Smart Connected Thermostat – The bundle
The hardware architecture of the SmartCTherm IoT sensor node is a two-part solution. It is comprised of the following components:
- EBV-IoT Sequans GM01Q Connectivity Shield, based on the Sequans GM01Q
- EK-RA6M3G evaluation and development kit from Renesas
EBV-IoT Sequans GM01Q Connectivity Shield
EBV-IoT Sequans GM01Q Connectivity Shield features the Sequans Monarch GM01Q LTE-M and NB-IoT LPWA module with worldwide deployment and roaming capability, based on their highly-acclaimed Monarch LTE platform. In addition to the GM01Q module, the shield also incorporates two environmental sensors from Renesas: the HS3001 digital relative humidity (RH) & temperature sensor, and the ZMOD4410 Metal Oxide (MOX)-based gas sensor for indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) detection. The EBV-IoT connectivity shield comes equipped with the ATECC608A Secure Element (SE) from Microchip, offering a robust and resilient hardware basis for implementing top-tier security features.
EBV-IoT Sequans GM01Q Connectivity Shield offers a broad range of wired connectivity options, including a Micro USB port, PMOD extension connector, and SEEED connector with additional I2C lines (to name a few). Standard Arduino UNO (stackable) headers provide easy connectivity to a wide range of development and evaluation kits based on this widely accepted standard.
Key Features:
- Based on Sequans Monarch GM01Q LTE modem
- Supports LTE Cat M and NB-IoT technologies
- Provides seamless connectivity experience
- Equipped with basic environmental sensors
EK-RA6M3G EVK
The EK-RA6M3G evaluation kit features the RA6M3 advanced microcontroller (MCU), based on a 32-bit Arm® Cortex®-M4 core, running up to 120 MHz. The RA6 family is optimized for next-generation IoT applications, and it is supported by Renesas' highly-acclaimed e2 Studio IDE, Flexible Software Package (FSP) running on FreeRTOS®, and a comprehensive RA Partner ecosystem, providing a broad range of ready-made building blocks that work seamlessly across the entire RA family. The RA MCUs family delivers unparalleled ease of use and flexibility while reducing time to market.
The EK-RA6M3G evaluation kit also features an Arduino UNO pinout-compatible extension (among many other connectivity options), allowing seamless integration with the EBV-IoT connectivity shield. On top of that, each pin of the MCU is accessible via standard 2.54 mm (1 inch) double-row connectors, allowing peripherals such as the TFT screen with the capacitive touch panel to be integrated very easily.
Key Features:
- Based on Arm® Cortex®-M4 core
- An extensive set of examples
- A long list of peripherals
- e2 Studio - Eclipse-based toolchain
- AppWizard - Seamless GUI design experience
Hardware system overview
Renesas EK-RA6M3 + EBV-IoT Sequans GM01Q connectivity shield
The RA6M3 MCU is a mid-high tier of Renesas MCUs optimized for IoT applications. It features a large amount of memory, high performances, a rich set of peripherals, and more. However, its main advantage is enabling a very advanced, yet easy to use development ecosystem from Renesas.
The Renesas RA family of MCUs is supported by the Flexible Software Package (FSP) that provides a suite of production-ready peripheral libraries, drivers, and software stacks (Ethernet, USB, file system), allowing to take the full advantage of the RA Partner Ecosystem. RA Partner Ecosystem incorporates more than 50 different suppliers, delivering ready-made software and hardware building blocks that work seamlessly across the entire RA Family of MCUs. This powerful suite of tools provides a comprehensive, integrated framework for the rapid development of complex embedded applications.
AppWizard is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) creation tool from SEGGER. It utilizes Renesas' FSP and its support for SEGGER's graphical libraries (emWin) to provide a seamless GUI development experience. It is a graphical point-and-click environment that allows creating all the GUI elements very quickly and intuitively. All the parameters can be fully customized, including screen resolution, color depth, and various other parameters. The preview function is also available, allowing designers to test GUI before uploading the code to the actual hardware. The AppWizard seamlessly integrates with the powerful Renesas Synergy e2 studio Integrated Solution Development Environment (ISDE), complementing it with a versatile GUI creation tool.
Software Architecture
The software architecture on the SmartCTherm IoT is quite straightforward. There are several threads running in parallel under AWS FreeRTOS®, providing quick and responsive interface. The diagram below clearly illustrates the generic software architecture that is very easy to build using ready-made solutions provided by Renesas:
Generic SW architecture
Flexible Software Package - FSP
Supported by full arm ecosystem
- Value Proposition
- High performance/highly efficient drivers
- Middleware to ease implementation of communications & security, CMSIS RTOS compliant
- Open software ecosystem, Flexible use of legacy code
- Collaboration with Third Parties
The SmartCTherm relies on using MQTT messaging protocol designed for lightweight M2M communications, which runs on top of the TCP (or UDP) layer. The MQTT is a pub/sub-based protocol and can use TLS security and user/password protection to control access to resources. The MQTT (and the MQTTS, its more secure variant) are widely accepted protocols by many Cloud service providers. Currently the SmartCTherm IoT node is preconfigured to connect to the Cayenne Cloud service. However, with minor tweaking of the connection parameters, it can connect to virtually any MQTT-enabled cloud, including very advanced Cloud platforms such as MS Azure, AWS, or - Avnet IoTConnect.
Avnet IoTConnect is an enterprise-ready IoT platform which allows to build, deploy, and manage connected assets more efficiently and intuitively than ever before. Find out more about the Avnet IoTConnect on this LINK
Avnet IoTConnect – Simplify with one enterprise platform
Provide your teams one platform for collaborative development to accelerate deployment of ready-made solutions that can be customized to solve your business challenge.
If you are interested in further information, please follow the links below:
Single-mode LTE Category M1/NB1 IoT Connectivity Solution for Worldwide Use
