Arduino MKR IoT Carrier Rev2 gets a Bosch BME688 4-in-1 environmental sensor

Arduino has launched the MKR IoT Carrier Rev2 board for Arduino MKR boards with a Bosch SensorTech BME688 4-in-1 pressure, humidity, temperature, and gas sensor replacing the HTS221 humidity sensor and LP22HB barometric pressure sensor, and the LSM6DSOX taking the place of the LSM6DS3, among other some other small changes.

First sold as part of the Arduino Oplà IoT Kit, the Arduino MKR IoT Carrier eventually became available on its own in February 2021 offering a display, sensors, and I/Os for Arduino MKR boards with wireless connectivity. The company has now introduced a second revision for the Arduino MKR IoT Carrier with new sensors and repositioning of some of the components following customer feedback.

Arduino MKR IoT Carrier Rev2 features & specifications:

Compatible with Arduino MKR family boards with WiFi, LoRa, NB-IoT, or 3G cellular connectivity
Storage – MicroSD card holder
Display – Round 1.3-inch OLED display with 240×240 resolution
I/Os
- 2x 24V relays (V23079)
- 3x Grove connectors including two analog and one digital (I2C)
Sensors
- Bosch SensorTech BME688 4-in-1 pressure, humidity, temperature, and gas sensor also found in the Arduino Nicla Sense ME
- Broadcom APDS-9960 digital RGB, light, gesture, and proximity sensor
- STMicro LSM6DSOX 6-axis IMU with 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope
Misc – 5x RGB LEDs, 5x capacitive touch buttons, Buzzer, Reset button
Power Supply
- 5V via USB port on MKR board.
- 18650 Li-ion rechargeable battery holder (battery not included)
Dimensions – ~85 mm ∅

The new version of the carrier board looks about the same as the first revision. Some of the other small changes include:

Addition of a Reset button
90° rotation of the relay connectors
Repositioning of the light sensor (APDS-9960)
Change of pins assigned to control the relays to pins 1 and 2
Change grove connector assignment from pin A5 to A6

Despite the changes, the new MKR IoT Carrier Rev2 is said to be software compatible and as long as the latest version of the Arduino_MKRIoTCarrier library is used, you should not need to change your sketch. Typical projects remain the same, and the carrier board can be used in combination with Arduino MKR boards to create environment monitoring stations, GUI IoT interfaces, or control external devices. You’ll find further technical details and resources to get started on Arduino’s documentation website.

The Arduino MKR IoT Carrier Rev2 can be purchased for $63.60 or 60 Euros on the Arduino store. You’ll also need an MKR board such as the Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 or Arduino MKR WAN 1310 to get started.

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.