GPS World

Tag: narrowband

  • New antennas meet NB-IoT standard

    Credit: u-blox.
    Credit: u-blox.

    Narrowband IoT (NB‑IoT) is a new way of communicating with the “things” in Internet of Things that was standardized by 3GPP in June 2016.

    The latest mobile broadband standard, NB-IoT is aimed at devices that need to communicate small amounts of data over long periods in hard-to-reach places. It connects devices through existing GSM and LTE spectrum networks.

    NB-IoT uses the 3GPP-licensed network spectrum, which is secure and free from interference, and offers low power, long range, the ability to penetrate walls and metal barriers, and support for about 50,000 devices per single cellular cell.

    “Narrowband IoT will be good for connecting devices in locations where the signal distance is in kilometers and for locations in basements and underground,” said Antenova CEO Colin Newman.

    “It could be the enabler for some of the IoT applications that are emerging that are not suited to the established telecoms networks, where the data throughput is quite low and infrequent.

    “We see these antennas being used for smart metering, agricultural technologies, building automation and smart-city applications with lighting, waste bins and parking spaces,” Newman said.

    Digicom's narrowband IoT GPS tracker has u-blox inside.
    Digicom’s narrowband IoT GPS tracker has u-blox inside.

    u-blox and Digicom. Chip-maker u-blox partnered with Digicom to develop its NB-IoT products, carrying out a series of innovative and successful field trials of the new NB-IoT technology.

    Digicom offers solutions for industrial markets using NB-IoT, with a focus on connectivity solutions for smart cities, smart buildings, industry 4.0 in general and the automotive industry. Digicom platforms are designed for the protection of vehicles, people and pets, offer ultra-low-power consumption and several years of operation in battery mode.

    Embedded in Digicom’s products are u-blox modules such as the SARA‑N2 NB-IoT.

    CEVA Dragonfly. CEVA Inc. and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) introduced Dragonfly NB1, a comprehensive NB-IoT solution with excellent performance and power consumption. It is easily integrated into a system on chip (SoC).

    GMV Add-On for GNSS.     Also, CEVA and ASTRI teamed up with GMV to offer integrated GNSS for smart devices with location tracking of logistics, assets, wearables and more.

    The GNSS IP is available as an add-on software that runs on the CEVA-X1 together with NB-IoT and leverages ASTRI’s GNSS RF IP embedded in the solution.

    GMV’s software IP supports all four GNSS constellations: GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS and Galileo, and allows seamless switching between constellations when required or to run multiple constellations concurrently to improve resolution and offer global asset tracking.

    Antenova Latona. Antenova has developed a new NB-IoT chip antenna in the company’s lamiiANT antenna family named Latona. The antenna measures 20 x 11 x 1.6 mm, and is built to a novel design that allows it to perform well within a device while being easy to integrate onto a small printed circuit board (PCB), as with all of Antenova’s embedded antennas.

  • Antenova reveals chip antennas for new NB-IoT standard

    Antenova reveals chip antennas for new NB-IoT standard

    Antenova's new NB-IoT antenna "Latona."
    Antenova’s new NB-IoT antenna “Latona.”

    Antenova Ltd., manufacturer of antennas and RF antenna modules for machine-to-machine and the Internet of Things (IoT), has developed a new antenna for the new narrow-band IoT (NB-IoT) standard that was ratified in 2016. The company showcased the antenna at Embedded World in Nuremberg in March.

    The antenna is small, measuring 20 x 11 x 1.6 mm, and is built to a novel design that allows it to perform well within a device while being easy to integrate onto a small printed circuit board (PCB).

    The new chip antenna in the company’s lamiiANT antenna family is named Latona (part no. SR4C033)

    Narrow-band IoT is the latest mobile broadband standard. It uses the 3GPP licensed network spectrum, which is secure and free from interference, and offers the combined advantages of low power, long range and the ability to penetrate walls and metal barriers.

    “Narrow Band IoT will be good for connecting devices in locations where the signal distance is in kilometers and for locations in basements and underground.” explains Antenova’s CEO, Colin Newman. “It could be the enabler for some of the IoT applications that are emerging that are not suited to the established telecoms networks, where the data throughput is quite low and infrequent. We see these antennas being used for smart metering, agricultural technologies, building automation and smart city applications with lighting, waste bins and parking spaces.”

    As with all of Antenova’s embedded antennas, the NB-IoT antennas are designed for quick and easy integration onto a host PCB.

    Samples of Latona areavailable to order. Antenova provides full design, testing and tuning services for customers who are adding wireless capabilities to their IoT devices and other electronic products.

  • Dragonfly narrowband IoT unveiled with GNSS option

    CEVA Inc., licensor of signal processing IP forconnected devices, and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) have introduced Dragonfly NB1, a comprehensive cost- and power-optimized NB-IoT solution aimed at streamlining the development of LTE IoT devices.

    Dragonfly NB1 leverages CEVA’s heritage of low-power DSPs and modem design and ASTRI’s experience in RF and IC Design technologies. Together, the companies have collaborated to produce a complete machine-to-machine (M2M) endpoint solution that offers best-in-class performance and power consumption, that is easily integrated into a system on chip (SoC).

    GMV Add-On for GNSS. CEVA and ASTRI have teamed up with GMV, a navigation system and solutions company, to offer an integrated GNSS solution for smart devices with location tracking of logistics, assets, wearables and more. The GNSS IP is available as an add-on software that runs on the CEVA-X1 together with NB-IoT and leverages ASTRI’s GNSS RF IP that is embedded into the solution.

