sensors

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on UnaMKR Sigfox Monarch Development Kit Follows Arduino MKR Form Factor

UnaMKR Sigfox Monarch Development Kit Follows Arduino MKR Form Factor

unamkr sigfox monarch

Unabiz is an IoT network operator with offices in Singapore and Taiwan. The company offers Sigfox networks in the region, and last year unveiled UnaMKR, a Sigfox Monarch development kit compatible with the tiny Arduino MKR boards. We’ve already written about Sigfox LPWAN standard several times, but what is Sigfox Monarch exactly? Answer direct from Sigfox website: The Monarch feature makes IoT devices aware of the local radio configuration (RC) to use. A single device can thus lawfully communicate on the Sigfox network even when moving between countries with different radio regulations. That means a Sigfox Monarch compliant end-point can work legally anywhere in the world switching to 868 MHz, 902 MHz, and 920 MHz frequencies automatically depending on the country of operation. This is useful for asset tracking across countries and continents. Back to the board itself, with UnaMKR specifications: Platform – Arduino or STMicro Connectivity Lite-On WSG309S Sigfox […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Arduino Introduces Four New Nano Boards with WiFi, BLE, Sensors, and/or HW Crypto

Arduino Introduces Four New Nano Boards with WiFi, BLE, Sensors, and/or HW Crypto

Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense

The Maker Faire 2019 is now taking place in San Mateo, California, United States, and Arduino has made an habit of announcing new products during the events. This year is no different as the company has announced a new Nano Family with four boards: Arduino Nano Every powered by a Microchip ATMega4809 AVR microcontroller Arduino Nano 33 IoT with secure internet connectivity thanks to a U-blox ESP32 WiFi module and ATECC608A HW crypto chip Arduino Nano 33 BLE with Bluetooth connectivity via U-blox NINA B306 module based on Nordic Semi nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.0 chip Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense with a design similar to Nano 33 BLE but some extra on-board sensors. Arduino Nano Every Specifications: MCU –  Microchip ATMega4809 AVR microcontroller @ 20 MHz with 48KB flash, 6KB SRAM, 256 Bytes EEPROM USB to Serial via Microchip ATSAMD11D14A Arm Cortex-M0+ USB MCU 2x 15-pin expansion headers with GPIO, SPI, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Aconno Bluetooth Beacons Come with Various Sensors, Nordic Semi nRF52 BLE SoC

Aconno Bluetooth Beacons Come with Various Sensors, Nordic Semi nRF52 BLE SoC

Aconno Bluetooth Beacons

We first covered products from Aconno is 2017 with their Bluetooth LE development board powered by the company’s ACN52832 BLE module based on Nordic Semi nRF52832 ARM Cortex-M4 multi-procotol wireless SoC. Since then they’ve launched several small Bluetooth beacon modules based on ACN52832, and the company has what they call a presale promotion until May 21st, but it looks really like a group buying event for their existing BLE modules where the price goes down as more people purchase modules. Six Bluetooth modules are offered: acnSENSA multisensor Bluetooth tag with temperature, light, humidity, barometer, accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope acnBEACON programmable Bluetooth tag acnACT BLE beacon with button and RGD LED, magnetometer, phototransistor acnNFC programmable Bluetooth tag with NFC tag emulator acnRANGE distance measuring beacon with time-of-flight sensor acnFIND Bluetooth smart tag with LED, sound and accelerometer All modules come with a replaceable CR2450 battery, and IP65 enclosure. Pricing currently ranges from […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Texas Instruments CC3200 WiFi SensorTag is Now Available for $40

Texas Instruments CC3200 WiFi SensorTag is Now Available for $40

Texas Instruments launched SensorTag in 2013, and at the time there was just a Bluetooth 4.0 LE version with 6 different sensors. I bought one for $25 at the time, and tried it with a Raspberry Pi board and a BLE USB dongle. Since then, the company has launched a new multi standard model (CC2650STK) supporting Buetooth low energy, 6LoWPAN, and ZigBee, and has just started to take orders for CC3200 WiFi SensorTag for $39.99, which seems expensive in a world of $2 ESP8266 modules. But let’s see what the kit has to offer: Wireless MCU – Texas Instruments CC3200 SimpleLink ARM Cortex-M4 MCU @ up to 80 MHz, with up to 256KB RAM, Hardware Crypto Engine, DMA engine Storage – 1 MB serial flash memory Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with on-board inverted-F antenna with RF connector for conducted testing Sensors – Gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, light sensor (OPT3001), humidity […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments on Orange Pi Brick is a $1 Raspberry Pi Zero Compatible Smart Block

