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Thingy:91 Test Application

Nordic Thingy:91 with case removed

You can test out Golioth services using the Golioth Thingy91 Example Program for the Nordic Thingy:91. This nRF9160-based cellular device includes an accelerometer, light sensor, RGB LED, user button, a speaker—all of which are used in this demo.

The following Golioth Services are demonstrated by this application:

  • Device Status
  • OTA Firmware Update
  • LightDB State (bi-directional data transfer)
  • LightDB Stream (time-series device-to-cloud data transfer)
  • Remote Logging
  • Remote Procedure Call

Section Overview​

Prerequisite: You must have an active SIM card installed in your Thingy91 to continue with this section.

  1. Install nRF Connect for Desktop to program the firmware to your Thingy91
  2. Download and program the precompiled firmware binary
  3. Add device credentials and connect to Golioth
  4. Test drive Golioth!

1. Install nRF Connect for Desktop​

To program binaries to the Thingy91 we recommend starting with the Nordic nRF Connect for Desktop tools as they have great cross-platform support and work well.

Show me how to install nRF Connect for Desktop

  1. Download Nordic's nRF Connect for Desktop software.

    1. Mac and Linux Users: According to the Nordic install instructions you also need to install the SEGGER J-Link tools

    2. Mac M1/M2 Users: Our testing found that you must use the Universal Installer version of the SEGGER tools

  2. Launch nRF Connect for Desktop. From that application, install and open the Programmer.

    Nordic nRF Connect for Desktop launch the Programmer

2. Download and program the precompiled firmware binary​

  1. Go to the latest release and download Thingy91_Golioth_Example_vX.X.X.hex
  2. Flash the precompiled binary to the Thingy:91
    1. Remove the orange rubber case from your Thingy:91
    2. Plug a USB cable into your computer and into the Thingy:91
    3. Place the Thingy:91 in bootloader mode: With the Thingy:91 power switch in the off position, hold the black button in the middle of the board and turn the power switch on
    4. In the nRF Connect Desktop Programmer, choose Nordic Thingy:91 from the upper left SELECT DEVICE dialog.
    5. Click Add file and choose the Thingy91_Golioth_Example_vX.X.X.hex file you previously downloaded
    6. Click the Write button
Show me screenshots of the programming process

Adding the firmware binary in nRF Connect for Desktop programming tool:

nRF Programming Tool

The MCUboot progress screen indicating a successful programming process:

MCUboot progress indicator

3. Add device credentials and connect to Golioth​

Golioth Device Credentials must be added to the device for it to connect properly. This is accomplished over USB using the Shell built into Zephyr.

  1. Launch nRF Connect for Desktop. From that application, install and open the Serial Terminal.

  2. Connect the Serial Terminal to your device

    1. Plug a USB cable into your computer and your Thingy:91
    2. Place the Thingy:91 power switch in the On position
    3. Choose Nordic Thingy:91 from the upper left SELECT DEVICE dialog
    4. Select the first of two available serial ports
    5. Click Connect to Port

    You can now turn the Thingy:91 power switch off and back on to see the serial output as it runs. We expect that the device will not be able to connect as it does not yet have credentials.

    Nordic nRF Connect for Desktop Serial Terminal connected

  3. Use the serial connection to assign Golioth Device Credentials

    Where do I find device credentials?

    Golioth Device Credentials were created during the Golioth Web Console Registration & Wizard step. You can return to the Golioth Console to retrieve the PSK-ID/PSK.

    Use the following command syntax to assign your credentials. Type each line one at a time into the serial terminal, replacing the placeholder credentials with your own.

    uart:~$ settings set golioth/psk-id "<my-psk-id@my-project>"
    uart:~$ settings set golioth/psk "<my-psk>"
    uart:~$ kernel reboot cold

  4. Observe the device connecting to Golioth

    After the Thingy:91 reboots, the serial terminal will remain connected. You should see the device connect to LTE, then Golioth, and begin streaming data:

    [00:00:01.483,825] <inf> golioth_system: Initializing
    [00:00:01.486,450] <inf> BH1749: BH1749 initialized
    [00:00:01.491,546] <inf> fs_nvs: 2 Sectors of 4096 bytes
    [00:00:01.491,546] <inf> fs_nvs: alloc wra: 0, fa0
    [00:00:01.491,577] <inf> fs_nvs: data wra: 0, b0
    [00:00:01.493,041] <dbg> thingy91_golioth: main: Start Reference Design Template sample
    [00:00:01.493,072] <inf> thingy91_golioth: Firmware version: 0.0.0+0
    [00:00:01.493,164] <err> i2c_nrfx_twim: Error 0x0BAE0001 occurred for message 0
    [00:00:01.493,255] <inf> golioth_samples: Waiting for interface to be up
    [00:00:01.493,286] <inf> thingy91_golioth: Connecting to LTE network. This may take a few minutes...
    [00:00:01.548,065] <dbg> app_work: buzzer_thread: golioth
    [00:00:01.548,126] <err> BH1749: No valid data to fetch.
    [00:00:01.548,126] <err> app_work: sensor_sample_fetch failed err -5
    [00:00:15.824,218] <inf> thingy91_golioth: Connected to LTE network
    [00:00:15.824,371] <inf> golioth_system: Starting connect
    [00:00:17.927,947] <inf> thingy91_golioth: Registering observations with Golioth
    [00:00:17.931,030] <dbg> app_settings: app_led_pwm_init: turning on pwm leds
    [00:00:17.931,060] <inf> golioth_system: Client connected!
Don't forget the SIM card

Your Thingy:91 is a celluar device and must have an activated SIM card inserted in order to connect to the internet (and Golioth)

4. Test drive Golioth!​

Video Walkthrough​

The features of the Golioth Thingy91 Example Application are demonstrated in the following video.

Features and Services​

When the app connects to Golioth, the connection status will immediately be updated, along with the firmware version. You can visit the Golioth Console page to view information for this device.

Golioth Console summary screen for Thingy91

  • Pressing the button on the device will increment the counters in the LightDB State tab.
  • Sensor data is regularly streamed into the LightDB Stream tab
  • Remote logs may be viewed in the Logs tab.
  • Device settings are updated in the Settings tab. Try using the left sidebar to add a project-level setting called LOOP_DELAY_S and set it to 15 to change the frequency of sensor readings to 15 seconds.
  • Issue a remote procedure call (RPC) in the Remote Procedure Call tab, using play_song for the method with funkytown as a parameter.
  • The Firmware tab displays last reported firmware version and status.
    • The release page where you downloaded the .hex file also includes two .bin files which may be used to roll out (and roll back) over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates.
    • Use the Firmware Update section of the left sidebar to control OTA updates.