    GMV’s software IP supports all four GNSS constellations: GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS and Galileo. The flexibility enabled by running the GNSS constellations fully in software on Dragonfly NB1 allows seamless switching between constellations when required or to run multiple constellations concurrently in order to improve resolution further and offer a truly global asset tracking solution.

    “Dragonfly NB1 with its multi-mode RF and dedicated IoT processor is a perfect match with GMV’s software GNSS product,” said Miguel Manuel Romay Merino, executive director of GNSS at GMV. “It provides full flexibility in using multiple constellations, either separately or concurrently to serve the various requirements specific to asset trackers, wearables and other IoT endpoint devices.”

    Dragonfly Features

    Dragonfly NB1 not only reduces the time taken to get NB-IoT products certified, but also provides low-power wide-area (LPWA) SoC designers with a flexible, software-upgradeable platform with key benefits in terms of die size and power consumption:

    • The Dragonfly NB1 solution is enabled by a single CEVA-X1 IoT processor, capable of running the complete PHY and protocol stack software for NB-IoT in addition to other associated workloads such as GNSS and sensing. It eliminates the need for additional processors and hardware accelerators in the SoC and allows in-the-field upgrades to Release 14 eNB-IoT and other future releases.
    • The CEVA-X1 IoT processor architecture includes specialized NB-IoT instructions and mechanisms to speed up PHY, MAC and encryption execution, further reducing clock speed and power consumption. It can also support other LPWA standards and workloads such as Cat-M1, LoRa, SigFox and voice.
    • The Dragonfly NB1 solution incorporates highly power-efficient multi-standard RF with embedded PA, LNA, DC-DC and DCXO technology for NB-IoT and GNSS (GPS and BeiDou), shortening development time and reducing the overall module bill of materials.

    Memory is a critical consideration for NB-IoT, as it directly influences the cost, silicon area and overall form factor of the module. Dragonfly NB1 is specifically designed to operate with embedded flash by incorporating an optimized low latency memory subsystem with a dedicated cache controller. The solution also includes a specialized security unit for a fully-trusted system.

    “In the coming years, NB-IoT will become the dominant technology for low power wide area connectivity. For most companies, understanding how to develop this technology is a daunting task,” said Michael Boukaya, Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Business Unit at CEVA. “To overcome this, we have worked relentlessly with ASTRI to develop a complete solution from the ground up, that removes the design burden and allows SoC designers to add NB-IoT connectivity to their product designs. We’re extremely excited to announce this solution and demonstrate our leadership in IP for NB-IoT.”

    “We’re pleased to partner with CEVA to address the cellular IoT market opportunity,” said Frank Tong, CEO at ASTRI. “Our joint development efforts have resulted in a highly-integrated modem solution with integrated RF that delivers outstanding performance and is power-optimized for the most rigorous NB-IoT use cases. We look forward to continuing our collaboration as we help our mutual customers get to market.”

    Reference silicon of the complete modem design — including embedded CMOS RF transceiver, advanced digital front-end, physical layer software and third-party protocol stack (MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS) — will be available this June.

  • u-blox and Digicom partner on narrowband IoT products

    u-blox and Digicom partner on narrowband IoT products

    Chip-maker u-blox is parntering with Digicom, a company that offers a wide range of hardware and software with cellular connectivity, to develop narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) products and solutions. Both companies have carried out a series of innovative and successful field trials of the new NB-IoT technology.

    The announcement reflects u-blox’s and Digicom’s eagerness to meet pent-up demand for Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) connectivity, as delivered by NB-IoT technology, standardized by 3GPP in June 2016.

    Digicom's narrowband IoT GPS tracker has u-blox inside.
    Digicom’s narrowband IoT GPS tracker has u-blox inside. Photo: u-box

    The benefits of NB-IoT over other cellular radio technologies include lower device complexity, ultra‑low power operation and support for > 50 k devices per single cellular cell. As NB-IoT operates on networks within the licensed spectrum, it also offers greater security and freedom from interference.

    It is therefore suitable for IoT and M2M applications requiring extremely low power consumption and better coverage even in shielded areas.

    The collaboration is driven by a complementary business relationship between the two companies. Digicom offers innovative solutions for the industrial markets using NB-IoT, with a particular focus on connectivity solutions for Smart Cities, Smart Buildings, Industry 4.0 in general and the Automotive industry. Digicom platforms are designed for the protection of vehicles, people and pets, offer ultra low power consumption and several years operation in battery mode.

    Embedded in Digicom’s products and solutions is for instance the u-blox SARA‑N2 NB-IoT module, which was announced in June 2016 as a cellular radio module compliant with 3GPP Release 13. Release 13 defined the NB-IoT cellular air interface standard, specifically targeting devices that need to communicate small amounts of data over long periods of time in hard-to-reach places.

    “We have collaborated with u-blox for a long time and the quality and innovation of their modules enable us to develop cutting-edge products and solutions,” said Stefano Galzignato, business line manager at Digicom.

    “We are excited to be part of this partnership, which showcases u‑blox as a global leader in developing NB‑IoT solutions for IoT applications,” said Stefano Moioli, u‑blox director of product management, cellular.

    The partnership is expected to grow steadily alongside a rising demand for Digicom solutions for IoT markets.