Sony Announces LTE Extension Boards with Smart Sensing Processors for IoT Applications

Sony today announced the upcoming release of LTE extension boards equipped with smart sensing processors for IoT applications. The new board will join the SPRESENSE line of board products launched in July 2018. Compliant with LTE-M (LTE Cat-M1) and NB-IoT communication standards, the new extension boards will enable developers to create more diverse applications and systems, thereby contributing to the further growth and development of the IoT market.

In today’s expanding IoT market, low-power wide-area (LPWA) wireless communication solutions are in demand due to their low cost, low power consumption, and wide-area coverage. The new extension boards from Sony employ the compact, low-power-consumption ALT1250 chipset manufactured by a subsidiary, Sony Semiconductor Israel.

ALT1250 chipset supports LPWA communication standards LTE-M and NB-IoT. When used with the currently available SPRESENSE main board, they make it possible to import information from various sensors as well as images from cameras, which can then undergo edge AI recognition processing. The compressed data can then be transmitted via LTE-M or NB-IoT communication networks.

The new Sony boards are equipped with the same features available on conventional extension boards: audio input/output, digital input/output, such as GPIO and UART, and a microSD card slot. The new boards will be available in February 2022. BUY.