Interfacing of Nb-IoT Module with PSoC 6 for IoT Applications

Abstract

Over the years the Internet of Things (IoT) has advanced at a very rapid pace. From incorporating WiFi and Bluetooth technologies to using cellular networks (3G, 4G, etc.) to send the sensory data to the cloud, IoT technologies have seen an exponential growth. It is been predicted by many industrial giants that IoT will incorporate a huge network of millions of devices for users to deliver various smart services. This will make our lives easier but at a cost of high consumption of power and carbon footprint. Simultaneously, there is a constant need of reducing the power consumption which in turn will require a viable resource availability and controlled levels of power. Also, IoT devices are limited in terms of resources (energy, computation, and memory).

To tackle the above problem, Low power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies can be introduced. As the name suggests, LPWAN can be deployed to a larger number of devices at very limited power consumption and lower cost in a given wide geographical area. There are various LPWAN technologies available in the market such as SigFox and LoRa which offer a wide range of functionality to the users. One such technology named Narrow-band IoT (Nb-IoT), introduced by 3GPP under Rel-13, uses a licensed spectrum and it is based on cellular technology which means it will incorporate base station just like normal cellular networks. Nb-IoT is a good alternative to handle LPWAN because of its better in-door coverage, less latency, minimal consumption of power and can be deployed to a large number of devices in a given area. The main benefit from a network operator perspective is that it can be deployed (co-exist) along with existing GSM and LTE networks. LPWAN will enable the next generation of IoT markets and Nb-IoT will share an important role in it. Hence, the report (project) focuses on the use case of Nb-IoT and its deployment for smart city applications.