Rohde & Schwarz has partnered with Skylo Technologies, a global software-defined non-terrestrial network (NTN) operator, to set up a device acceptance scheme for Skylo’s NTN.
The proven device test framework from Rohde & Schwarz will be used to test NTN chipsets, modules and devices to validate their compatibility with the Skylo test specification.
The collaboration aims to reinforce and expand the testing capabilities for NTN, ensuring that chipsets, modules and devices using the NTN Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) protocol integrate seamlessly with Skylo’s network and are 3GPP Release 17 compliant.
The Rohde & Schwarz test framework is built on the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester. The framework serves as the preferred choice for IoT testing, including research and development to GCF/PTCRB certification and carrier acceptance tests, covering both terrestrial and non-terrestrial IoT domains.
With the R&S CMW500 software stacks, the new framework offers reliable and repeatable results. It comes with NTN Release 17 features as well as support for different orbits.
Rohde & Schwarz, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, have partnered to conduct a comprehensive set of tests for narrowband-internet of things (NB-IoT) over non-terrestrial networks (NTN). This test aims to accurately verify two-way IoT data across various operating modes using geosynchronous orbit (GSO) and geostationary orbit (GEO) constellations in line with the 3GPP Release 17.
The companies will conduct a broad range of tests that address the many challenges inherent to satellite-based, non-terrestrial networks that use GSO and GEO constellations. The test set covers time and frequency synchronization from prolonged delays and the Doppler Effect, low signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, power saving mechanisms, satellite ephemerides, GNSS acquisition and more.
These tests will be a validation tool for Qualcomm Technologies’ NTN chips — the 212S and 9205S. The R&S CMW500 protocol testing framework scenarios and the R&S CMW 3GPP Release 17 NTN IoT protocol enabler on a single R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester will help engineers assess their NTN NB-IoT devices powered by Qualcomm Technologies’ NTN chips under realistic conditions.
The R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester emulates GSO and GEO satellite base stations in combination with the R&S SMBV100B, which generates GNSS signals. Establishing a real-time, comprehensive connection with the simulated GSO/GEO satellite network lets engineers test relevant signaling and RF scenarios in line with 3GPP Release 17.
At the MWC Shanghai 2023, Rohde & Schwarz will hold a live demonstration of the test solution at its booth with Qualcomm Technologies’ NTN Release 17 IoT chipsets.
STMicroelectronics has released an ultra-compact, low-power, narrow-band internet of things (NB-IoT) industrial module with GNSS geo-location capabilities, the ST87M01. The fully programmable, certified LTE Cat NB2 NB-IoT industrial module covers worldwide cellular frequency bands and integrates advanced security features.
The ST87M01 is an integrated native GNSS receiver with multi-constellation access, which ensures enhanced and accurate localization. The module has a diminutive 10.6 mm x 12.8 mm land grid array footprint, making it suitable for applications where a small form factor is key.
The STM8701 offers flexibility for product developers, presenting a fully programmable IoT platform enabling users to embed their own code into the module for simple applications. A variety of protocol stacks are available to handle popular IoT use cases.
The ST87M01 targets wide-ranging IoT applications that require ultra-reliable low-power wide-area network connectivity and has ultra-low power consumption with less than 2 µA in low-power mode and transmit output power up to +23 dBm.
Suitable applications for the module include smart metering, smart grid, smart building, smart city and smart infrastructure applications, as well as industrial condition monitoring and factory automation, smart agriculture and environmental monitoring. The module can also be combined with a separate host microcontroller, permitting many more use cases.
How will widespread deployment of 5G most benefit GNSS?
Greg Turetsky
“The connectivity options that widespread 5G offer will accelerate multiple GNSS benefits. The high bandwidth is starting to encourage many into the RTK domain, but I think the bigger opportunity may come from the low power versions that enable IoT applications. The combination of the ubiquity of cellular connectivity with the low power of NB-IoT could truly accelerate the real time asset management sector all the way down to the package/pallet level.” — Greg Turetzky
Allison Brown
“Widespread deployment and adoption of 5G is likely to continue to increase the demand for spectrum as broadband access continues to expand. The recent FCC decision allowing Ligado to operate terrestrial networks in bands near GPS is likely not the last decision that will result from this increasing demand. It is not clear to me that 5G deployment will ‘benefit’ GNSS and chipset vendors may need to prioritize developing products that have improved robustness in the presence of nearby interference.” — Alison Brown
Miguel Amor
“The benefit of 5G will be seen in the long term, when 5G ranging capability is available. Hybrid positioning algorithms using both 5G and GNSS observations will provide significant positioning benefits in challenging urban environments and seamless navigation between indoor and outdoor environments. Applications across markets will see the benefits of hybrid 5G and GNSS navigation, but the real advantage lies in how this hybrid will enable the future of autonomous mobility. We will see both technologies working closer together to deliver a seamless and ubiquitous positioning solution.” — Miguel Amor
Mitch Narins
“Like communications, the ability to precisely and securely position and navigate is an essential part of 21st century life. Together they must support both critical and non-critical operations. This requires finding a common understanding of spectrum needs and how to have the best of both. In the long run, end runs by either side may achieve myopic goals but will damage society. The problem is crying out for an enterprise-level systems engineering leadership that can plot our future spectrum course. Else, the push for spectrum will continue, fueled by ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ and often a lack of understanding of the importance of other spectrum uses.” — Mitch Narins
Image: iStock.com/metamorworks via Bentley Systems
Nestwave has developed an ultra-low power, advanced GNSS solution for use in internet of things (IoT) applications.