Orange Pi Brick is a $1 Raspberry Pi Zero Compatible Smart Block

Shenzhen Xunlong Orange Pi boards are popular with some developers and hobbyists thanks to their low price, but the company is also aware that some are critical of their products. Some of the complaints include that their boards are too difficult to use due to lack of proper firmware and documentation, they are called “Orange Pi”, but aren’t even made with orange color, with some people even going as far as saying their boards are just bricks just good enough to collect dust. The company has taken all remarks into consideration, and has come up with a product that’s simple to use and orange, while breaking the price barrier, as it will be sold for just $1. Yep. You read that right. One Dollar. I’ve worked with the company to get the exclusive, believe me you won’t find this on any other sites, and they’ve sent me an early sample. […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on BBC Micro:Bit Board is Now Getting into the Hands of British Students

BBC Micro:Bit Board is Now Getting into the Hands of British Students

After several delays, BBC is now giving free Micro:Bit Bluetooth LE enabled boards to UK students with the goal of getting them interested in coding and electronics in a way that’s even easier and cheaper than using a Raspberry Pi board. Micro:bit specifications: MCU – Nordic nRF51822 Bluetooth SoC based on Cortex M0 core @ 16MHz with 16KB RAM 2x user buttons, 1x reset button 25x red user LEDs  in a 5×5 matrix Connectivity – Bluetooth LE Sensors – Compass, magnetometer, accelerometer USB – 1x micro USB port for port and programming Expansion – 20-pin edge connector, 5x “rings” for 3V, GND, and 3 digital/analog I/Os Power – 5V via USB or battery port to connect two AAA batteries Dimensions – 4cm x 5cm There are four ways to “code” the board: Code Kingdoms JavaScript  graphical ‘drag and drop’ and text-based programming, Microsoft Block Editor graphical, drag and drop code […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Getting Started with Wemos D1 mini ESP8266 Board, DHT & Relay Shields

Getting Started with Wemos D1 mini ESP8266 Board, DHT & Relay Shields

Wemos D1 mini is an ESP8266 board that’s interesting thanks to its size, its low price ($4), micro USB power, its shields, and a documentation that looks fairly good. The board can be programmed with Arduino or Lua, and supports both serial and OTA programming. I’ve decided to give it a try and bought the board together with two temperature shields, a relay shield, and micro SD shield. I got all for $ 14.00 from Wemos Aliexpress shop, and it took about one month for delivery. I can also see they’ve recently released a new OLED shield selling for about $5. All shields were shipped inside their own anti-static bags. The pins are clearly marked on both side of the board and the shields. One side of the board features ESP8266 module. and the other side has CH340 serial to USB chip, and the reset button. The provided headers make […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on $4 Wemos D1 mini ESP8266 Board Supports Shields with a Temperature Sensor, a Button, a Relay, or a micro SD slot

$4 Wemos D1 mini ESP8266 Board Supports Shields with a Temperature Sensor, a Button, a Relay, or a micro SD slot

Wemos D1 board, a $9 ESP8266 board in Arduino UNO form factor, now has a little brother with Wemos D1 mini. The board looks somewhat similar to NodeMCU with breadboard friendly I/Os on the sides and a micro USB port for power and programming, but what could make it more interesting, beside the $4 price tag, is that the company also developed several shields (aka add-on boards). Wemos D1 mini specifications: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n module based on ESP8266EX with 4MB flash Expansion – Through holes with 11x digital input/output pins (3.3V) supporting interrupt/PWM/I2C/one-wire (except D0) 1x analog input (3.3V max input) Reset and power signals (5V, 3.3V, GND) USB – micro USB port Misc – Reset button Power – 5V via micro USB or 5V pin Dimensions – 34.2 x 25.6 mm Weight – 10 grams The board is said to be compatible with Arduino IDE and NodeMCU firmware. ESP8266 […]