Ublox XPLR-AOA-3 User manual

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XPLR-AOA-3
Evaluation kit for ANT-B10 antenna boards
User guide
0
0
3
Abstract
Comprising an ANT-B10 antenna board, EVB-ANT-1 development platform, and C209 tag, the
XPLR-AOA-3 explorer kit provides a complete Angle of Arrival anchor point –and all you need for
developing direction-finding and indoor positioning applications.
This document describes the operation and assembly of the kit components and explains the
procedures for loading the u-connectLocate, EVB host, and tag software. It also includes a Quick
start guide to get the XPLR-AOA-3 up and running as quickly as possible.

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Document information
Title
XPLR-AOA-3
Subtitle
Evaluation kit for ANT-B10 antenna boards
Document type
User guide
Document number
UBX-22006906
Revision and date
R03
30-Jan-2023
Disclosure restriction
C1-Public
This document applies to the following products:
Product name
Ordering code
XPLR-AOA-3
XPLR-AOA-3-00
u- -blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products, names, logos and designs included in this
document. Copying, reproduction, or modification of this document or any part thereof is only permitted with the express
written permission of u-blox. Disclosure to third parties is permitted for clearly public documents only.
The information contained herein is provided “as is”. No warranty of any kind, either express or implied, is made in relation to
the accuracy, reliability, fitness for a particular purpose or content of this document. This document may be revised by u-blox
at any time. For most recent documents, please visit www.u-blox.com.
Copyright © u-blox AG.

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Contents
Document information ......................................................................................................................2
Contents ..............................................................................................................................................3
1Quick start guide .........................................................................................................................5
2Product description.....................................................................................................................6
2.1 Kit includes ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Assembling the kit............................................................................................................................................. 7
3ANT-B10 ........................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Flashing ANT-B10 software............................................................................................................................ 9
3.1.1 General.......................................................................................................................................................... 9
3.1.2 Flashing using s-center ........................................................................................................................... 9
3.1.3 Flashing from the Command line .......................................................................................................10
3.2 ANT-B10 configuration and testing ...........................................................................................................11
3.3 Connecting to a PC...........................................................................................................................................12
3.3.1 Overview .....................................................................................................................................................12
3.3.2 Pin description for UART connection ................................................................................................13
3.3.3 Suggested accessories..........................................................................................................................14
4EVB-ANT-1................................................................................................................................. 15
4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................16
4.2 EVB-ANT-1 overview .......................................................................................................................................16
4.3 Main EVB-ANT-1 use cases ..........................................................................................................................16
4.3.1 Anchor point..............................................................................................................................................16
4.3.2 Custom antenna support ......................................................................................................................17
4.4 UART connections to board..........................................................................................................................19
4.5 EVB-ANT-1 software.......................................................................................................................................20
4.5.1 Default software ......................................................................................................................................20
4.5.2 Flashing ......................................................................................................................................................20
4.5.3 Configuration interface..........................................................................................................................20
4.6 Boot options.......................................................................................................................................................21
4.7 Powering options..............................................................................................................................................21
4.8 Mechanical specifications .............................................................................................................................22
5C209 tag ..................................................................................................................................... 23
5.1 Overview ..............................................................................................................................................................23
5.2 C209 Software and flashing .........................................................................................................................25
5.2.1 Installing tag software with the DFU bootloader using s-center..............................................25
5.2.2 Installing tag software on the command line with the DFU bootloader .................................26
5.2.3 Installing tag software using a debugger.........................................................................................26
5.3 Configuration and handling...........................................................................................................................27
5.3.1 Configuring advertising interval..........................................................................................................27
5.3.2 Enabling/disabling advertising............................................................................................................27
5.3.3 Restore Eddystone Instance ID...........................................................................................................28

