GPS World

Tag: NBT

  • Synzen antennas and Next Big Thing join on IoT GNSS platform

    Synzen antennas and Next Big Thing join on IoT GNSS platform

    Antenna company Synzen Precision Technology has teamed up with Next Big Thing AG (NBT) to produce the sensor-based LTE-M/NB-IoT development platform Prometheus, which promises fast cellular internet of things (IoT) prototyping.

    The PROXIMA GNSS antenna will be part of the Prometheus platform. (Photo: Synzen Precision Technology)
    The PROXIMA GNSS antenna will be part of the Prometheus platform. (Photo: Synzen Precision Technology)

    Prometheus is an IoT sensor-based development platform designed to simplify prototyping and speed time to market for developers of IoT and cloud-based solutions. The latest platform showcases Synzen’s expertise in GNSS and LTE 4G antenna solutions when combined with the Nordic nRF9160 module.

    The building blocks enabling the mobility and IoT revolution are “always-on” connected 4G cellular and accurate and reliable GNSS solutions, regardless of the operating environment, Synzen said. Prometheus provides 4G connectivity combined with high-performance GNSS positioning solutions.

    For the Prometheus platform, NBT chose the low-power FR4 active GNSS solution. “The selection of our latest PROXIMA low-power active solution in an FR4 package helped enable a fully certified solution optimized for low power consumption over the full industrial temperature range of –40 to +85 degrees centigrade,” said Chris Tomlin, Synzen technical director.

    The PROXIMA GNSS SMD active antenna includes an amplifying front end to boost the signal as well as provide out-of-band filtering to prevent receiver saturation.

  • NBT’s Prometheus employs Nordic’s nRF9160 SiP for IoT and GNSS

    NBT’s Prometheus employs Nordic’s nRF9160 SiP for IoT and GNSS

    Photo: Next Big Thing
    Photo: Next Big Thing

    German venture studio Next Big Thing AG (NBT) has launched the Prometheus internet of things (IoT) sensor-based development platform designed to simplify prototyping and speed time-to-market for developers of cellular IoT- and cloud-based solutions.

    The Prometheus platform is powered by Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF9160 low-power system-in-package (SiP) with integrated LTE-M/NB-IoT modem and GNSS. The platform supports development across a wide range of industrial applications including the manufacturing, pharmaceutical and logistics sectors.

    The nRF9160 SiP’s 64-MHz Arm Cortex-M33 dedicated application processor provides sufficient computational power to not only supervise the LTE-M/NB-IoT modem’s cellular connectivity, but also all other product functionality. The SiP’s 1MB Flash and 256kB RAM supports fast response and complex application software.

    In addition to the Nordic SiP, the CE-certified development platform features a wide range of sensors and interfaces, a stable embedded software stack, fully encrypted communication, mesh connectivity for short-range communication, automatic switching between NB-IoT and LTE-M cellular IoT connectivity, and advanced provisioning tools. The solution is optimized for low power consumption and provides an industrial temperature range of –40 to +85° C.

    NBT’s IoT development platform comprises two main components:

    • the hardware and embedded software platform (Prometheus)
    • the cloud-based software platform (NBT software platform).

    The standard configuration of Prometheus consists of a range of sensors, for example a temperature sensor (analog and digital), accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, air quality sensor, ambient light sensor and humidity sensor.

    The extended version of Prometheus also includes Nordic’s nRF52832 Bluetooth 5.2/Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) general purpose multiprotocol system-on-chip (SoC) to provide support for Bluetooth LE connectivity, as well as USB, GPS, radar, an adjustable antenna tuner and extended temperature range.