We are launching today two new LoRa Nucleo packs, the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN2, for Europe, the Americas, and some Asian countries, and the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN3, which is our first LoRa development platform for China. They both come with a client node, and a gateway, to allow developers to start testing their system immediately and cost-effectively validating the entire LoRaWAN value chain locally. The nodes use a NUCLEO-L073RZ development board, and the gateways rely on a NUCLEO-F746ZG. Both packs also come with LoRa shields daughterboard that embark environmental sensors to make it easier to work on IoT projects. The pack is also unique because we partnered with three LoRaWAN providers: The Things Network, Actility, and Loriot. All of them will be able to service users in Europe and the Americas, while the last two will also work in China. More partners will also follow suit.
LoRa Nucleo Packs: The Benefits of Our Ecosystem
The gateway boards come with the Loriot binary, and if they so desire, users can change the network server provider by downloading binaries from the other two LoRaWAN providers on the ST.com website (for the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN2 and the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN3). These partnerships will facilitate setup and validations for the different service providers, but it will also allow teams to more quickly evaluate the costs associated with a LoRa network to see how they can better fit their application and budget their infrastructure. The end-node also works with our I-CUBE-LRWAN expansion package, which provides the LoRaWAN stack and the Hardware Abstraction Layer to help developers take advantage of the hardware faster. The bundle even includes pre-compiled binaries for the clients. The End_Node application will, for instance, create a simple LoRa object that can send data to the network.
LoRa Gateways: From LoRaWAN Certifications to Proprietary RF Protocols
The gateways in each pack use a LoRa shield from RisingHF, which integrates a Semtech SX1301/SX1257 transceiver for the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN2 and the SX1301/1255 model for the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN3. Similarly, the node shield of the latter Nucleo pack is from RisingHF, whereas the pack for Europe and the Americas is using an I-NUCLEO-LRWAN1. In all cases, developers looking to receive a LoRaWAN certification for their region will like that all these shields will use the frequencies adopted by their regulatory authorities and the LoRa Alliance. However, their antennas are also highly flexible to suit teams looking to create a custom solution. For instance, radios involved in LoRaWAN protocol in China use a 470 MHz frequency. However, 433 MHz is also used amongst companies that are looking to develop proprietary protocols and that aren’t interested in receiving a LoRaWAN certification.
LoRa Nodes: Sensors and AT Command Stack for Practical LoRa Nucleo Packs
Engineers will enjoy the presence of sensors on the nodes’ baseboards as it means that they don’t need to add a daughterboard to start working on IoT applications. Both client systems offer an accelerometer and gyroscope, as well as a MEMS pressure sensor and a thermometer/hygrometer. Additionally, the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN3 includes a magnetometer. Both systems also come with an AT command stack, which means that setting up the boards is relatively straightforward since developers can send commands from their serial terminal. The ST end-node solution is also unique thanks to the fact that they all use the same MCUs, and ST stacks, making the porting of firmware from one region to another is much simpler. Projects can share the same code base and make minor changes to adjust to the countries, regulations, or to account for the small differences in sensors.