Nestwave, a Paris-based startup, is demonstrating its new low-power, high-accuracy GPS IP at Mobile World Congress, being held Feb. 25-28 in Barcelona, Spain.
The software-based GNSS solution allows modem customers to add accurate position-based services to their modem platforms.
When integrated with an IoT modem such as NB-IoT, Cat M1, LoRa or Sigfox, the solution offers low-cost geolocation for emerging applications such as asset tracking, smart factories and smart cities, without the need for an external GNSS chip.
“After several years of development and based on a number of key signal processing breakthroughs, we believe Nestwave is well-positioned to provide a best-in-class solution for low-power IoT applications where position awareness is key,” said Rabih Chrabieh, Nestwave CEO. “We are excited to demonstrate our GPS solution, in collaboration with Cadence by leveraging their Tensilica Fusion F1 DSP platform at MWC this year.”
“The Fusion F1 DSP is gaining traction with customers as a platform for low-cost, power-sensitive IoT communications standards like NB-IoT,” said Gerard Andrews, director of marketing for Tensilica products at Cadence.
The Cadence Tensilica Fusion F1 DSP is designed for low-cost IoT applications requiring a single processor core that is proficient at both DSP and control-code workloads.
Developed on a highly configurable architecture, the Fusion F1 DSP is specifically designed to excel at “always-on” processing, including wake-on-voice and sensor fusion applications.
Additionally, the Fusion F1 DSP instruction-set architecture is very efficient at running narrowband wireless communications standards like BLE, Thread, Zigbee, 802.11ah, NB-IoT and GNSS.
Visit the Nestwave/Cadence demo at the Cadence booth at Fira Gran Via, hall 6, stand 6L34.
CEVA Inc. and Nurlink have introduced Nurlink’s NK6010 3GPP Rel.14 eNB-IoT system-on-chip (SoC), powered by the CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 IP solution.
The companies made the announcement in advance of Mobile World Congress, which takes place Feb. 25-28 in Barcelona, Spain.
According to the companies, NK6010 is a cost- and power-efficient NB-IoT system on chip (SoC) designed specifically to enable narrowband connectivity in massive internet of things (IoT) devices such as smart meters, wearables, asset trackers and industrial sensors.
The SoC, built around the CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 solution, incorporates an RF front-end, RF transceiver, cellular baseband, power management unit and application processor, all highly integrated to minimize the size and cost of the device.
The SoC includes an extremely low-power multi-GNSS subsystem, supporting GPS/Beidou/Galileo/GLONASS global navigation systems, to ensure highly-accurate device tracking and locating, worldwide, the companies said.
It also supports all NB-IoT frequency bands and major global carriers, ensuring smooth and rapid certification of devices on any NB-IoT commercial network around the world.
The CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 IP solution is a modular technology, composed of the CEVA-X1 IoT processor, an optimized RF transceiver, baseband, and a protocol stack to offer a complete Release 14 Cat-NB2 modem IP solution that significantly reduces time-to-market and lowers entry barriers.
It is a fully software-configurable solution and can be extended with multi-constellation GNSS and sensor fusion functionality. The IP includes a reference silicon of the complete modem design, including an embedded CMOS RF transceiver and PA, an advanced digital front-end, physical layer firmware and a protocol stack (MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS).
“We developed NK6010 to meet the exceptional demand for NB-IoT chipsets to power the multitude of new use cases and applications that narrowband cellular connectivity serves,” said Xiaohua Kong, Nurlink CEO. “The CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 enabled us to massively accelerate our time-to-market by providing many of the key building blocks for our SoC design, already silicon proven and pre-integrated.
“In addition, through the programmable nature of the Dragonfly solution, our engineering team were able to add our innovation during the communication system development and SoC customization,” Kong said. “This framework eventually helped us to create a truly differentiated product. Our path from licensing to silicon was achieved in under one year, and we’re now engaged with operators worldwide to certify our SoC.”