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6u-connectLocate software...................................................................................................... 29
6.1 General information.........................................................................................................................................29
6.2 Configuration example....................................................................................................................................29
Appendix ........................................................................................................................................... 30
AGlossary ...................................................................................................................................... 30
BC209 schematics ...................................................................................................................... 31
CEVB-ANT-1 schematics........................................................................................................... 32
Related documentation.................................................................................................................. 44
Revision history ............................................................................................................................... 44
Contact.............................................................................................................................................. 44

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1Quick start guide
Install s-center evaluation software
s-center is a powerful and easy-to-use tool for evaluating, configuring, and testing u-blox short range
modules. Running on Windows 10 operating systems, the software allows end users to configure and
assess the performance of u-blox short range modules.
Use the following procedure to download and install the s-center software and documentation. The
software can be downloaded from the u-blox s-center product page and is available free of charge.
1. Download the latest s-center software to your computer.
2. Open the s-center setup installer to install the software.
3. Select Launch button in the installer or open the application from the Windows Start button.
Install the serial port drivers
EVB-ANT-1 includes a mounted FTDI chip that provides the serial port connectivity. The driver for the
UART is normally installed automatically when the board is connected to the internet. If the driver
does not start automatically, the driver files can be retrieved from the manufacturer’s web site at
https://ftdichip.com/.
Connect the ANT-B10 board
Connect the ANT-B10 board to the EVB-ANT-1 board. Physically align the boards and gently plug the
20-pin, male and female header connectors together. See also Assembling the kit.
Install u-connectLocate software on the ANT-B10
See Flashing ANT-B10 software.
Install host software on the EVB-ANT-1
See EVB-ANT-1 .
Install tag software
See C209 Software and flashing.
Test the system
See ANT-B10 configuration and testing for a description of setup and running of the system with the
ANT-B10 connected directly to the PC, or EVB-ANT-1 software for a description on how to send the
anchor events to a positioning engine over an ethernet or Wi-Fi network.

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2Product description
Comprising an ANT-B10 antenna board, EVB-ANT-1 development platform and C209 tag, the XPLR-
AOA-3 explorer kit provides a complete Angle of Arrival anchor point –and all you need for developing
direction-finding and indoor positioning applications.
The antenna board runs proprietary u-connectLocate software, while the development board runs an
open-source demonstration software that relays angle events from the antenna board. The C209 tag
runs example, open-source, tag software. All the cables and adapters that are necessary for
mechanically connecting the boards are also included in the kit.
An off-the-shelf, pin header on EVB-ANT-1 allows easy connection to ANT-B10 and a ready-to-use
AoA indoor positioning anchor point.
Figure 1 shows the main components of the LPR-AOA-3 kit including EVB-ANT-1 development
platform, ANT-B1 antenna board and C209 tag
Figure 1: XLPR-AOA-3 kit including EVB-ANT-1 (left), ANT-B1 antenna board (center) and C209 tag (right)
2.1 Kit includes
•EVB-ANT-1 board
•ANT-B10 antenna board (hosting the NINA-B411 Bluetooth Low Energy module)
•C209 tag (hosting the NINA-B406 Bluetooth Low Energy module)
•Mounting materials. For mounting instructions, see Assembling the kit.
oSingle plexiglass mounting panel
oFour 30 mm M3 standoffs
oFour 8 mm M3 standoffs
oFour M3x6 screws

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2.2 Assembling the kit
1. Connect to the ANT-B10 board to the EVB-ANT-1 board. Physically align the boards and gently
plug the 20-pin, male and female, header connectors together. Figure 2 shows the location of the
header connectors on each board.
Figure 2: Assembled XPLR-AOA-3 kit showing EVB-ANT-1 and ANT-1 headers
2. Using the supplied standoffs and screws, assemble the two PCBs to the plexiglass, as shown in
Figure 3. The assembly order of the components (see Kit includes) are as follows:
a. Plexiglass
b. M3 30 mm standoff
c. EVB-ANT-1 PCB (Connector side up)
d. M3 8mm standoff
e. ANT-B10 PCB with connector side down, fix connectors
f. M3x6 screw
Figure 3: ANT-B10 and EVB-ANT-1 with plexiglass enclosure
☞The plexiglass has a 3/8” UNC thread available in the middle of the panel. This can be used to
connect tripods or via an adapter set use ¼” camera clamps or tripods. It can also be used to
mount the anchor node to a wall or ceiling.

