So what is the "bootloader" anyways?

Although not utilized in the prototype edition of the EEar product system, part of the design included creating a preprogramming environment in the memory of the nRF52832 Nordic chip. This allows Arduino code to be uploaded so the user can bypass the Nordic programming environment. With correspondence between Sparkfun tech support to research this process, it was successfully realized. This process involves several steps and pieces of hardware, including the nRF52 series development board, nRFGO programming software, a ribbon cable to pins on the nRF52832 Sparkfun development board, Keil uVision5, file conversion software (HxD was used in this case). The hex files for the bootloader must be uploaded into the Nordic nRF52 dev board which then must be passed into the Sparkfun development board and loaded between the two using a program called nRFjprog and some batch files provided by Sparkfun support. This program flashes the hex and batch files necessary for the bootloader to run allowing for easier and more efficient programming.