Nordic Semiconductor has become the first company to bring Bluetooth Channel Sounding to an open-source Android app, marking a significant step in the rollout of the new Bluetooth LE feature that enables highly accurate distance measurements between devices.
The Norwegian chipmaker said its nRF Toolbox app, available on the Google Play Store, now supports Channel Sounding and works with its latest nRF54L Series system-on-chips (SoCs). The combination allows developers to test Bluetooth Channel Sounding on devices such as Google’s Pixel 10 smartphone, which includes built-in support for the technology.
In a public demonstration, Nordic showed end-to-end interoperability between Android’s native Channel Sounding APIs and algorithms, and its own Bluetooth stack and hardware. Using an nRF54L15 Development Kit as a reflector, the system achieved distance accuracy of around ±1 metre at ranges up to 20 metres.
The company said the feature will enable new use cases in distance ranging, indoor positioning, and presence detection — including asset tracking, medical equipment management, and location-based customer experiences in retail and cultural venues.
“Bluetooth Channel Sounding is one of the biggest enhancements to Bluetooth LE, and Nordic is proud to lead its adoption,” said Petter Myhre, Product Marketing Director at Nordic Semiconductor. “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.”
Nordic played a central role in developing the Channel Sounding standard within the Bluetooth SIG. The company, which has shipped billions of Bluetooth LE SoCs, said it sees the technology as a natural extension of its expertise in low-power wireless connectivity and interoperability with smartphones.
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