It’s now possible for your IoT devices to enjoy satellite communications.
The creators of IoT (and similar) devices tend to be comfortable with respect to developing the core functionality of their product. Many are less comfortable when it comes to adding wireless connectivity. In fact, it’s not so long ago that relatively few people had the know-how to add even Wi-Fi connectivity, let alone cellular and satellite connectivity. Now, all that has changed.
In addition to wireless system-on- modules (SoMs) and associated development boards, the folks at Particle provide everything their customers require on the connectivity front, from embedded software to cloud software, along with connectivity, networking, and data automation. All users need to do is add their applications.
Particle started out circa 2014 with an Arduino-compatible, Wi-Fi enabled, cloud-powered development platform called Spark Core that dramatically eased the task of creating internet-connected hardware. Setup was a doddle. All you had to do was download the Spark App to your smartphone, enter your network name and password, and you were connected!
Just one year later, in 2015, Particle followed up with the Electron, which brought cellular connectivity to the party. In this case, each easy-to-use Electron came equipped with a SIM card and an affordable global data plan. How easy? Well, all you had to do was open the box, power up the Electron, register your account with your credit card, and… once again, that was pretty much it. How affordable? Well, in the US, Canada, Europe, and most of Latin America, we are talking $2.99 a month for 1MB of data (approximately 20,000 messages), with $0.99 for each additional megabyte, and without any contracts allowing you to cancel at will.
So, what’s new? Well, the folks at Particle recently announced their M-series portfolio, with each SoM offering different connectivity configurations. In addition to a heavy-duty MCU in the form of an Arm Cortex-M33, the M635 offers Wi-Fi, Cellular, LPWAN, and Satellite communications capabilities (it also includes the antennas required by the various protocols). As for Particle’s previous products, all these connectivity options are available with minimal setup out-of-the-box.