Nordic nRF91 Multimode LTE-M / NB-IoT SiP Embeds Arm Cortex-M33, Arm TrustZone, and Assisted GPS

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Nordic Semi will soon launch nRF91 series low power cellular IoT solution, that consists of a system-in-package (SiP) combining a global multimode LTE-M / NB-IoT modem, an Arm Cortex-M33 core, Arm TrustZone security solution, assisted GPS, and flash memory into a 16x10x1.2 mm package. Nordic Semi nRF91 specifications known to far: CPU – Arm Cortex-M33 ARMv8-M host processor Memory / Storage – Built-in RAM and flash Memory Connectivity Multimode LTE-M (eMTC) and NB-IoT modem by Nordic SAW-less transceiver Custom RF front-end solution from Qorvo. Location – Optional assisted GPS combining cellular and GPS technology for fast and accurate positioning Security – Arm TrustZone security via Arm CryptoCell-310 security IP Power Management Package – 16 x 10 x 1.2 mm Nordic Semiconductor nRF91 Series is said to include a complete suite of software and development tools for product development, but no details were provided at this stage. The solution has already […]

FOSDEM 2018 Open Source Developers Meeting Schedule

FOSDEM (Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting) occurs every year on the first week-end of February, where developers meet for two days discussing about open source software projects. FOSDEM 2018 will take place on February 3-4 this year with  652 speakers, 684 events, and 57 tracks, an increase over  last year 608 speakers, 653 events, and 54 tracks. There will be 8 main tracks namely: Community, History, Miscellaneous, Performance, Python, Security and Encryption, Space, and Global Diversity CFP Day. There will also be 33 developer rooms, and since the full schedule is now available, I’ll make a virtual schedule mostly based on sessions from the Embedded, mobile, and automotive, Hardware Enablement, and Internet of Things devrooms. Saturday 3, 2018 09:50 – 10:15 – Turning On the Lights with Home Assistant and MQTT by Leon Anavi In this presentation you will learn the exact steps for using MQTT JSON […]

Quokka IoT FPGA Board is Programmable with C# Language (Crowdfunding)

Quokka FPGA IoT Controller is a board based on Altera Cyclone IV FPGA with a WiPy module for connectivity, and various I/Os that allows you to make robotics projects for example. While you could program the FPGA using VHDL, the developer – Evgeny Muryshkin – also designed Quokka Development Toolkit (QDT), a cloud-based SaaS, allowing to program FPGA with a high-level programming language, currently C#, so that software people can more easily become involved in FPGA development. Quokka IoT (preliminary) hardware specifications: FPGA – Intel Altera Cyclone IV, 6K logic elements, EP4CE6E22C8 Clock – 50MHz Connectivity – WiFi via WiPy module Expansion 40x GPIO (3 banks by 8 pins, with direction and voltage (3.3V or 5V) configuration, 16 raw IO pins 3.3V) 2x Dual Channel 10 bit ADC (3.3V) 2x Dual Channel 10 bit DAC (3.3V) H-Bridge for DC motors with support for external power Power Supply – 5-24V DC input […]

$1 RDA5981 WiFi IoT Arm Cortex-M4 SoC is Designed for Smart Home Devices, Smart Speakers

RDA Microelectronics processors are found in a few cheap smart and not-so-smart phones, as well as the even cheaper Orange Pi i96 board. But the company does not only design cellular chips, but their portfolio also includes solutions for the Internet of Things and TV & radio tuners. RDA5981 is a WiFi IoT chip specifically designed for smart home & audio application, such as smart speakers, and it’s found in devices running Baidu DuerOS, the Chinese equivalent of Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The company explains it can be widely used in televisions, set-top boxes, smart appliances, wireless monitors, and other products. RDA5981 A/B/C processor specifications: CPU – Arm Cortex-M4 @ up to 160 MHz with integrated MPU and mbed uvisor System Memory  – Up to 448 KB SRAM for network stack and application, external PSRAM interface Storage – Up to 32Mbit SPI flash Connectivity WiFi 2.4 Ghz 802.11b/g/n WiFi […]

Semtech Improves LoRa Efficiency and Range, Reduces Footprint with SX1261, SX1262, and SX1268 LoRa Chips

LoRa is one of the most popular LPWAN technology deployed around the world with chips made by Semtech, as it allow long range, low power communication at low bitrate, and is especially useful for asset tracking, smart parking, and all sort of remote monitoring of persons (e.g. elderly fall for seniors) or assets (e.g. leak detection). Depending on your applications, i.e. data size and update frequency, a coin cell battery can last up to 10 years The company has now introduced the second generation LoRa technology with three new RF chips that are 45% smaller, reduce power consumption by 50% (4.5 mA) , and extend range by 20%. The new chips also offers a high-power transmit option (+22 dBm), supports FSK modulation for migration to LoRaWAN from legacy protocols, and includes a new spreading factor for dense networks. Full list of new features listed by the company: 50% less power […]

OKW Body Case is an IP65/IP67 Enclosure for Wearables & IoT Projects

You may have worked on a battery powered wearable or IoT projects, and the hardware and software are mostly ready, but you’ve yet to find a good way to package it to make it easily wearable, and protect it from the elements. OKW body case could be one way, as it can be used around your arm like a wrist watch, as a key ring attachment, clipped to your trousers or T-shirt, carried  around your neck. The case has been moulded in ASA plastic with a high UV protection, includes a TPV sealing ring to ensure IP65/IP67 water & dust proofness, and is assembled with four stainless stell screws using a Torx drive. The company provides two sizes (Large: 55 x 46 x 17 mm, or Medium: 50 x 41 x 16 mm) and claims easy operation with the help of push buttons or touchscreens, although I’d assume water / dust resistance […]

AcSiP S76G/S78G SiPs Integrate LoRa, GPS, and MCU into a Single 1.3×1.1 cm Package

LoRa has been combined with GPS in several products such as Rakwireless RAK811 LoRa tracker board, or Dragino LoRa/GPS HAT board among others, with all designed for far based on a LoRa module, plus a GPS module. LoRa GPS tracker will soon even smaller as AcSiP has developed S76G and S78G systems-in-package (SiP) that combine LoRa, GPS and an MCU into a single 1.1 x 1.3cm package. The two new modules are not listed on the company’s IoT-LoRa products page yet, but they appear to be an evolution of their S76S / S78S LoRa + MCU SiP released in 2016, so the new modules should have the following features: MCU – STMicro STM32L073x Arm Cortex M0+ MCU with up to 192 KB of Flash memory and 20 KB of RAM LoRa AcSiP S76G – Semtech SX1276 supporting global 868 MHz or 915 MHz ISM-Bands. AcSiP S78G – Semtech SX1278 supporting […]

LittleFS is an Open Source, Low Footprint, Resilient File System Designed for Tiny Devices

Most devices need to store data either configuration files, sensor data firmware updates, and while it’s in theory possible to write directly to the storage device, it’s normally not a good idea to do so due to issues such as wear, which could lead to a premature death of your storage… LittleFS is an open source file system specifically designed for small devices such as IoT nodes for SPI NOR flash and SD card storage, and introduced in Mbed OS 5.7. The “high-integrity embedded file system” is resilient to power-cuts, supports wear-leveling, and comes in a small memory and storage footprint. Mbed support both FAT and LittleFS, so the latter was compared to the former with the following key highlights: Footprint – Code for LittleFS takes 13KB less storage than FAT, and 4KB less RAM Power loss resilience – The file system has strong copy-on-write guarantees, and storage on disk […]