lpwan News - Page 20 of 23 - CNX Software

August 4, 2017August 4, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Mediatek MT2625 NB-IoT SoC is Designed for Cellular IoT Devices working Worldwide

Mediatek has recently unveiled MT2625 SoC based on an ARM Cortex-M core, equipped with an NB-IoT “WorldMode” modem allowing for a single design worldwide, and supporting the latest 3GPP Release 14 (LTE Cat NB2) specification. Mediatek MT2625 specifications: CPU – ARM Cortex-M @ up to 104 MHz with FPU Embedded Memory – 4MB PSRAM Storage – 4MB NOR Flash Connectivity NB-IoT compatible with 3GPP Release 14 Full frequency band (450MHz to 2.1GHz) of 3GPP R13 (NB1) and R14 (NB2) standards Integrated baseband, RF, and modem DSP Peripherals – I2C, I2S, PCM, SDIO, UART Power Supply – Integrated PMU The solution will be found in products for worldwide transportation, municipal use, and consumer products, with a much longer battery life compared to existing devices relying on other 2G/3G/4G standards. According to the press release, one of the first module based on MT2625 has been designed in collaboration with China Mobile, integrates […]

July 10, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

U-blox SARA-R410M-02B Module Supports LTE Cat M1 and Cat NB1 in a Single Package

We previously covered U-blox SARA-R4 LTE Cat M1 and SARA M2 NB-IoT (Cat NB1) modules, but in case you need support for LTE Cat M1 and Cat NB1, instead of just one or the other, in your product, U-blox launched a new SARA-R4 model with SARA-R410M-02B module supporting both standards. U-blox SARA-R410M-02B module specifications: LPWAN connectivity LTE Cat M1 Half-duplex: 375 kb/s DL and UL LTE Cat NB1 Half-duplex: 27.2 kb/s DL, 62.5 UL Shared bands – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28; Cat M1-only band – 39 Coverage enhancement Mode A and Mode B (in upcoming firmware), 3GPP Rel 13 e-DRX (Extended Discontinuous Reception) supported in upcoming firmware SMS support – MT/MO PDU / Text mode; SMS over SG/NAS Voice – VoLTE (Cat M1) using AMR-WB codec (U)SIM supporting 1.8 and 3V GNSS/GPS support with CellLocate and Hybrid positioning coming […]

May 23, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

8Power Vibration Energy Harvesting Technology Powers Batteryless LPWAN GPS Trackers, MEMS Sensors

While IoT products usually promises one to 10 years battery life, they will be several billions of them, and ARM’s CEO even forecast one trillion IoT devices in the next 20 years. Recharging batteries at home may be fine, but imagine having to recharge or replace batteries on top of electric poles, inside walls, in remote locations, and other hard to reach places, considerable resources would have to be deployed just to replace or recharge battery every year or whenever the battery is close to being depleted. That’s why work on energy harvesting technology for batteryless devices may be so important, and 8Power is one of the companies working in the field through their vibration energy harvesting technology that is said to harvest up to 10x the power of competing devices under comparable condition thanks to the use of parametric resonance phenomenon. The company has recently announced their Track 100 family […]

May 17, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

The Future of Cellular IoT Explained – LTE M1, LTE NB-IoT, eSIM, and Battery Life Hype

Telecom companies also want their share of the IoT business, but with 2G to 4G cellular technology often being too power hungry and/or expensive for this market, 2G on-going – or upcoming – sunset depending on your location, LTE Cat M1 and LTE Cat NB1 (aka NB-IoT) standards have been developed, and used in products like Pycom FiPy board, and SARA-R4 and SARA-M2 modules. If you want to have an overview learn about the new LTE IoT standards and the future of cellular IoT, Particle has published a useful presentation – embedded below – dealing with both, as well as eSIM (Embedded SIM), 2G sunset, and battery life expectations. The main takeaways from my reading of the presentation: LTE NB1 is better suited for low power stationary sensors transmitting a small amount of data a few times a day. Requires new hardware and software LTE M1 can be used for […]

