SenseCAP T1000 – A credit card-sized LoRaWAN GPS tracker based on Semtech LR1110 (Crowdfunding)

SenseCAP T1000 is an ultra-thin credit-card-sized GPS tracker with Semtech LR1110 wireless chip with LoRaWAN, WiFi (scanning), and GNSS connectivity, plus two built-in sensors to monitor temperature, light intensity, and motion.

We’ve covered several LTE IoT and LoRaWAN GPS trackers in the past and even tested the RAK811 LoRa GPS Tracker board with our own gateway, but the SenseCAP T1000 is particularly attractive due to its slim design. It works both indoors and outdoors with IP65 waterproof protection, looks quite easy to set up with its button and LED, and also integrates an SOS feature that can be triggered with a long press.

SenseCAP T1000 specifications:

• Wireless
  • Semtech LoRa Edge LR1110 Asset Management Platform
    • LoRa/(G)FSK Half-Duplex RF transceiver working in the 150 – 960MHz; compatible with LoRaWAN 1.0.4 standard
    • GNSS (GPS/ BeiDou) low-power scanning
    • 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi ultra-low-power passive scanning
  • Unnamed Bluetooth 5.1 LE chip for initial configuration and indoor positioning with beacons
  • Antennas – Internal antennas for GNSS, LoRa, and WiFi/BLE
  • Range – Up to 2 to 8km depending on gateway antenna, installation, and environment
• Sensors
  • Temperature sensor with +/- 1°C accuracy, -20°C to +60°C measurement range
  • Light sensor from 0% (dark) to 100%
  • 3-axis IMU to detect movement
• Misc – Button, LED, buzzer
• Power Supply
  • Magnetic charging via USB cable
  • 700 mAh battery good for about 4 months on a charge (uplink of GNSS data only once per hour)
• Dimensions – 85 x 55 x 6.5mm
• Weight – 32 grams
• Temperature Range – -20°C to +60°C
• Operating Humidity – 5% – 95% (No condensation)
• IP65 waterproof protection
• Certifications – CE, FCC, TELEC, RoHS, REACH

The SenseCAP T1000 LoRaWAN GPS tracker is compatible with Helium, The Things Networks (TTN), and other LoRaWAN network servers (LNS). Some highlights include the ability to be used for outdoor & indoor tracking,  auto-switching LoRaWAN frequencies when crossing regions (e.g. AS923 to EU868), offline data storage for up to 1000 records when offline, and proof of location when used with the Helium Network.

Four models of the SenseCAP Tracker T1000 will be available depending on whether you need sensors and/or built-in GNSS:

• T1000-A – Built-in GNSS and sensors (temperature, light, IMU)
• T1000-B – Built-in GNSS, no sensors
• T1000-C – GNSS via Semtech LoRa Cloud and sensors
• T1000-D – GNSS via Semtech LoRa Cloud, no sensors

The credit card-sized LoRaWAN GPS tracker is not only convenient to carry around, but also pretty easy to set up with your mobile phone running the SenseCAP Mate for Android or iOS as shown in the video below.

Seeed Studio has launched the SenseCAP T1000 on Kickstarter with a $20,000 funding target that has already been surpassed.  It’s not 100% clear from the description, but I understand only the T1000-A is offered during the 18-day crowdfunding campaign, and rewards start at $28 for the T1000 with a snap hook and a 3-month trial for the SenseCAP platform… While the hardware price looks attractive, shipping adds $45 for most countries, albeit some have cheaper shipping ($13 to $18) such as Germany or France. As I understand it the SenseCAP Cloud platform is optional and you can use your own if you wish. Rewards are scheduled to start shipping in October 2023 so it’s more like a pre-order than a crowdfunding campaign to fund the development of the device. Besides the Kickstarter page, more details may also be found on the product page.

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