User's Manual

A DIVISION OF TRIMBLE
Introduction 17
Introduction
The ThingMagic
®
Nano
®
embedded module is an RFID engine that you can integrate with
other systems to create RFID-enabled products.
Applications to control the ThingMagic Nano modules and derivative products can be
written using the high level MercuryAPI. The MercuryAPI supports Java, “.NET” and C
programming environments. The MercuryAPI Software Development Kit (SDK) contains
sample applications and source code to help developers get started demoing and
developing functionality. For more information on the MercuryAPI see the MercuryAPI
Programmers Guide and the MercuryAPI SDK, available on the ThingMagic website.
This document is for hardware designers and software developers. It describes the
hardware specifications and firmware functionality and provides guidance on how to
incorporate the ThingMagic Nano module within a third-party host system. The rest of the
document is broken down into the following sections:
Hardware Overview - This section provides detailed specifications of the ThingMagic
Nano hardware. This section should be read in its entirety before designing hardware
or attempting to operate the ThingMagic Nano module in hardware other than the
ThingMagic Dev Kit.
Hardware Integration - This section describes the ideal attributes of a main board
which incorporates the ThingMagic Nano module.
Firmware Overview - This section provides a detailed description of the ThingMagic
Nano firmware components including the bootloader and application firmware.
Communication Protocol - This section provides an overview of the low level serial
communications protocol used by the ThingMagic Nano.
Functionality of the ThingMagic Nano - This section provides detailed descriptions of the
ThingMagic Nano features and functionality that are supported through the use of the
MercuryAPI.
Appendix A: Error Messages - This appendix lists and provides causes and suggested
solutions for ThingMagic Nano Error Codes.
Appendix B: Getting Started - Dev Kit - Quick Start guide to getting connected to the
ThingMagic Nano Developer’s Kit and using the Demo Applications included with the
MercuryAPI SDK.
Appendix C: Environmental Considerations - Details about environmental factors that
should be considered relating to reader performance and survivability.