Prototype boards enable LoRaWAN, LPWAN evaluation

Article By : STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics’ two prototype boards are based on LoRaWAN modules, with 13mm x 12mm size and power consumption range of 1.2μA in standby mode.

STMicroelectronics has developed two prototype boards for developers to start evaluating LoRaWAN and other Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies including 6LoWPAN. The boards are based on the LoRaWAN modules, with a 13mm x 12mm footprint and power consumption in the range of 1.2μA in standby mode.

The B-L072Z-LRWAN1 STM32 LoRa Discovery kit builds on the Murata open module that integrates a STM32L072CZ MCU and Semtech SX1276 transceivers. The module features a LoRa modem that provides long-range spread-spectrum communication and high interference immunity whilst minimising current consumption.

Since the module is open, developers have access to the STM32L072 MCU and its peripherals such as ADC, 16bit timer, LP-UART, I2C, SPI and USB 2.0 FS (supporting BCD and LPM). They can design their applications using STM32L0 HAL and LL embedded software libraries, and can further extend the board’s functionality choosing from expansion boards within the STM32 Nucleo ecosystem or among the range of Arduino expansion boards.

 
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Figure 1: STMicroelectronics' B-L072Z-LRWAN1 and I-NUCLEO-LRWAN1 prototype boards.
 

The B-L072Z-LRWAN1 kit includes an on-board debugger, a 64-pin STM32 Nucleomorpho connector, an Arduino-compatible connector and a battery socket. It also comes with access to a completely free development ecosystem that includes the MDK-ARM Integrated Development Environment (IDE), STM32CubeMX configurator and software tools and ST’s LoRaWAN protocol stack (I-CUBE-LRWAN).

Meanwhile, the I-NUCLEO-LRWAN1 is an expansion board for STM32 Nucleo or Arduino boards that can be simply plugged in to quickly start work developing full LoRa-based and/or FSK/OOK (Frequency-Shift Keying/On-Off Keying) connectivity applications. The board features a LoRaWAN module from USI together with an STM32L052T8 MCU and Semtech SX1272 transceivers. To aid development of IoT applications, the I-NUCLEO-LRWAN1 board is also equipped with ST’s LIS2DS12 3-axis accelerometer, LPS22HB MEMS pressure sensor, and HTS221 humidity and temperature sensor.

Both boards are LoRaWAN-certified and fully compliant with wireless regulations in the U.S., Europe, Russia, India and other countries using the 860-930MHz frequency bands. In addition to the industry-standard protocols, they also support proprietary LPWAN protocols for long-range connection of IoT devices like smart meters, alarm systems, tracking devices, positioning devices, environmental sensors and activity sensors.

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