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3ANT-B10
ANT-B10 provides a versatile Bluetooth® direction finding board equipped with eight, dual-polarized,
patch antennas for direction finding, as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5.
Figure 4: ANT-B10 board –top view showing antennas, traces, and mounting holes
Figure 5: ANT-B10 - bottom view showing NINA-B411 module, switch, and header

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ANT-B10 board hosts a single NINA-B411-40B Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) module, which controls the
antennas and applies an angle calculation algorithm to the received signals to compute tag angles.
The angles are calculated by the u-connectLocate software running on the embedded Microcontroller
Unit (MCU) in the module. The angles are delivered over the UART port of the ANT-B10. Future u-
connectLocate software releases can also include support for USB and SPI interfaces.
For general information about Bluetooth direction finding, watch the u-blox webinars [2] and study
the Bluetooth SIG technical overview [3].
XPLR-AOA-3 contains the ANT-B10 board as well as an EVB-ANT-1 host board to facilitate
convenient testing.
☞For information about using the XPLR-AOA-3 kit for indoor positioning and the positioning engine
client software for Windows, see also the Bluetooth indoor positioning guide [21].
For more information about ANT-B10, see the ANT-B10 data sheet [1] and ANT-B10 system
integration manual [17].
3.1 Flashing ANT-B10 software
3.1.1 General
The u-connectLocate software is flashed using s-center or flashed directly on the command line.
To flash the software, the UART must be connected to the ANT-B10 board during the kit assembly
(see UART connections to board) or connected directly to a PC (see Connecting to a PC).
For software updates and further information about the software, see the u-connectLocate product
page [10] and u-connectLocate AT commands manual [18].
3.1.2 Flashing using s-center
ANT-B10 can be flashed over the UART using s-center [7].
☞Flashing over the UART requires s-center 6.1 or later.
Use the following procedure to flash ANT-B10 using s-center:
1. Download and unzip the u-connectLocate software container, as described in Command line
flashing.
2. Open s-center on the correct COM port.
3. Select Software Update.
4. In the “Software Update” dialog, select the binary file in the software container, as shown in
Figure 6. Make sure the flashing speed is set to 115200.
5. Press Update.

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Figure 6: Updating the software on the board using s-center
3.1.3 Flashing from the Command line
Use the following procedure to flash the board over the UART connection.
1. Download the u-connectLocate software container from the u-connectLocate product page [4].
2. Boot the board into Software Update mode by connecting the SWITCH_2 pin to ground while
powering up the board.
3. Flash the u-connectLocate software using the bundled (Windows only) newtmgr executable.
Alternatively, use the Newt Manager Guide [6] to install the newtmgr application tool for MAC OS,
Linux, and Windows.
4. Use Newt Manager to install u-connectLocate on the NINA-B411 module:
newtmgr --conntype=serial --connstring="COMXX,baud=115200" image upload <binary
image>
5. Press the reset button to reset the application board or reset it with newtmgr:
newtmgr --conntype=serial --connstring="COMXX,baud=115200" reset

