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April 11, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ST87M01 NB-IoT & GNSS module targets global cellular IoT deployments, asset tracking applications

STMicro ST87M01 is a compact, low-power, programmable LTE Cat NB2 (NB-IoT) industrial cellular module with GNSS geo-location capability for “massive IoT” deployments and asset tracking applications. STMicro already had several LPWAN solutions such as the STM32WL LoRa SoC, a Wi-SUN transceiver, a few SigFox chips, and a bunch of proprietary sub-GHz chips, but no cellular IoT solutions of their own although the STM32 microcontroller can be found in many third-party solutions. The ST87M01 NB-IoT and GNSS module changes that, so let’s have a closer look. ST87M01 NB-IoT module specifications: Cellular LTE, Category NB2, Release 15 Worldwide regional bands coverage Single-tone / Multi-tone / Extended TBS and 2 HARQ Up to DL: 127 kbps, UL: 159 kbps eDRX and PSM support Up to +23 dBm power output Optional ST4SIM embedded SIM (eSIM) GSMA compliant with an additional Secure Element GNSS capability Expansion – Multiple I/F and GPIO Host communication – standardized […]

September 4, 2022September 4, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Wi-SUN: An LPWAN standard for Smart Cities, Smart Agriculture, large scale IoT deployments

Wi-SUN is a standard (IEEE 802.15.4g) managed by the Wi-SUN Alliance and designed for Smart Cities, Smart Agriculture, and other large scale IoT deployments with a large number of devices thanks to the use of IPv6 mesh networking. The organization was founded in 2011 to “support the worldwide development of Wireless Communications Networks for Utilities, Smart Cities and IoT”, but due to the niche nature of target applications, it does not get that much press coverage and was only recently brought to my attention. Wi-SUN stands for “Wireless Smart Utility Networks”or “Wireless Smart Ubiquitous Networks”, and the standard aims to connect streetlights, cameras, weather stations, smart metering, utility transmission systems, and others to enable data-sharing between city services to improve their efficiency, save costs, and offer improves services to citizens. Wi-SUN FAN (Field Area Network) is the latest protocol managed by the Wi-SUN Alliance with over 95 million units shipped […]

August 22, 2022August 22, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Wireless M-Bus & LTE Cat 1 sensor board also supports Zigbee 3.0, Z-Wave, Bluetooth LE 5.0, LoRa…

Geniatech SCB32IM is a sensor board based on Silicon Labs EFR32FG14 Arm Cortex-M4 microcontroller with a sub-GHz radio enabling wireless M-Bus (Wireless Meter Bus) designed for remote reading of smart meters, and also equipped with a Quectel EC200S “IoT/M2M-optimized” LTE Cat 1 module. The sensor module does not actually come with any sensor on board, but provides a terminal block to connect any sensor you may need for your product. It’s also possible to extend wireless connectivity options with Zigbee 3.0, Z-Wave, Bluetooth LE 5.0, LoRa, and more through the GT-IoT interface with UART, SPI, and one GPIO. Geniatech SBC32IM specifications: Microcontroller – Silicon Labs EFR32FG14 Aem Cortex-M4 MCU @ 40MHz with up to 256 KB flash, 32 KB RAM, and proprietary 2.4GHz and sub-GHz radios Wireless connectivity Wireless M-Bus S Mode: 868 MHz band T Mode: 868 MHz band C Mode: 868 MHz band N Mode: 169 MHz band […]

August 3, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Milandr MDR32F02FI is a RISC-V microcontroller for (Russian) electricity meters

Last year, we wrote about the Made-in-Russia Mikron MIK32 RISC-V microcontroller with features similar to STM32L0 Arm Cortex-M0+, and I was recently told that the first fully packed samples are expected for the end of autumn. But it turns out there’s another Russian company that makes RISC-V microcontrollers, and for instance, the Milandr MDR32F02FI features the open-source BM-310 RISC-V MCU core and is specially designed for electricity meters. It is the second generation of the microcontroller with the first being based on Arm Cortex-M0 core and produced for over 5 years. Milandr MDR32F02FI specifications: CPU – CloudBEAR BМ-310S 32-bit RISC-V core @ 60 MHz Memory – 112KB Storage – 256+8 KB flash, 16KB OTP Electricity meter function 7-channel 24-bit sigma-delta ADC Hardware unit for calculating power consumption Other Peripherals 5x UART, 3x SPI, 1x I2C Up to 55x GPIOs Instrumental ADC – 10-bit with temperature sensor 4x 32-bit timer blocks […]

