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u-blox XPLR-IOT-1 User Manual

u-blox XPLR-IOT-1 User Manual

Explorer application platform
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XPLR-IOT-1
Explorer application platform
User guide
Abstract
This document describes the hardware and software architecture and user programming of the
XPLR-IOT-1 application platform. Providing a complete platform for developing various proof-of-
concept IoT applications, the XPLR-IOT-1 showcases products from all u-blox product centers -
including NORA-B106 and NINA-W156 short range radio modules, SARA-R510S cellular modules,
MAX-M10S satellite positioning modules, and the Thingstream IoT service delivery platform.
UBX-21035674 - R03
C1-Public
www.u-blox.com

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Summary of Contents for u-blox XPLR-IOT-1

  • Page 1 This document describes the hardware and software architecture and user programming of the XPLR-IOT-1 application platform. Providing a complete platform for developing various proof-of- concept IoT applications, the XPLR-IOT-1 showcases products from all u-blox product centers - including NORA-B106 and NINA-W156 short range radio modules, SARA-R510S cellular modules, MAX-M10S satellite positioning modules, and the Thingstream IoT service delivery platform.

  • Page 2: Document Information

    Disclosure to third parties is permitted for clearly public documents only. The information contained herein is provided “as is” and u-blox assumes no liability for its use. No warranty, either express or implied, is given, including but not limited to, with respect to the accuracy, correctness, reliability, and fitness for a particular purpose of the information.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Contents Document information ..........................2 Contents ................................3 Product description ..........................5 1.1 Kit includes ..............................6 Hardware architecture ......................... 7 Platform description ..........................8 3.1 PCBA ................................8 3.1.1 PCBA component side ........................9 3.1.2 PCBA antenna ...........................10 3.2 Power and reset subsystem ........................10...
  • Page 4 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Application development ......................... 37 6.1 NORA-B1 ..............................37 Known issues/errata .......................... 38 7.1 Hardware ..............................38 7.1.1 PCBA revision B ..........................38 7.2 Software ..............................38 7.2.1 Sensor aggregation example v0.2 ....................38 Appendix ..............................39 A.1 Glossary ...............................39 Regulatory limitations ........................40 Related documentation ...........................

  • Page 5: Product Description

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 1 Product description The XPLR-IOT-1 IoT application platform allows developers to evaluate and explore the combined synergy of u-blox short-range radio, positioning, and cellular products in a single device. Packaged within a silicone protective bumper, XPLR-IOT-1 comprises a Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) and rechargeable battery that allows portable operation.

  • Page 6: Kit Includes

    [11], m-center [12], and u-center [13], may be used when the connection to NORA-B1 is not active. XPLR-IOT-1 also includes an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer (each is 3-axis), battery, state-of-charge gauge, and temperature, humidity, and ambient light sensors. A Qwiic-compatible expansion port allows connection of other I2C devices.

  • Page 7: Hardware Architecture

    Gray Power, buttons, indicators Power switch, battery, charging circuit, user input and output Table 1: Technology color coding The XPLR-IOT-1 hardware design is available in PDF and Altium formats from the XPLR-IOT-1 hardware repository [1]. UBX-21035674 - R03 Hardware architecture...

  • Page 8: Platform Description

    3 Platform description Figure 3 provides a transparent view of the XPLR-IOT-1 with the location and orientation of the PCBA shown in relation to the product case. The component side of the PCBA faces the rear of the case, while the antenna side of the PCBA faces the front.

  • Page 9: Pcba Component Side

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 3.1.1 PCBA component side The component side of the PCBA faces the rear of the case. Figure 4 shows the locations of components on the board. Figure 4: PCBA component side part locations – detailed view...

  • Page 10: Pcba Antenna

    Figure 5: PCBA antenna side part locations 3.2 Power and reset subsystem XPLR-IOT-1 is powered over USB through a micro-B connector. VBUS is filtered and connected to a Li-Po battery charger. The charger allows a maximum of 500 mA to be drawn from the upstream USB host or hub, which is the high-power limit for a USB 2.0 peripheral.

  • Page 11: Power And Charging Status

    ⚠ Disconnect and remove battery from the PCBA before performing any soldering operations. ⚠ When first using XPLR-IOT-1, connect it to a USB host or a USB power supply to fully charge the battery after shipment. 3.2.1 Power and charging status The bi-color LED, D29, shows power and charging status of XPLR-IOT-1.

  • Page 12: Power And Current Measurement

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 3.2.3 Power and current measurement System current from the VBAT supply rail is measured by cutting jumper NC15 and placing an ammeter or power analyzer across J10, pins 2 and 3, as shown in Figure 6.

