Sixfab Launches Arduino and Raspberry Pi NB-IoT Shields with Four Sensors

SixFab previously introduced a 3G/4G base shield for the Raspberry Pi boards that would take Quectel based mini PCIe card in order to add cellular connectivity to the popular development boards.

The company is now back with NB-IoT shields that should better suited to IoT projects with lower hardware and data costs, and support either 40-pin Raspberry Pi boards or Arduino.

SixFab Raspberry Pi NB-IoT Shield

Specifications & features:

Module – Quectel BC95-B20 NB-IoT Module supporting 800MHz frequency (suitable for the European market)
Micro SIM card socket, PCB Antenna and u.FL socket for external antenna
I/O expansions
- 4x Channel 12-bit ADC via ADS1015
- Relay with optocoupler protection (24V DC, 120-220V AC Switching)
- 3-pin 1-Wire interface for DS18B20, DHT21, etc…
- 4-pin I2C interface
- 3.3V reference voltage
Sensors
- MMA8452Q 3-axis accelerometer
- HDC1080 temperature sensor (-40 to +125 °C)
- HDC1080 humidity sensor (0 to 100%)
- ALS-PT19 ambient light sensor
Misc – User button and LED
Optocoupler (3 – 12 VDC switching)
Compatible with Raspberry Pi boards with 40-pin header

SixFab Arduino NB-IoT shield

The Arduino shield is pretty similar to the Raspberry Pi one, except or the lack of ADC and some I/Os, since the Arduino board can handle those:

Module – Quectel BC95-B20 NB-IoT Module supporting 800MHz frequency (suitable for the European market)
Micro SIM card socket, PCB Antenna and u.FL socket for external antenna
I/O expansions – Relay (24V DC, 120-220V AC Switching)
Sensors
- MMA8452Q 3-axis accelerometer
- HDC1080 temperature sensor (-40 to +125 °C)
- HDC1080 humidity sensor (0 to 100%)
- ALS-PT19 ambient light sensor
Misc – User button and LED
Compatible with Arduino boards

Both boards can be typically used for IoT applications such as smart farming, smart cities, smart home, smart metering, bike sharing, smart parking, asset tracking, environmental monitoring and more.

The company is now taking pre-orders for both boards for $66.75 with delivery scheduled on March 19. If you’re using Arduino and don’t need the sensors nor relay, RakWireless WisLTE board might be worth a look, as it’s a cheaper option at $40 + shipping.

Sixfab also launched a tiny standalone NB-IoT evaluation board to test NB-IoT network and development with different platforms using a micro USB port to interface with the host platform. It is sold for $51.75 during the pre-order period, and also based on BC95-BC20, which according to Quectel BC95 product page is only suitable for the European market, while China, Korea, and Australia require a different version of the module.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.