June 22, 2022June 22, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Imagination unveils IMG RTXM-2200 32-bit RISC-V real-time “Catapult” CPU

Imagination IMG RTXM-2200 32-bit RISC-V real-time CPU core is the first member of the company’s Catapult family comprised of four distinct RISC-V families for dynamic microcontrollers, real-time embedded CPUs, high-performance application CPUs, and functionally safe automotive CPUs. The company says it’s a highly scalable real-time, deterministic, 32-bit embedded CPU, that is feature-rich and flexible in design for mainstream devices, but, excuse the pun, leaves most of the details to your imagination… The new core will mostly be used as a helper core (aka co-processor) in more complex SoCs for 5G modems, cellular base stations, networking solutions for data transfer, packet management, and storage controllers, but may also find its way into smart meters. In all fairness, we do have some limited technical details with L1 cache sizes up to 128KB, I/D TCM sizes up to 128KB, and PMA regions. The real-time core will also include optional features such as single-point […]

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Intel Xeon D network and edge processors find their way into COM Express & COM-HPC modules

Intel has recently launched the Intel Xeon D (Ice Lake-D) processor family with the D-2700 and the D-1700 models designed for software-defined network and edge applications with integrated AI and crypto acceleration, built-in Ethernet, support for Intel Time Coordinated Computing (TCC) and Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), plus high reliability. The new processors are bringing data center-class hardware to the edge, and at least two embedded systems companies, namely ADLINK Technology and Congatec, have already launched COM-HPC server modules and COM Express Type 7 module based on the new Intel Xeon D family. Intel Xeon D processors Intel Xeon D-2700 and Intel Xeon D-1700 are designed for space- and power-constrained ruggedized environments, feature industrial-class reliability, hardware-based security, and up to 56 high-speed PCIe lanes to support networks with up to 100Gbps Ethernet. While the Intel Xeon D-1700 sub-family is scalable from 2 to 10 cores, the Intel Xeon D-2700 family goes up […]

December 5, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Eigencomm EC616/EC616S SoC supports Cat-NB2 cellular IoT

Eigencomm EC616/EC616S are Cortex-M3 microcontrollers supporting the 3GPP R13/R14 NB-IoT standard, with 3GPP R14 notably introducing the newer LTE Cat-NB2 standard allowing higher bitrates up to 127 kbps downlink, and up to 159 kbps uplink, and OTDOA and E-CID positioning methods. Both EC616 and EC616S are virtually identical, but the EC616S comes with fewer GPIOs and is designed for the lowest possible BoM cost for modules as small as 10×10 mm. Both target similar IoT applications such as wireless meter reading, smoke detection, smart street lights, smart logistics, asset tracking, smart fire monitoring, smart parking, smart home, wearable devices, industry 4.0, smart agriculture, and others. Eigencomm EC616/EC616S specifications: MCU core – Arm Cortex-M3 @ up to 204 MHz Frequency band – 663 MHz to 2200 MHz Protocol version – 3GPP R13/R14 Built-in PA output power – 23dBm Receiver sensitivity – EC616: -118 dBm, EC616S: -117 dBm Peripherals EC616 – 2x […]

September 24, 2021April 26, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SolidSense N8 IoT Compact gateway supports Wirepas Massive

SolidRun “SolidSense N8 IoT Compact” is a Linux Edge gateway based on NXP i.MX 8M Nano Solo processor that offers Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, and optional 4G LTE Cat 4 & GPS connectivity, plus Wirepas Massive (previously Wirepas Mesh networking) via a module based on Nordic Semi nRF52832 wireless Cortex-M4 microcontroller. The gateway comes with 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, offers optional RS485 and CAN interfaces, and targets IoT applications such as smart metering, automation, asset tracking, safety & security, and smart buildings. SolidSense N8 IoT Compact gateway SolidSense N8 IoT Compact specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX8M Nano single core Arm Cortex A53 @ 1500MHz + Cortex M7 @ 650MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, MIcroSD card slot Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port with optional PoE support 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 Optional 4G LTE Cat 4 (Global) + GPS with fallback […]