Live NB-IoT demos showcase temperature monitoring sensors at MWC Americas

Jimmy Buchheim, CEO of Bluvision

u‑blox, a provider in wireless and positioning modules and chips, will feature a live Narrowband IoT (NB‑IoT or LTE Cat NB1) demo at MWC Americas in San Francisco, featuring SARA‑R410M-02B, a configurable LTE Cat M1/NB1 multi‑mode module with worldwide coverage.

NB-IoT is a highly efficient type of spectrum and the globally preferred standard due to benefits like cost savings, extended battery life and the ability to support a large number of connected devices.

u-blox has partnered with Bluvision, a provider of highly scalable end-to-end IoT platforms, to display Cold Chain Temperature Monitoring and Condition Monitoring using Bluvision’s BluCell. BluCell, a narrowband gateway that uses Bluetooth to wirelessly monitor hundreds of beacons, each measuring temperature, vibration analysis, door openings, location and movement. BluCell is connected via the u-blox SARA-R410M-02B to T‑Mobile’s network, expected to be the first NB-IoT network in North America.

“u-blox has partnered with Bluvision to showcase one of the first live NB-IoT demos of a cellular module on T-Mobile‘s NB-IoT network. We are able to illustrate how effective NB-IoT is in transmitting sensor information over the network in a use case that is typical for many IoT applications”, said Patty Felts, product manager, Cellular at u-blox.

The module is expected to be certified and available in early 2018 for T-Mobile’s NB-IoT network, which is expected to launch nationwide in mid-2018.

For the demo, Bluvision’s BEEKs beacons with sensors for temperature, vibration, magnetic fields and ambient light are attached to a cooler. The beacons will transmit telemetry data, which includes real-time and historical temperature log for the cooler and the vibration data from the compressor motor in the cooler, to the Bluzone cloud solution.

Patty Felts

“NB-IoT is a game changer when it comes to the Industrial applications of IoT. Through this capability, we are able to provide our customers with the ability to do remote installations of our sensor network, without the need for Wi-Fi and any other connectivity, at an extremely low cost,” says Jimmy Buchheim, CEO, Bluvision. “As a product, u-blox has the right module that works with all cellular narrow band technologies.”

SARA-R410M is a configurable LTE Cat M1/NB1 multi‑mode module with worldwide coverage. Measuring just 16 x 26 mm, it offers both LTE Cat M1 and Cat NB1 in a single hardware package, as well as software‑based configurability for all deployed global bands.

It provides enormous efficiencies in logistics and SKU management. Customers can easily respond to changes in business or market conditions, since supported frequencies and operator configuration decisions can now be made at “zero hour” or even later in the field.

The demo can be viewed during MWC Americas at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco from September 12-14, 2017 in Hall North, Stand N.352.

Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @IoTNow OR @jcIoTnow

RECENT ARTICLES

Get a US$50 Amazon voucher for sharing your IoT brand knowledge

Posted on: March 28, 2024

We want to know what you know about the IoT space. Just 3 minutes could earn you a US$50 Amazon digital gift card!

Read more

Enhance EV charging performance with cellular connectivity

Posted on: March 28, 2024

Electric vehicles (EVs) are steadily growing their market share at the expense of internal combustion engine vehicles. The growth is fuelled by several factors. Perhaps most importantly, prices for EVs have started to drop as competition in the industry is intensifying. New players and models are emerging, prompting several established EV makers to lower their

Read more
FEATURED IoT STORIES

What is IoT? A Beginner’s Guide

Posted on: April 5, 2023

What is IoT? IoT, or the Internet of Things, refers to the connection of everyday objects, or “things,” to the internet, allowing them to collect, transmit, and share data. This interconnected network of devices transforms previously “dumb” objects, such as toasters or security cameras, into smart devices that can interact with each other and their

Read more

The IoT Adoption Boom – Everything You Need to Know

Posted on: September 28, 2022

In an age when we seem to go through technology boom after technology boom, it’s hard to imagine one sticking out. However, IoT adoption, or the Internet of Things adoption, is leading the charge to dominate the next decade’s discussion around business IT. Below, we’ll discuss the current boom, what’s driving it, where it’s going,

Read more

9 IoT applications that will change everything

Posted on: September 1, 2021

Whether you are a future-minded CEO, tech-driven CEO or IT leader, you’ve come across the term IoT before. It’s often used alongside superlatives regarding how it will revolutionize the way you work, play, and live. But is it just another buzzword, or is it the as-promised technological holy grail? The truth is that Internet of

Read more

Which IoT Platform 2021? IoT Now Enterprise Buyers’ Guide

Posted on: August 30, 2021

There are several different parts in a complete IoT solution, all of which must work together to get the result needed, write IoT Now Enterprise Buyers’ Guide – Which IoT Platform 2021? authors Robin Duke-Woolley, the CEO and Bill Ingle, a senior analyst, at Beecham Research. Figure 1 shows these parts and, although not all

Read more

CAT-M1 vs NB-IoT – examining the real differences

Posted on: June 21, 2021

As industry players look to provide the next generation of IoT connectivity, two different standards have emerged under release 13 of 3GPP – CAT-M1 and NB-IoT.

Read more

IoT and home automation: What does the future hold?

Posted on: June 10, 2020

Once a dream, home automation using iot is slowly but steadily becoming a part of daily lives around the world. In fact, it is believed that the global market for smart home automation will reach $40 billion by 2020.

Read more

5 challenges still facing the Internet of Things

Posted on: June 3, 2020

The Internet of Things (IoT) has quickly become a huge part of how people live, communicate and do business. All around the world, web-enabled devices are turning our world into a more switched-on place to live.

Read more