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ON Semiconductor Releases RSL10 IoT Sensor Development Kit with Ultra Low-Power Bluetooth Radio

February 20, 2019 by Gary Elinoff

Last week, ON Semiconductor released the new RSL10 Sensor Development Kit, which combines its ultra-low-power Bluetooth Radio with an array of low-power sensors from Bosh Sensortec.

Last week, ON Semiconductor released the new RSL10 Sensor Development Kit, which combines its ultra-low-power Bluetooth Radio with an array of low-power sensors from Bosh Sensortec.

The RSL10 Sensor Development Kit from ON Semiconductor combines the company’s RSL10 System-in-Package (RSL10 SIP) Bluetooth radio system with a range of low-power sensors from Bosch Sensortec. The combined package is aimed at helping engineers to more quickly develop low-power IoT applications and bring them successfully to market.

 

The RSL10 sensor development kit. Image used courtesy of ON Semiconductor.

 

The complement of sensors include:

  • 3-axis accelerometer
  • 3-axis gyroscope
  • Geomagnetic sensor
  • Motion sensor
  • Volatile organic compound sensor
  • Pressure sensor
  • Relative humidity sensor
  • Temperature sensor
  • Ambient light sensor

In the illustration below, the RSL10 Bluetooth radio from ON Semiconductor is at the 12 o’clock position. The sensors from Bosch populate the rest of the board.

 

Sensors available on the RSL10 Sensor Development Kit. Image used courtesy of ON Semiconductor

 

The RSL10 "Sense and Control" mobile app allows users to receive Bluetooth data and upload it to any of several cloud services, including AWS, IBM, and Azure.

This collaboration between ON Semiconductor and Bosch Sensortec is aimed at the burgeoning markets for ultra-low-energy IoT applications, as well as for wearables of all types. According to Wiren Perera, head of IoT efforts at ON Semiconductor, “The RSL10 Sensor Development Kit, enabled by the industry’s lowest power Bluetooth Low Energy radio, will set the standard for ultra-low-power Bluetooth enabled smart sensor design.”

RSL10 Bluetooth Radio

This communications device operates on voltage supply ranges of 1.1 V to 3.3 V, and it supports Bluetooth Low Energy and 2.4 GHz proprietary/custom protocols. Onboard memory includes 384 kB Flash, 76 kB Program Memory, and 88 kB Data Memory.

The Bluetooth radio requires a scant 62.5 nW in deep sleep mode and a mere 7 mW in receive mode. It is fully-certified to worldwide regulatory standards, including those mandated by the FCC in the US, as well as certification for CE and MIC in the EU and Japan, respectively.

The Booming Space of Sensor Development Kits

Ultra-low-power, wearables, and the IoT are three of the most important areas of development in electronics today, and many other manufacturers have entered the competition. Because time-to-market is so critical in today’s highly competitive world, many of the entrants also come in the form of complete development kits.

  • The SmartBond DA14583 IoT Sensor Development Kit from Dialog Semiconductor also employs Bosch Sensortec sensors. It includes Bluetooth wireless communications and an onboard ARM Cortex-M0 processor.

 

SmartBond DA14583 IoT Sensor Development Kit. Screenshot from Dialog Semiconductor

 

  • The BlueNRG-Tile from STMicroelectronics comes in a tiny 2.5 cm package and consumes a mere 900 nA in sleep mode. It is available with a full complement of sensors and a software development kit for quick product development. It delivers Bluetooth 5.0 Mesh networking and can communicate with smartphones via a free iOS or Android apps.

 

BluetoothNRG-Tile all-in-one sensor node. Image (modified) used courtesy of STMicroelectronics.

 


 

Have you ever worked with an IoT sensor development kit? What are your experiences with using dev kits in bringing a product to market? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.