Walter ESP32-S3 board supports NB-IoT, LTE-M, and GPS

QuickSpot Walter is an ESP32-S3 development board with built-in WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE/Mesh connectivity, as well as NB-IoT, LTE-M, and GNSS support through a Sequans GM02SP 5G IoT modem that appears to be a variant of the Sequans Monarch 2 GM02S with GNSS support.

Walter specifications:

• Wireless modules
  • ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R2 module
    • ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microcontroller
    • 2MB QSPI PSRAM
    • 16MB QSPI flash
    • 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 up to 150 Mbps  with on-board antenna
    • Bluetooth 5 LE up to 2Mbps, Bluetooth Mesh
  • Sequans GM02SP modem
    • LTE Cat M1 (LTE-M) and NB1/NB2 (NB-IoT)
    • GNSS and assisted GNSS using GPS and Galileo constellations
• NanoSIM for cellular connectivity
• I/Os
  • 2x 14-pin headers with up to 24x GPIO, UART, VIN, 3.3V, and GND
  • 23x test points
  • 3.3V I/O voltage
• Power Supply
  • 5V (3.0 to 5.5V) DC via VIN pin
  • 5V via USB Type-C port
• Dimensions – 55 x 24.8 mm
• Temperature Range – -40°C to +85°C
• Certifications – CE and FCC (both pending)

DPTechnics is working on an open-source Arduino library to support NB-IoT, LTE-M, and GPS on the ESP32-S3 module, and they also plan to support MicroPython, and possibly Espuino JavaScript firmware if there’s demand for it. They also mention that it’s always possible to use the ESP-IDF framework for tighter hardware control.

The datasheet asks users to refer to the ”Getting Started with Walter” guide on GitHub, but there’s nothing there yet. Eventually, the firmware, libraries, and schematics should become available under a GPLv3 license.

The Walter board/module is designed and produced in the European Union “to offer long-term availability”. It is expected to sell for 49.95 Euros ex VAT for the module only, 69.95 Euros with LTE and GPS antennas, a developer kit will also be available for 250 Euros with a USB-C cable, a 100MB prepaid SIM card, and 30 minutes of engineering support. DPTechnics plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign to complete CE and FCC certification and start mass production. A few more details may be found on QuickSpot.io.

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.

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