  • Page 13: System Reset

    Cutting NC8 and NC11 isolates the system reset signal so that any active transition resets the u-blox modules but not the USB hub and USB-UART virtual COM port. This allows a terminal program or u-blox utilities to receive module boot messages when the reset button is pressed.

  • Page 14: Serial Subsystem

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 3.3 Serial subsystem The Serial subsystem within XPLR-IOT-1 provides a flexible scheme that allows either a PC host or NORA-B1 to connect to each of the modules through software control. Figure 8 shows the USB and serial port subsystem connections. Blue lines indicate USB connections.

  • Page 15: U-Blox Modules

    Abracon, LLC for Bluetooth in the 2.4 GHz ISM band [19]. NORA-B1 is powered when the Power Switch is on. 3.4.1.1 GPIO assignments NORA-B1 is the central processor of XPLR-IOT-1. Its GPIO signals are used for communication and control of the other u-blox modules, sensors, and interfaces. GPIO Signal Direction Description P0.00 XL1...
  • Page 16 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide GPIO Signal Direction Description P0.28 NORA_BTN2 Application button 2 P0.29 DSR6 System UART6, DSR flow control P0.30 CTS6 System UART6, CTS flow control P0.31 TX6 System UART6, TX data P1.00 ALT_INT Sensor interrupt input, ambient light sensor default P1.01 SARA_INT/NINA_SW1...
  • Page 17 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Figure 9: PCBA SWD schematic showing measurement test points The other u-blox modules are pre-loaded with u-blox AT command firmware and can be updated with u-blox provided firmware updates over the respective UART connections. 3.4.1.3 Current measurements...

  • Page 18: Nina-W156 - Short Range

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Figure 11: NORA-B1 module showing current measurement location Table 3 for expected current measurements. 3.4.2 NINA-W156 – short range NINA-W156 provides Wi-Fi connectivity through its UART and u-connectXpress AT command set. Wi-Fi is one method of providing a network connection that is available for sending MQTT messages through Thingstream to process environmental data.
  • Page 19 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Figure 12: NINA-W15 power supply and current measurement Figure 13 shows the current measurement location for the NINA-W15 module on the PCBA. Table 3 for expected current measurements. Figure 13: NINA-W15 module and current measurement UBX-21035674 - R03...

  • Page 20: Sara-R510S - Cellular

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Table 8 describes the power and LED states for the NINA-W15 module. Signal State NINA-W15 status LED state NINA_EN High Powered Not powered Table 8: NINA-W15 power states 3.4.2.2 NINA-W15 UART and other signals Table 9 describes the LEDs that indicate the UART activity.
  • Page 21 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 3.4.3.1 SARA-R5 power supply and current measurement To measure the current flowing into SARA-R5 from the VBAT supply rail, cut jumper NC6 and place an ammeter or power analyzer across J3, pins 2 and 3, as shown in Figure ⚠...

  • Page 22: Max-M10S - Positioning

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Table 11 shows the power and LED states for the NINA-W15 module. Signal State SARA-R5 status LED state NORA_EN_SARA High Powered Not powered Table 11: NINA-W15 power states SARA-R5 power is normally controlled by the GPIO signal NORA_EN_SARA. SARA-R5 can be configured to be always on when the power switch is on by shorting jumper NO1.
  • Page 23 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Figure 17 shows the location of the GNSS antenna. An I2C connection between SARA-R5 and MAX-M10 provides direct communication between the two modules without involving NORA. Figure 17: GNSS antenna 3.4.4.1 GNSS receive path MAX-M10 is connected to the receive antenna through one of two paths – a straight-connection or through a SAW/LNA/SAW combination.
  • Page 24 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Current flowing into MAX-M10 from the VCC_MAX (3.0 VDC) supply rail is measured by cutting jumper NC13 and placing an ammeter or power analyzer across J6, pins 2 and 3, as shown in Figure 19. See Table 3 for the expected current measurements.

  • Page 25: I2C Sensors

    3.5.4 Gyroscope A ICG-20330 gyroscope from TDK senses yaw, pitch, and roll of the XPLR-IOT-1. Full scale ranges are adjustable from ±250°/s. to ±2000°/sec. An optional interrupt may be connected to NORA-B1 by soldering across the jumper NO5 and cutting jumper NC7. On the I2C bus, it is assigned address 0x20.

  • Page 26: Ambient Light Sensor

    3.5.6 Battery gauge A BQ27421YZFR-G1A battery gauge is included with XPLR-IOT-1 to monitor the charge state of the internal Li-Po battery. Measurements for battery capacity (mAh), state-of-charge (%), and battery voltage (mV) are available. A low battery indicator is connected to an interrupt input of NORA-B1. On the I2C bus, it is assigned address 0x55.

