Arm Mbed software compatible STM32 LoRa Development platform

LoDev by Ronoth is an open source LoRa® Development board featuring the S76S SiP (system-in-a-package) from AcSip. The S76S is a compact SiP featuring STM32L073 micro-controller, SX1276 LoRa® Radio, and RF matching components, all in a very compact 11x13 mm package that comes with an FCC modular certification. LoDev allows IoT (Internet of Things) engineers and hobbyists to develop their own sensors and devices with long-range connectivity.

Overview

LoRa® technology is one of the leading wireless technologies powering the emerging Internet of Things. It is used in tons of cool technologies such as automatic meter reading, smart parking, and even livestock tracking. It has the unique ability to send packets over fairly long distances using minimal power (We’re talking kilometers!). LoRa® technology is perfect for devices that are located far away and need to send small amounts of data.

LoRa® wireless technology is used in industries and use-cases including:

• Cattle farming - Tracking herd movement, location, body temperature, and local humidity
• Vineyards - Soil moisture, humidity, temperature, and weather conditions
• Asset tracking - Realtime location tracking
• Railway - Early detection of freezing of railway switches
• Utilities - Waterflow meters, electric meters
• Pest control - Connected mousetrap

Who Needs It and Why

LoDev is perfect for hobbyist and professional engineers to develop their own sensors and devices. It allows rapid development of sensor applications by leveraging the rich Mbed developer community.

Hobbyist

LoDev is open-source and made by a hardware enthusiast for hardware enthusiasts. It is breadboard friendly and comes with a ton of software examples to get you started. It was built with the Mbed IDE and community in mind, but will work with any IDE supporting ARM Cortex.

Mbed IDE allows you to easily import the provided sample projects, compile them, make changes and share your projects all inside your browser. Some of the sample projects include:

Weather Sensors

LoRa® technology is widely applicable in agriculture and environmental monitoring. That’s why we’re offering a weather sensor pledge level. It includes a DHT11 temp and humidity sensor, soil moisture sensor, and light sensor with full source code available as an importable Mbed project to get started.

Mailbox Notifier

LoDev can be used to provide endless creative solutions to everyday problems. We built a mailbox sensor switch using a custom 3D printed part that attaches with magnets. This allows us to know when our mail has arrived in real time.

Engineers and Designers

LoDev is the platform of choice for engineers and hardware designers looking to move rapidly into the growing LoRa® ecosystem. LoDev along with the S76S SiP offer a best of breed solution in all key areas.

• Low TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) - There are a lot of factors that go into account when considering TCO. The key reason LoDev is the clear winner include:
  • Low-cost of development board
  • Professional Mbed community and rich library ecosystem
  • Low parts count and BOM cost - Besides a few passives, the S76S is the only SiP solution that requires no external components
• Fast GTM (Go to Market) - Using the LoDev platform along with the wealth of code and examples available through the Mbed community it's possible to develop custom sensor applications in days not months. When it's time to go from LoDev to a custom board layout using the S76S . You'll also have the peace of mind knowing the S76S is FCC modular certified saving you time and money navigating RF regulations.
• Design flexibility - The S76S is the smallest self-contained LoRa® SiP on the market. Save that board space for a bigger battery.

Check out the S76S comparison chart below for a good illustration of why the S76S is the best LoRa® solution for low TCO and fast GTM.

LoDev Comparison

LoDev is the only LoRaWAN™ compatible development board featuring the S76S SiP.

1. SX1272 is a Arduino compatible shield, for price comparison sake, configurations includes NUCLEO-L073RZ development board.
2. Dependent on what host board the SX1272 shield is on
3. These boards are potentially supported with the Arduino_STM32 board support package, but no Arduino boot-loader is available. While possible, this is a non-trivial route.
4. Pricing for 2 units (minimum for point to point communication)

S76S Comparison

At the heart of LoDev is the S76S SiP (System In a Package).

When you are looking to use that development board, it is important to consider the cost and time involved in taking a prototype to a custom product. The S76S is the smallest, most cost effective LoRa® SiP that is FCC Certified. It also comes in a friendly LGA package that is much easier to route than fine pitch BGAs, and requires no additional external components outside of decoupling capacitors.

1. Additional space required for external components
2. Cost does not include additional required components

Key Features

• Single chip integrated LoRaWAN™ solution
• Works with Mbed IDE (select NUCLEO_L073RZ target) or any STM32 / Arm Cortex compatible IDE
• STM32L073 microcontroller with 192 kB of program space
• Breadboard friendly
• Open source hardware and example code

Specifications

• Dimensions: 60 mm x 20 mm
• Receiver Sensitivity: down to -146 dBm
• TX Power: adjustable up to +20 dBm
• Range: up to 15 km coverage in suburban and up to 5 km coverage in urban areas

Pinout

Shipping & Fulfillment

All orders will be delivered to backers using Crowd Supply’s fulfillment service. Delivery within the US is included in the listed price while delivery outside the US will incur the shipping surcharge listed for each pledge level. For more information, please see Crowd Supply’s guide on ordering, paying, and shipping.

Risks and Challenges

LoDev has been through several iterations of development and has been used in the field for many months. We’ve produced dozens of them and have made numerous design improvements to aid manufacturability.

Ronoth, LLC (Formerly Third Venture Inc) is the same team that brought you LoStik and has experience delivering products through Crowd Supply in the past.

There is risk when delivering thousands of units in a timely manner because of component availability and lead times. We already have conversations ongoing with suppliers and have already purchased some key components for an initial production run.

LoRa® and LoRaWAN™ are trademarks of Semtech Corporation or its subsidiaries. Arm® Mbed™ are trademarks of Arm Limited.