Enabling Quick Prototypes with RAKwireless

Bluetooth Nbiot is a new way of communication between devices in the IoT realm.  Specifically, it enables devices which require small amounts of data over long periods of time, in hard-to-reach-places, to send and receive information.

Versatile Developer Board

RAK Wireless’ offering, the iTracker RAK8211-NB is a developer board that enables manufacturers to develop products quickly by turning out prototypes using Bluetooth Nbiot.  The Quectel BC95 module provides the NB-IoT connectivity for the board, while the numerous connectivity options on the board (such as BLE 5.0 and GPS, besides the NB-IoT) are a boon to developers.  Also included on the board are a number of sensors such as a light, magnetic, temperature, humidity, triaxial acceleration and barometric sensors.  Easily programmable through the IDE, the iTracker module is Arduino friendly as well as has support for other platforms such as Zephr, RiotOS, Espruino JS APIs, Contiki OS and so on.  It also provides SWD an interface as well for programming the nRF52832 core.

RAK Wireless’ mPCIe Card

RAK Wireless also offers an mPCIe card supporting NB-IoT for IoT connectivity, which provides the convenience of adding it to routers or notebooks for remote monitoring, using the router’s or notebook’s mPCIe socket.  By sending AT commands over UART or USB modes of communication, developers can program the mPCIe card in Windows.  Extensive documentation from RAK is available along with user manuals which explain how to set up the board with Hologram IoT SIM card.  Data sheet and schematics provided along with the card enable easy configuration and setup.  Among the many applications of the card, areas where remote sensor monitoring, such as smart meter reading, find widespread acceptance of RAK Wireless’ offering.

Better Time to Market

NB-IoT requires only 200kH of narrow bandwidth (which accounts for the name ‘NB’) which means it can run adjacent to existing cellular networks.  RAK Wireless’ iTracker which has a combination of BLE and NB-IoT provides lots of useful application in the fields of telemetry to applications where live tracking and environment sensing are necessary.  For example, in the field of temperature sensors and moisture trackers, this development board has the potential to enable a lot of manufacturers to roll out their products to market much faster.

By leveraging the advantages of Bluetooth Nbiot, RAK Wireless has offered developers the ability to harness NB-IoT to their advantage and develop products with applications in a multitude of areas.