  • Page 27: Test Points

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Figure 23 shows the NFC circuit connections. Figure 23: NFC connection 3.7 Test points The PCBA includes test points throughout the layout to facilitate system monitoring and application debugging. Table 16 describes the test points. Figure 24 shows the test point locations.
  • Page 28 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Test point Signal Description TP30 3.3 VDC nominal power rail, source = V_BAT through U8 TP31 BATTERY Li-Po battery, positive terminal TP32 ALT_ING Ambient light sensor interrupt TP33 MAX_TXD MAX-M10 UART, TX data TP34 3V3_HUB 3.3 VDC nominal power rail, source = 3V3 when VBUS is present...
  • Page 29 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Figure 24 shows all test point locations. All test points are on the component side of the PCBA. Figure 24: Test point locations UBX-21035674 - R03 Platform description Page 29 of 42 C1-Public...

  • Page 30: Jumpers

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 3.8 Jumpers The PCBA includes several jumpers to select features and for current measurement. Normally open jumpers can be closed by creating a solder bridge across the terminals. Description Remarks Normally open solder jumper SARA-R5 power...

  • Page 31: Usb Connection

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 4 USB connection ☞ Before plugging in XPLR-IOT-1 the first time, install the USB-UART device drivers. The drivers only need to be installed once on a host PC. Download the USB-UART device drivers from the [6].
  • Page 32 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Figure 26 shows s-center [11], m-center [12], and u-center [13] connected to the respective VCPs on XPLR-IOT-1. Figure 26: XPLR-IOT-1 communicating with s-center, m-center, and u-center UBX-21035674 - R03 USB connection Page 32 of 42 C1-Public...

  • Page 33: Module Firmware Updates

    5 Module firmware updates 5.1 NORA-B1 The application on NORA-B1 can be updated through the MCUboot bootloader over UART. Each new image is uploaded to the XPLR-IOT-1 QSPI flash prior to writing it to the NORA-B1 flash. 5.1.1 Bootloader – batch file...

  • Page 34: Swd

    ⚠ Programming NORA-B1 through the SWD port may erase the default bootloader or Bluetooth device address in addition to the provided application. See the XPLR-IOT-1 hardware repository for instructions about restoring the original bootloader. See the NORA-B1 system integration manual for instructions to save and restore the Bluetooth device address.
  • Page 35 XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide Start m-center. Connect to SARA-R5 and start an AT command terminal from m-center on the VCP associated with interface 1. m-center terminal: reset NVM to factory defaults AT+UFACTORY=0,2 10. NORA-B1 terminal: activate reset by power cycling SARA-R5 with...

  • Page 36: Max-M10

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 26. m-center terminal: set SARA-R5 to airplane mode AT+CFUN=4 27. NORA-B1 terminal: save settings by power cycling SARA-R5 with modules SARAR5 power_off modules SARAR5 power_on ☞ MQTT-SN credentials must be reentered through the NORA command line interface. See also [4].

  • Page 37: Application Development

    Follow the “Getting Started” instructions from the NCS documentation [34]. ☞ When installing NCS, select the version that corresponds to the one noted at the XPLR-IOT-1 software repository [3]. Follow the instructions from the GitHub repository to build the example application.

  • Page 38: Known Issues/Errata

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide 7 Known issues/errata 7.1 Hardware 7.1.1 PCBA revision B The GNSS LNA path is not functional with Rev B PCBAs. Ensure jumper NO5 is open to select the direct antenna connection (bypass). Some units have a misalignment between the SWD connector, J11, and the end panel. If a misalignment is observed, open the case, and move the end-panel so the opening is centered around the J11.

  • Page 39: A Appendix

    Normally Open PCBA Printed Circuit Board Assembly Random Access Memory Surface Acoustic Wave (filter) Software Development Kit Subscriber Identity Module System Integration Manual (for u-blox modules) System on Chip Serial Peripheral Interface Serial Wire Debug UART Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter UARTE...

  • Page 40: B Regulatory Limitations

    XPLR-IOT-1 - User guide B Regulatory limitations XPLR-IOT-1 is an application development platform. It has not been RF certified with worldwide agencies. It may not be offered for sale as an end-user product. XPLR-IOT-1 contains the modules described in Table...

  • Page 41: Related Documentation

    Nordic Semiconductor, nRF Connect SDK [33] Microsoft, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) [34] Nordic Semiconductor, NCS getting started ☞ For product change notifications and regular updates of u-blox documentation, register on our website, www.u-blox.com. UBX-21035674 - R03 Related documentation Page C1-Public...

  • Page 42: Revision History

    Figure 13 Figure 16, corrected gyroscope part for rev B hardware, updated firmware update sections for NORA-B1 and SARA-R5, added Known issues/errata section Contact For further support and contact information, visit us at www.u-blox.com/support. UBX-21035674 - R03 Revision history Page C1-Public...

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