Design Guide

A DIVISION OF TRIMBLE
Introduction 17
Introduction
The ThingMagic
®
Nano
®
embedded module is an RFID reader 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 demonstrating 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 intended for hardware designers and software developers. It describes
the hardware specifications and firmware functionality of the ThingMagic Nano module
and provides guidance on how to incorporate the module within a third-party host system.
The document is broken down into the following sections:
Hardware Overview - 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 - Describes the ideal attributes of a main board which
incorporates the ThingMagic Nano module.
Firmware Overview - A detailed description of the ThingMagic Nano firmware
components including the bootloader and application firmware.
Communication Protocol - An overview of the low level serial communications protocol
used by the ThingMagic Nano.
Functionality of the ThingMagic Nano - Detailed descriptions of the ThingMagic Nano
features and functionality that are supported through the use of the MercuryAPI.
Appendix A: Error Messages - Lists ThingMagic Nano Error Codes and provides causes
and suggested solutions for when they are encountered.
Appendix B: Getting Started - Dev Kit - Quick Start guide to getting connected to the
ThingMagic Nano Developerʼs 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.