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3.2 ANT-B10 configuration and testing
A green LED light indicates that the board is powered on.
Having connected the COM port, the board is ready to receive AT commands. For information about
the AT commands to use for configuring direction finding, see the u-connectLocate AT commands
manual [18].
s-center supports specific direction-finding AT commands in the AoA tab, as shown in Figure 7. The
COM port can also be configured as a terminal for use with AT commands.
Once the system is setup, each anchor reports angle calculation events (+UUDF) over the serial port
connection. ANT-B10 returns events similar to the following when it detects a beacon:
+UUDF:CCF9578E0D8A,-42,20,0,0,37,”CCF9578E0D89”,””,15869,23
+UUDF:CCF9578E0D8B,-41,10,4,0,38,”CCF9578E0D89”,””,15892,24
+UUDF:CCF9578E0D8A,-42,-10,2,0,39,”CCF9578E0D89”,””,15921,25
…
The data reported in these events can be used to estimate a position of the tracked beacon. The
parameters of the +UUDF event are (in order from left to right):
•Eddystone instance ID
•RSSI of 1st polarization
•Azimuth angle
•Elevation angle
•Reserved
•Detected advertising channel, that is, one of the normal Bluetooth Low Energy advertisement
channels (37, 38 or 39)
•Anchor ID as set by AT+UDFCFG tag 4.
•User defined strings as set by AT+UDFCFG tag 2.
•Timestamp
•Periodic advertising sequence number
For a detailed description of the +UUDF event parameters, see the u-connectLocate AT commands
manual [18].
In the angle calculation events shown above, the beacon is moving from one side of the anchor to the
other as the azimuth angle. Given as the third parameter in the command (shown in bold), the beacon
moves from a positive value (20) to a negative value (-10).
☞The optimal distance between anchor nodes and tags is approximately 2–15 m.

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Angle events can also be visualized in the s-center [7] using the “IoT > Angle of Arrival”tab, as shown
in Figure 7.
Figure 7: s-center with Angle of Arrival tab
3.3 Connecting to a PC
3.3.1 Overview
A host PC communicates with ANT-B10 over UART interface (TX, RX, CTS, RTS) through EVB-ANT-1.
The pin-headers connecting the two boards together is physically located in the center of the each
board. See also Assembling the kit.
To test ANT-B10 as a standalone unit independently of EVB-ANT-1, the host PC can also attach to
the UART interface through an expansion board fitted to the underside of the antenna board.

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Attaching a USB-to-TTL serial adapter to the expansion board with an adjoining cable harness allows
convenient access and control of the UART interface from the PC through the ANT-B10 header.
Figure 8 shows the USB adapter attached to ANT-B10 through the standard 1.27 mm pin header.
Figure 8: ANT-B10 with UART to USB serial converter
☞As ANT-B10 is powered by the USB-to-Serial Adapter there is no need for external power supply.
To connect ANT-B10 to the host PC:
1. Plug in the USB-to-Serial adapter
2. Open the Windows Device Manager to identify the COM port number of the board.
3. Use s-center [7] or your preferred terminal emulator to establish the serial connection to the COM
port.
4. Connect the COM port to the s-center tool [7] or the terminal emulator with the following port
settings:
•115200 kbps
•8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1)
•Flow control enabled using RTS/CTS
3.3.2 Pin description for UART connection
Using the cable harness, connect the following pins from the ANT-B10 header to USB-to-Serial
adapter:
•UART_TXD (pin 16)
•UART_RXD (pin 18)
•UART_CTS (pin 14) –optional for UART flow control
•UART_RTS (pin 12) –optional for UART flow control
•GND (pin 15 or 17)
•+3V3 (pin 2)
☞If flow control is not used the UART_CTS pin is internally pulled down, but it is good practice to
connect UART_CTS to GND.

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Figure 9 shows the pin positions on the ANT-B10 connector.
Figure 9: ANT-B10 connector pin assignment (top view)
3.3.3 Suggested accessories
Figure 10 shows (from left to right) the components needed to connect ANT-B10 to the host PC.
•USB adapter cable with male USB Type-A connector to male mini-B connector
•FTDI FT232RL USB-to-TTL Serial Converter Adapter Module 5 V and 3.3 V for Arduino
•Female-to-female jumper set
•Dual-row, 1.27 mm pitch, 20-pin, female adapter (to avoid pin damage on the ANT-B10 board)
Figure 10: Components required for PC connection