May 16, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

u-blox SARA-S200 RPMA Module Supports the Machine Network

RPMA is one of the many LPWAN IoT communication standards, but it does not get as much press coverage as SigFox or LoRa because it targets larger scale deployments, and is not really accessible to individuals. It’s still used by companies in many countries, and u-blox has just released SARA-S200 RPMA module that will also work with the Machine Network, also relying on RPMA and managed by Ingenu. u-blox SARA-S200 module specifications: Connectivity Wireless Frequency – 2.4 GHz ISM Radio Spectrum – 80 MHz Occupied Bandwidth – 1 MHz Modulation – Dynamic – Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (D-DSSS) Multiple Access Scheme – Random Phase Multiple Access (RPMA) Transmit Power – +22 dBm Receive Sensitivity – -133 dBm Data Throughput – 100 kB per day Link budget – 176 dB (FCC/IC) Host Interface – 7-wire SPI that includes handshaking for deep sleep modes Power Supply – 3.2 V to 3.4 V […]

May 2, 2017May 2, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Whitecat ESP32 N1 Board Combines ESP32 WiFi + Bluetooth SoC with a LoRa Transceiver, Runs Lua RTOS

Espressif ESP32 SoC is gaining traction right now as prices have come down, and there’s still an on-going fight among LPWAN standards with LoRaWAN being fairly popular in Europe. Whitecat, a group of engineers from several companies based in Citilab, Barcelona, Spain, has designed a board that combines both ESP32 and a LoRA transceiver, bringing an alternative to Pycom LoPy board, but instead of running MicroPython, they have developed Lua-RTOS. Whitecat ESP32 N1 hardware specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual-core Tensilica LX6 microprocessor @ up to 240MHz with 520kB internal SRAM Storage – 4MB flash memory Connectivity LoRa WAN transceiver working in the 868 (EU) MHz / 915 (USA) MHz with on-board antenna, and u.FL connector for external antenna Integrated 802.11b/g/n WiFi transceiver with on-board antenna, and u.FL connector for external antenna Integrated dual-mode Bluetooth (classic and BLE) I/O Headers – 2x 16-pin with SPI, I2C, I2S, SDIO, UART, CAN, […]

April 19, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Arduino MKRFOX1200 Board Combines Microchip SAM D21 MCU with Sigfox Module in MKRZero Form Factor

Arduino MKRFOX1200 is the first official Arduino board to feature LPWAN technology thanks to a Microchip ATA8520 Sigfox module combined with a Microchip SAMD21 ARM Cortex M0+ micro-controller, all that in the same form factor as MKRZero or MKR1000 boards. Arduino MKRFOX1200 specifications: MCU – Microchip SAMD21 ARM Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 48 MHz with 256KB flash, 32KB SRAM Connectivity – Microchip AT8520 Sigfox module operating @ 868 MHz with 2dB “GSM” antenna connected to u.FL connector 2x 14-pin headers for I/Os: 8x digital I/O 8x external interrupts (0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, A1 -or 16-, A2 – or 17) 7x analog inputs (8/10/12-bit ADC) 1x analog out (10-bit DAC) 12x PWM pins ((0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, A3 – or 18 -, A4 -or 19) 1x UART, 1x SPI, 1x I2C 3.3V operating voltage DC Current per I/O Pin 7 mA USB – […]

February 21, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

STMicro Introduces STM32 LoRaWAN Discovery Board & I-NUCLEO-LWAN2 STM32 LoRa Expansion Board

STMicroelectronics and Mouser have launched two new products with LoRa connectivity: STM32 LoRaWAN Discovery Board with an STM32L072 ARM Cortex M0+ MCU and Semtech SX1276 transceiver, and I-NUCLEO-LRWAN1 STM32 LoRa expansion board for STM32 Nucleo boards with an STM32L052 MCU and Semtech SX1272 radio transceiver. STM32 LoRaWAN Discovery Board B-L072Z-LRWAN1 STM32L0 Discovery kit LoRa specifications: LoRa Module – Murata CMWX1ZZABZ-091 with MCU – STM32L072CZ ARM Cortex -M0+ MCU @ 32 MHz with 192 KB Flash memory, 20 KB RAM, 20 KB EEPROM SX1276 transceiver supporting LoRa, FSK, GFSK, MSK, GMSK and OOK modulations Antennas – SMA and U.FL RF interface connectors, 50 Ohm SMA RF antenna Debugging – On-board ST-LINK/V2-1 supporting USB re-enumeration capability Expansion – Arduino Uno V3 connectors Misc – 7x LEDs, 2x push-buttons (user and reset) Power supply – Via USB bus or external VIN/3.3 V supply voltage or batteries; 3xAAA-type-battery holder for standalone operation (on the […]