-use samples, alongside tools for testing and application development. This combination of hardware, software and ecosystem support lets developers seamlessly move from prototyping to scalable product designs using Bluetooth Channel Sounding.

The tag supports rapid prototyping of Matter-enabled smart home products. Its integrated environmental sensor measures air pressure, humidity, temperature and gas – including CO₂ levels – making the platform compatible with applications such as a Matter weather station. Combined with built-in Matter-over-Thread support, the tag provides a complete hardware foundation for smart home proofs of concept.

The tag’s 33mm diameter makes it suitable for prototyping small wireless IoT products, including tags, trackers, remote controls and smart wearables. In addition to Bluetooth LE and Channel Sounding, the platform supports Matter over Thread, Zigbee, Bluetooth Mesh, Amazon Sidewalk and 2.4GHz proprietary protocols, with data rates up to 4Mbit/s for low-latency applications. 

The tag (www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-hardware/nRF54L15-Tag) ships with pre-programmed firmware, documentation, hardware schematics, bill of materials, and Gerber and layout files. Developers can programme and debug the tag by connecting it to the debug-out port of any nRF54L series development kit, while over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates are also supported. Exposed GPIO pins allow designs to be expanded with additional sensors, buttons or LEDs.