Ceva, Astri unveil NB-IoT GNSS-configurable solution for LTE devices

February 27, 2017  - By

Ceva, a licensor of signal processing IP for smarter, connected devices, and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Lt. (Astri) have unveiled the Dragonfly NB1, a comprehensive cost- and power-optimized NB-internet of things (IoT) solution aimed at streamlining and the development of LTE IoT devices.

The solution also features configurable software, allowing the addition of support for GNSS and sensing.

According to the companies, Dragonfly NB1 leverages Ceva’s long heritage of low power DSPs and modem design and Astri’s experience in RF and IC design technologies. Dragonfly NB1 has the ability to reduce the time taken to get NB-IoT products certified and also provides low-power wide-area SoC designers with a flexible, software-upgradeable platform with key benefits in terms of die size and power consumption, the companies added.

The Dragonfly NB1 solution is enabled by a Ceva-X1 IoT processor and incorporates highly power-efficient multi-standard RF with embedded PA, LNA, DC-DC and DCXO technology for NB-IoT and GNSS (GPS and BeiDou). It is specifically designed to operate with embedded flash by incorporating an optimized low latency memory subsystem with a dedicated cache controller.

“In the coming years, NB-IoT will become the dominant technology for low power wide area connectivity,” said Michael Boukaya, vice president and general manager of Ceva’s Wireless Business Unit. “For most companies, understanding how to develop this technology is a daunting task. 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.”

Ceva and ASTRI have also teamed up with GMV, a major player in navigation systems and solutions, to offer an integrated GNSS solutions for smart devices with location tracking of logistics, assets, wearables and more. According to the companies, the GNSS IP is available as an add-on software that runs on the Ceva X1 together with the NB-IoT and leverages ASTRI’s GNSS RF IP that is embedded in the solution.

This article is tagged with , , , , , , , , and posted in Mobile, OEM

About the Author: Allison Kral

Allison Kral is the former digital media manager for North Coast Media (NCM). She completed her undergraduate degree at Ohio University where she received a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She works across a number of digital platforms, which include creating e-newsletters, writing articles and posting across social media sites. She also creates content for NCM's Pit & Quarry magazine, Portable Plants magazine and Geospatial Solutions. Her understanding of the ever-changing digital media world allows her to quickly grasp what a target audience desires and create content that is appealing and relevant for any client across any platform.