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4EVB-ANT-1
The EVB-ANT-1 application board offers developers a quick and easy way to evaluate the ANT-B10
and ANT-B11 antenna boards. It features the NXP RT1061 Microcontroller Unit (MCU) for configuring
and developing direction finding applications, as well as an Ethernet PHY chip and u-blox MAYA-W1
Wi-Fi module.
Figure 11 shows the modules, jumpers, and connectors on the board that are referenced throughout
this document.
J7:
Custom antenna header
SW3:
Boot options (Internal boot/serial downloader)
SW2:
Manual button (NINA_SWITCH1)
J13:
USB type C
SW4:
Manual button (NINA_SWITCH2):
J15:
USB type C
SW1:
Manual button (NINA_RESET)
J6:
Barrel jack power connector (auxiliary jack, DC 9-57V)
J11:
Select NINA UART on-board EVB (remove)
T1:
RJ45 Ethernet connector (PoE)
J12:
Select NINA UART on ANT-B1 host (remove)
Figure 11: EVB-ANT-1 board showing mounted plexiglass base enclosure, modules, jumpers, and connectors

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4.1 Introduction
EVB-ANT-1 is a versatile application board for evaluating a system setup, using the ANT-B10 board,
or other antenna boards. The board can be used as:
•an anchor point passing raw or processed angle events from the antenna board to a server
•a positioning engine server
•a preprocessor applying filtering or other reformatting of the angle events from the antenna board
before passing them on to the network
•a host board for evaluating other antenna boards
EVB-ANT-1 has a connector and mechanical dimensions that make it suitable for mounting an
ANT-Bxx board. The board is protected with an enclosed plexiglass, as shown in Figure 2.
4.2 EVB-ANT-1 overview
Figure 12 EVB-ANT-1 block diagram
The main components of the EVB-ANT-1 include:
•MAYA-W1 Wi-Fi module for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
•Arm-Cortex M7 MCU (NXP MIMXRT1060 family)
•Ethernet controller for ethernet connectivity
•Power over Ethernet (PoE) controller for powering the board using an Ethernet cable
•NINA-B411-40B Bluetooth module running u-connectLocate software for evaluating external
antenna boards
•Quad UART-to-USB converter providing access to the serial interfaces of the MCU, ANT-B10, and
the onboard NINA-B4 module
4.3 Main EVB-ANT-1 use cases
4.3.1 Anchor point
In this use case, the EVB-ANT-1 primarily supports ANT-Bxx antenna boards and routes direction
finding data to a position engine. For this purpose, the microcontroller must communicate with the
ANT-Bxx antenna board Bluetooth module using UART (or SPI) through the ANT-Bxx connector.
Ethernet
MCU
SDIO
MAYA-W1
UART
UART
SPI
GPIO
NINA-B4
GPIO
RF
UART
SPI
GPIO
FTDI
USB
UART
USB
ANT-Bxx
connector
Custom
antenna
board
FTDI USB
connector
ANT-Bxx
USB
connector
Ethernet
connector
(PoE+)
Power
controller
DC power
connector
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
EVB-ANT-1

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Direction finding data is then forwarded through the chosen communication interface –either
Ethernet or Wi-Fi using the MAYA-W1 module.
The highlighted areas in Figure 13 show the EVB-ANT-1 components involved in this use case.
Figure 13: EVB-ANT-1 components involved in the anchor point use case
4.3.2 Custom antenna support
EVB-ANT-1 also supports custom antenna boards that contain an antenna array and an RF switch.
To support the use case, an onboard NINA-B411 Bluetooth module can connect to a custom antenna
board through a 2.54 mm pitch connector. The module includes the power, the RF switch control
signals, and the U.FL connector for the RF signals. The MCU connects to the onboard NINA-B411
through the UART or SPI (pending software support), and GPIOs. Direction finding data can be
communicated to a host through the chosen communication interface –either Ethernet or Wi-Fi using
the MAYA-W1 module .
Ethernet
MCU
SDIO
MAYA-W1
UART
UART
SPI
GPIO
NINA-B4
GPIO
RF
UART
SPI
GPIO
FTDI
USB
UART
USB
ANT-Bxx
connector
Custom
antenna
board
FTDI USB
connector
ANT-Bxx
USB
connector
Ethernet
connector
(PoE+)
Power
controller
DC power
connector
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
EVB-ANT-1

