GNSS + Wi-Fi evaluation kit offered for IoT by Semtech, Actility

Photo: Actility

Actility and Semtech are offering the LR1110 LoRa Edge Evaluation Kit with a tracking device based on Semtech’s LR1110 chipset and Actility’s LoRaWAN network management expertise.

The solution delivers ultra-low power meter-accurate positioning both indoors and outdoors.

The kit allows solution providers and integrators to quickly evaluate this new technology and to experience how it reduces the cost and complexity of building a solution for locating and monitoring internet-0f-things (IoT) assets.

The LR1110 chipset, integrated to LoRa Edge, uses assisted GNSS (AGNSS) and Wi-Fi AP scanning, alongside standard LoRaWAN communications. It is bundled with Actility’s LoRaWAN network server (the ThingPark platform) and with the Tago.io application server.

ThingPark Enterprise delivers the data to Tago.io through a predefined interface. Tago.ai provides a mechanism for customers to route received location data to an actionable dashboard with the map location history, the data traffic history and other data.

The chipset has already been adapted by multiple companies such as Abeeway for its newest geolocation module.

Low-power geolocation

Semtech’s LR1110 is the first product in its new LoRa Edge platform — a highly versatile, low power, software-defined LoRa-based platform designed to enable a wide portfolio of applications for indoor and outdoor asset management.

Modular and configurable, the LR1110 can transition between outdoor and indoor activity automatically, using GPS satellite tracking for outdoor applications and Wi-Fi passive scanning for tracking indoor assets. It replaces the need to build different trackers for indoor or outdoor use or trackers that combine multiple location methods with a single chipset, reducing complexity and cost.

It contains the ultra-low power capabilities of a LoRa transceiver. This means that it can communicate over LoRaWAN and it can be used to acquire position coordinates either through GNSS or Wi-Fi signals. Instead of changing the batteries on asset trackers every three to six months with conventional Wi-Fi technology, LoRa Edge delivers low power consumption allowing battery lifetimes up to three years.

A crypto engine allows LoRaWAN keys to be stored inside the device for secure joining and communication. Modules can be securely activated from Semtech’s LoRa Cloud Device Activation Service.