Summary of SPARKFUN THING PLUS NRF9160 DEVELOPMENT BOARD GETS CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY
SparkFun and CircuitDojo released the SparkFun Thing Plus - nRF9160, a Feather-format board featuring Nordic’s nRF9160 SiP. It supports LTE-M (CAT M1) and NB-IoT, runs an ARM Cortex-M33 at 64 MHz with 1 MB flash and 256 KB RAM, and includes ARM TrustZone and CryptoCell 310. Designed for Zephyr RTOS use, it integrates the Qwiic Connect System for easy, solder-free peripherals and targets smart city and smart agriculture applications.
Parts used in the SparkFun Thing Plus - nRF9160:
- Nordic nRF9160 SiP
- ARM Cortex-M33 CPU (integrated in nRF9160)
- 1 MB flash memory (on SiP)
- 256 KB RAM (on SiP)
- ARM TrustZone (security feature in SiP)
- ARM CryptoCell 310 (cryptography accelerator in SiP)
- Feather form factor development board (SparkFun Thing Plus)
- Qwiic Connect System connector
- Cellular antennas/interface for LTE-M and NB-IoT (implied for cellular use)
We have yet another Feather form factor board that is released by SparkFun in association with CircuitDojo, which is powered by the famous Nordic nRF9160 microcontroller, SparkFun Thing Plus- nRF9160, designed for users working in smart cities and smart agriculture applications.
Last year there had been a crowdfunding project on nRF9160 Feather v2 by CircuitDojo that was funded over 100%. Moving forward, this board is assumed to be taken from the crowdfunding campaign as it has a small form factor with immense wireless communication capabilities.
The integrated Nordic’s nRF9160 SiP is a next-generation chip for LTE-M and NB-IoT wireless protocols. Along with this, the SiP gets ARM Cortex-M33 CPU running at 64 MHz frequency, featuring 1 MB flash memory and 256 KB RAM. Moreover, the ARM CPU also distinguishes through ARM TrustZone for trusted execution and ARM CryptoCell 310 for accelerated cryptography.
“This little chip is capable of both CAT M1 LTE and NB-IoT cellular communication and is designed to work with Zephyr, the go-to RTOS for embedded development. To make the Thing Plus even easier to use, this board utilizes our handy Qwiic Connect System which means no soldering or shields are required to connect it to the rest of your system!”
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One of the important highlights of this electronic development board is the wide support for wireless protocols. The support for CAT M1 LTE and NB-IoT cellular communication makes it exceptionally outstanding for various automation applications with the hardware running with Zephyr which is an RTOS for embedded development. Apart from these more details on wireless connectivity can be found on the product page.
Read more: SPARKFUN THING PLUS NRF9160 DEVELOPMENT BOARD GETS CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY
- What microcontroller does the SparkFun Thing Plus - nRF9160 use?
It uses the Nordic nRF9160 system-in-package (SiP). - Which wireless protocols are supported by this board?
It supports CAT M1 LTE and NB-IoT cellular communication. - What CPU and clock speed are inside the nRF9160 SiP?
It includes an ARM Cortex-M33 CPU running at 64 MHz. - How much flash and RAM does the board provide?
The SiP provides 1 MB of flash and 256 KB of RAM. - Does the board support a real-time operating system?
Yes, it is designed to work with the Zephyr RTOS. - What security and cryptography features are included?
The SiP includes ARM TrustZone for trusted execution and ARM CryptoCell 310 for accelerated cryptography. - How does the board simplify peripheral connections?
It uses the Qwiic Connect System, enabling no-solder connections to peripherals. - What applications is the board targeted at?
It is aimed at smart city and smart agriculture applications. - Is this board derived from a previous crowdfunding project?
Yes, it is assumed to be taken from CircuitDojo's nRF9160 Feather v2 crowdfunding campaign.