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The highlighted areas in Figure 14 show the EVB-ANT-1 components involved in this use case.
Figure 14: EVB-ANT-1 components involved in antenna evaluation
High speed GPIOs from the onboard NINA-B411 module are broken out to a 20 pin (2x10), 2.54 mm
pitch header along with 5 V and 3.3 V power supplies. These GPIOs can be used to drive RF switches
that facilitate custom switching of the antenna array. The connector pinout is shown in Figure 15.
Table 1 shows the available signals on the antenna header. These signals are the same as those used
on the NINA-B411 hosted on ANT-Bxx antenna board. Access to these pins from the header pin make
it easier to test custom antenna boards.
NINA-B4 pin
Pin name
Header pin
Note
IO 47
SWITCH_D0
4
High speed GPIO
IO 48
SWITCH_D1
8
IO 49
SWITCH_D2
12
IO 50
SWITCH_D3
16
IO 51
SWITCH_D4
18
IO 52
SWITCH_EN
12
IO 44
GPIO1
3
General purpose I/O
IO 46
GPIO2
7
General purpose I/O
IO 45
GPIO3
11
General purpose I/O
Table 1: Pins on the NINA-B411 connected to the custom antenna header
The RF signal can be connected to the antenna board through the onboard NINA-B4 U.FL connector,
with control signals as shown in Figure 15.
Ethernet
MCU
SDIO
MAYA-W1
UART
UART
SPI
GPIO
NINA-B4
GPIO
RF
UART
SPI
GPIO
FTDI
USB
UART
USB
ANT-Bxx
connector
Custom
Antenna
Board
FTDI USB
connector
ANT-Bxx
USB
connector
Ethernet
connector
(PoE+)
Power
controller
DC Power
connector
WiFi
Bluetooth
EVB-ANT-1

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Figure 15: NINA-B4 connector to custom antenna board
4.4 UART connections to board
EVB-ANT-1 supports a quad-channel UART interface that connects to:
•MCU
•NINA-B411 module hosted on the ANT-Bxx
•onboard NINA-B411 module hosted on EVK-ANT-B1
Figure 16: UART connections over USB

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The UART connections on the ANT-Bxx and onboard NINA-B411 are connected to the MCU by default.
It is possible to connect directly from the USB connector to either:
•NINA-B411 hosted on the ANT-Bxx board (with jumper J12 removed)
•onboard NINA-B411 (with jumper J11 removed)
The connection options make it possible to perform software updates or configuration through the
UART interface. For jumper locations, see Figure 11.
4.5 EVB-ANT-1 software
4.5.1 Default software
The board comes flashed with example software that implements the Anchor point use case.
The software is developed using NXP’s MCUXpresso Software and Tools and is available as an open-
source resource from the dedicated GitHub repository [19].
Follow the README file in the GitHub repository for further instructions.
4.5.2 Flashing
EVB-ANT-1 is normally flashed over the JTAG interface on the board. A debugger and a cable for the
19-pin JTAG interface is needed.
The code is stored on a NOR flash connected to the MCU.
It is also possible to use the Serial downloader over USB. This is done by changing the boot
configuration to start up in Serial downloader mode, see Boot options.
4.5.3 Configuration interface
The default software on the EVB-ANT-1 enables the Anchor point. The network parameters can be
configured by using the web interface available on port 80 of each device, as shown in Figure 17.
Figure 17: EVB-ANT-1 default software configuration interface with Ethernet network configuration