Avnet releases Azure Sphere Starter kit

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

Avnet will demonstrate its newly launched Azure Sphere MT3620 Starter Kit at CES 2019. The kit supports prototyping of IoT implementations using Microsoft’s Azure Sphere, an end-to-end solution (from silicon to the cloud) for creating secure connected microcontroller devices.

The kit features a small form-factor carrier board and the Avnet-developed Azure Sphere module with Wi-Fi connectivity, based on the MT3620 reference development board. It also includes a variety of expansion interfaces that enable the integration of components such as off-the-shelf sensors, displays, motors, and relays. Developers can download “getting started” tutorial guides that cover board setup to application coding.

The production-ready module is designed to help developers create secure IoT edge devices, including consumer appliances as well as smart retail, remote access, building, and factory automation applications. A recent survey conducted by Avnet found that 81% of developers believe that security is the biggest technological hurdle in IoT development. 

Carrier board features include:

• Two MikroE Click Board expansion sockets
• Grove expansion connector (I² C)
• On-board sensors
  • Three-axis accelerometer
  • Three-axis gyro
  • Temperature
  • Pressure/barometric
• Interface for optional OLED 128 × 64 display
• USB interface
  • Supports debug, service and recovery UARTs, and JTAG
• User push switches and LEDs
• 5-V to 3.3-V power regulation
• DC supply input:
  • USB 5 V from host computer
  • Terminal footprints for external 5-VDC and VBAT supplies

 Azure Sphere MT3620 Module features include:

• MediaTek MT3620AN SoC
• 3× ISU interfaces pre-configured for UART, SPI, I² C
• ADC/GPIO: 3× 12-bit ADC inputs (or 3 GPIOs)
• PWM/GPIO: 9× PWM outputs (or up to 24 GPIOs)
• RTC (requires VBAT supply)
• Dual-band 2.4-/5-GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Dual-band 2.4-/5-GHz chip antenna
• Production-ready

The Avnet Azure Sphere MT3620 Starter Kit can be pre-ordered for $75. Delivery is scheduled for early April.