BLE multi-sensor platform powered by solar cell

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

To help designers who are looking for alternative sources of energy to power their designs, ON Semiconductor is proving that a battery-free and maintenance-free approach to sensor development is possible with the release of its RSL10 Multi-Sensor Platform. Powered solely with a solar cell, the platform demonstrates that IoT sensor  solutions using solar energy harvesting  with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless communications can be developed without batteries or other forms of non-renewable energy.

The combination of ultra-low-power wireless communications, small-form-factor solar cell, and low-duty-cycle sensing applications makes it possible to develop and deploy maintenance-free IoT sensor nodes, said ON Semi. The RSL10 Solar Cell Multi-Sensor Platform  consists of the RSL10 SIP , a complete system-in-package (SiP) solution that features a RSL10 radio, integrated antenna, and all passive components.

Supporting the RSL10 is an efficient power management system and ultra-low-power sensors implemented in the platform. The sensor development platform combines the RSL10 SIP with a solar cell and a variety of low-power sensors from Bosch Sensortec, including the BME280 all-in-one environmental sensor (pressure, temperature, humidity) and the BMA400 ultra-low-power three-axis accelerometer . These sensors will enable OEM designers to create complete IoT nodes that are powered through renewable energy or energy harvested from the sensor’s surroundings, said ON Semi.

The platform can be used for IoT applications such as climate control, intrusion detection, and asset tracking. These include smart home and building automation such as HVAC control, window/door sensors and air quality monitoring, and asset tracking such as package open/close detection. Other possible applications are temperature and humidity data logging and shock monitoring.

Available now, the RSL10 Solar Cell Multi-Sensor Platform  comes with all design files (Gerber, schematic, and BoM) and customizable source code as part of a CMSIS software package.