“NB-IoT has reached critical mass, with more than 60 operators around the world already supporting the standard and dozens more launching coverage imminently,” said Michael Boukaya, vice president and general manager of the wireless business unit at CEVA. “Now the drive towards ultra-low cost NB-IoT chipsets and modules has begun and Nurlink, powered by our CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 IP solution, is one of the early entrants into this fast growing space. We applaud their efforts to reach the market so quickly and look forward to monitoring their success.”
The toolset is a rapid-prototyping platform that lets product designers test and optimize the position accuracy and power consumption of wireless location tracking applications that use LTE-M and NB-IoT cellular networks, as well as GNSS technology. The toolset targets product engineers working on battery powered applications such as sport, people and asset trackers.
An increasing number of battery powered consumer and industrial products feature integrated GNSS receivers. These products include virtual reality headsets, smart watches, and devices to track elderly people, containers or parcels.
With the ongoing roll-out of low power wide-area cellular networks (LPWAN) such as LTE-M and NB-IoT technologies around the world and the extremely low power consumption they enable, the range of use cases for wireless location trackers is expected to expand further.
Screenshot: u-blox
“With today’s technology, product designers can now include optimized battery life in their applications,” said Florian Bousquet, product manager, Product Center Positioning, at u-blox.
“We developed this toolset to give customers a quick and easy way to test the accuracy and the power consumption of their product ideas using the latest generation of our technology,” he said. “In many cases, they can replicate their applications and start testing the performance of different device configurations in under 15 minutes.”
“The toolset offers access to the very latest technologies, from LTE-M and NB-IoT cellular communication to our proprietary Super-E mode(see video below) that delivers the best balance between power consumption and GNSS positioning performance,” he added.
The u-track software runs from embedded firmware on the new u-blox C030-R410M application board. The board, specifically designed to rapidly prototype applications for the internet of things (IoT), includes an ultra-small, low-power u-blox ZOE-M8B GNSS receiver and a size-optimized SARA-R410M LTE-M/NB-IoT cellular communication module.
Additionally, u-track includes a PC software application. Its user-friendly dashboard lets users log, retrieve, and visualize power consumption, accuracy, and other important values, such as the time it takes the GNSS receiver to calculate a position (time-to-first-fix, TTFF).
The u-track and C030-R410M toolset will be showcased on Sept. 12-14 at Mobile World Congress Americas, u-blox Booth no S.2702.
Sierra Wireless, a provider of fully integrated device-to-cloud solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), is offering global, dual-mode low-power wide-area (LPWA) cellular modules. The AirPrime WP77 smart wireless modules simplify LPWA deployments for customers developing products that need to connect to multiple networks where different LPWA technologies are supported.
The Sierra Wireless AirPrime WP Series.
The WP series simplifies development for secure telematics and gateway applications, providing a dedicated application CPU core running the Linux-based open source Legato application framework.
With integrated GNSS for tracking and location-based services, low-power modes and a comprehensive set of interfaces for connecting sensors and companion chips, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, customers can develop multi-service platforms for the transportation market, and use the WP77 for applications requiring low throughput and optimized power performance.
The WP77 supports both LTE-M (Cat-M1) and NB-IoT (Cat-NB1) with optional 2G fallback, allowing customers to deploy the same device with multiple network operators worldwide. For those deploying in regions where 4G LTE coverage is not as widely available, 2G fallback ensures their devices stay connected to the network.
ABI Research forecasts that cellular LPWA network technologies will begin to see rapid growth from 2018 onward as carriers upgrade their networks in 2017, however, carriers have varying plans and timelines for LTE-M and NB-IoT.
“A module with dual-mode, global coverage will be very attractive for global equipment manufacturers, especially for applications such as telematics, metering, and location tracking, which we expect will lead the way for LPWA volume deployments,” said Dan Shey, managing director and vice president at ABI Research.
With the commercialization of LTE-M and NB-IoT LPWA technologies, cellular is now a superior option for many IoT applications that were previously restricted to short-range technologies due to cost and battery life. LPWA technologies combine lower cost, broader coverage and better battery life with globally available and secure cellular networks and will connect millions more things to the Internet.
“With the AirPrime WP77 modules, IoT developers have everything they need in a single module to quickly build low-power connected products that can be deployed anywhere in the world,” said Dan Schieler, senior vice president and general manager, Embedded Solutions, Sierra Wireless. “The integrated open source Legato platform and AirVantage cloud provide our customers with a proven device-to-cloud architecture to design innovative LPWA solutions that extend the IoT into new applications.”
