New sensor-node development kit offers highly integrated MCU and sensor array

Avnet Silica has developed a new sensor node board that delivers the low power operation and connectivity required for IoT, smart sensing and cloud applications. The company has combined best-in-class processing, sensing and connectivity from STMicroelectronics with the ARM mbed IoT device platform, which provides a complete solution including an advanced OS to run hardware, device management in the cloud and advanced security. Powered by ST’s ultra-low-power STM32L4 ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller, which features 1MB of Flash memory and 128KBytes of SRAM along with safety and security features, the new ‘Sensor Node’ board enables customers to quickly develop smart-sensor applications that can make use of several connectivity options. Choices include BLE connectivity, which enables an easy connection with smartphones, and sub-GHz 6LoWPAN connectivity for long-range communications. Key hardware on the new board includes the highly integrated ‘ST SensorTile’ module, which measures only 13mm x 13mm. The module integrates the STM32L4 MCU, plus ST’s very-low-power BlueNRG-MS BLE single-mode network processor, together with a wide selection of ST’s environment-sensing devices including accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer and microphone. The sensor-node board also offers some additional on-board sensors from ST that provide support for humidity, temperature, proximity and ambient light.