u-blox selects ARM mbed IoT Device Platform for IoT wireless connectivity applications

u-blox (SIX:UBXN), a global leader in wireless and positioning modules and chips, today announced it has selected the ARM® mbed™ IoT Device Platform for customers creating host-less Internet of Things (IoT) wireless applications. By adopting the open ARM mbed environment and the u-blox ODIN-W2 module, designers can rapidly develop and deploy wireless IoT applications with ease.

Initially aimed at u-blox’s ODIN-W2 multiradio module, the availability of the ARM mbed development environment, tools and libraries, allows embedded developers access to the wireless module’s ARM Cortex®-M4 based microcontroller. This means that an extremely broad range of sensor and actuator-based IoT designs can be implemented on a single compact certified wireless module. Without the need for an external host, MCU designers can not only save significant bill of materials cost, development resources and specialist wireless design capabilities, but also keep the board footprint to an absolute minimum. In addition, the module’s open standard approach ensures ease of IoT connectivity, yet maintains type approval certification by restricting access to the communications stacks.

“It makes great business sense for u-blox to provide IoT developers access to the ARM processor powering its ODIN-W2 multiradio module,” said Coby Sella, vice president, products and technology, IoT business, ARM. “Having the ability to base a design on a pre-certified wireless module can accelerate the development process and have a significant impact on costs.”

The ODIN-W2 module is very compact, measuring just 14.8 x 22.3 mm, and is capable of multiple concurrent dual-band Wi-Fi and dual-mode Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity. The module features the core Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stacks, and the Wi-Fi function can operate in either infrastructure (STA) or access point (AP) modes. Peripheral support for connecting sensors and other devices includes GPIO, an ADC and DAC together with SPI, I2C, UART and CAN. In addition to supporting multiple communication standards, the mbed development environment provides built-in security features such as secure boot, hardware-enforced secure domains and SSL/TLD capability.

During ARM TechCon, u-blox will be demonstrating the ODIN-W2 wireless module with mbed connected by GPIO to an Arduino board collecting various sensor data. The ARM mbed application running on ODIN-W2 transfers this data via Wi-Fi to the IBM Bluemix cloud-based analysis platform. There the data is made available for real time viewing, as well as more advanced analysis with developed server applications.

“By selecting the ARM mbed platform, our customers will gain access to a development platform providing a range of library and security features that are important to develop reliable IoT applications. With the ODIN-W2, developers are provided wireless connectivity using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy without having to develop or integrate the communication stacks themselves,” said Mats Andersson, Technical Director, Short Range products, u-blox.