Avnet AVT9152 is an IoT module and development kit that combines two Nordic Semi wireless solutions, namely nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.2/LE multiprotocol SoC and nRF91 IoT cellular system-on-module with NB-IoT, LTE-M, and GPS connectivity.
The module supports Avnet’s enterprise-ready IoTConnect Platform, and the development kit combines with IoT module with a 3-axis accelerometer, a 3-axis gyroscope, as well as pressure, temperature, relative humidity, ambient light, and motion (PIR) sensors to help with the development of IoT applications such as tracking devices, vending machines, points-of-sale, smart buildings, industrial IoT, and more.
Avnet AVT9152 module – nRF52840 + nRF91
Key features and specifications:
- Wireless SoC/SiP
- Nordic Semi nRF9160 Cortex-M33 based system-in-package (SiP) with LTE-M/NB-IoT global carrier certification for LPWAN connectivity; support for power save mode, PSM and eDRX
- Nordic Semi nRF52840 Cortex-M4F microcontroller with Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth LE for short-range communication
- Flexible LTE and GPS antenna options
- 50x castellated holes with UART, SPI, I2C, NFC, USB and GPIOs
- Security – Arm TrustZone security isolation
- Power Supply – 3V @ 200mA
- Dimensions – 26 x 28 x 3 mm
- Certifications – FCC, CE, RCM, and BQB certified
The module support OTA firmware updates on both nRF91 and nRF52, and can be controlled with AT commands over UDP/TCP protocols.
Avnet AVT9152 evaluation kit
The best way to evaluate or/and get started with AVT9152 is to get the evaluation kit of the same name with the following specifications:
- Wireless module – Avnet AVT9152 module described above
- Wireless connectivity
- Micro SIM card holder
- Antennas
- Onboard antenna for BLE
- SMA or µ.FL connectors for LTE-M/NB-IoT antenna
- µ.FL connector for passive or active GPS antenna
- Sensors – Temperature, relative humidity, pressure, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light, and motion
- Expansion – Arduino compatible headers
- Debugging – 2x debug interfaces, 2x USB serial debug interfaces
- Power Supply – 5V via DC jack; battery connector for +3.6V battery
- Misc – 2x reset buttons, once for each MCU
The kits include the AVT9152 evaluation board, an external paddle LTE antenna, an active GPS/GALILEO ceramic patch antenna, a global eUICC SIM card, a 5V power adapter, a 6-pin rainbow jumper cable, and a 10-pin header J-link ribbon cable.
Note the included SIM card’s free plan expires 3 months after first
connection to the network or when 50MB of data quota is consumed whichever comes first. It’s apparently only for LTE-M (eMTC), in other words, it does not include NB-IoT connectivity, and only works in some regions.
Software, pricing & availability
Avnet provides an SDK connecting to the Avnet IoT Connect platform for
evaluation, and which allows you to see sensor data in a web dashboard. You’ll find documentation including a getting started guide on the product page for the module and evaluation kit. A Github repository with some demo code is also available.
The module is itself sells for $37.95, while the development kit goes for $199, but available directly from Avnet.
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.
why not nrf5340? After all, it’s already out and more or less available.
Probably cheaper.