Nordic-powered electric bike controller displays and transmits riding metrics

The Xion E-Bike HMI System employs Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840 SoC to send riding data to the user’s smartphone using Bluetooth LE connectivity

Taiwan-based company Foxconn Interconnect Technology has launched an electric bike (e-bike) computer that combines a traditional bike display with a controller, allowing the rider to both view riding metrics and shift between assistance levels, including a ‘walking mode’ for when the bicycle is being pushed.

Compact, powerful design

The ‘Xion E-Bike HMI System’ is designed to be mounted on the handlebars of the e-bike, and includes a compact design, at only 74.3 by 46 by 14 mm. It incorporates a high luminance and high contrast display with wide view angle for increased visibility while biking.

We chose to work with Nordic largely due to its excellent software reference code, the helpful application engineers, and the fast response times

Mr Joseph Wang, Foxconn Interconnect Technology

The device employs the Bluetooth® LE connectivity of Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52840 SoC to transmit data, including the rider’s speed and range, to the corresponding app (available in June) on the user’s smartphone or tablet. The Xion E-Bike HMI System is overseen by the nRF52840 SoC’s 32-bit Arm® Cortex® M4 processor with floating point unit (FPU), which provides ample computational power to supervise the device’s functionality. The device is hardwired to the bike’s battery, so it does not need to be recharged. This also enables it to record the bike’s current charge level on the display.

Engineers on hand

“The SoC was selected due to its generous 1 MB Flash memory and 256 KB RAM,” says Mr Joseph Wang, CTO at Foxconn Interconnect Technology. “We chose to work with Nordic largely due to its excellent software reference code, the helpful application engineers, and the fast response times.”