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New-Tech Magazine l 67
ON Semiconductor &
RFMicron Unveil Multifaceted
IoT Sensor Platform
Supporting Battery-Free
Operation
Compact, highly integrated solution
utilizes
multiple
connectivity
modules to provide accurate “sense
data” onto any cloud platform
IoT Platform Development Kit
ON
Semiconductor
(Nasdaq:
ON),driving
energy
efficiency
innovations, teamed with RFMicron,
and developed a game-changing
‘plug-and-play’
development
tool to speed the deployment
of wireless passive sensor
solutions onto any Internet of
Things (IoT) cloud platform. The
IoT Platform Development Kit,
SENSORRFGEVK, brings together
a series of performance-optimized
computing
and
connectivity
modules to facilitate quick and
effective deployment of battery-free
wireless sensing technology and
IoT hardware in locations where
power and space constraints are of
particular concern. This streamlined
and flexible solution takes the
approach of moving much of the
system’s intelligence away from
where the sensors are situated, and
placing it on the cloud.
Each IoT Platform Development Kit
incorporates ON Semiconductor’s
battery-free wireless sensor tags,
which use RFMicron’s Magnus®
S2 Sensor IC, and can perform
temperature, moisture, pressure,
or proximity sensing functions. The
platform also features a UHF RFID
reader module with 32 decibels-
milliwatt (dBm) power rating and
an 860 megahertz (MHz) to 960
MHz frequency range. Localized
data processing is performed by the
ARM® Cortex-A8 based AM335x
system-on-chip (SoC). The platform
has the capacity to transfer captured
data either wirelessly (via WLAN,
Zigbee, Z-Wave, UHF Gen 2, etc.)
or using wireline infrastructure (via
KNX, CAN, SPI, Ethernet. etc.). This
development kit complements ON
Semiconductor’s existing wireless
sensor evaluation kit, SPS1M-EVK,
which provides a set of tools test
our sensor capabilities.
“This IoT Platform Development
Kit opens up greater opportunities
for IoT-based data-acquisition/
monitoring
enabling
the
implementation
of
wireless
sensors quickly and effectively
into many applications. Using it,
the data from multiple sensors
can rapidly be accessed, analyzed
and used on multiple backend
networks,” states Gary Straker, Vice
President and General Manager
of Protection and Signal Division
at ON Semiconductor. “As a result
of this platform, wireless sensing
technology can now be deployed
into application scenarios where a
mains supply is simply not available
or where replacing batteries
would be too difficult and costly to
undertake. This ground-breaking
product will markedly broaden the
scope of IoT deployment and this
development kit offers a tool that
makes evaluating the technology
simple for multiple application
use cases. Through this wireless
sensing technology we will be able
to connect what was previously un-
connectable.”
The platform also possesses
an intuitive touch-enabled user
interface, plus LEDs, headers and
switches designed to enhance
its configurability and expand
its operational potential. The
sophisticated
accompanying
software allows the platform to
fit seamless into any supported
network, serving as a dedicated
node. Built-in application firmware
will assist engineers in implementing
more effective IoT-based data-
acquisition/monitoring
systems
irrespective of their experience
level.
The combination of all the functions
above in a single self-contained
board creates an integration tool IoT
platforms can use to easily evaluate
wireless sensing technology in their