It’s been a while since ipXchange caught up with Italian ultra-low-power LoRaWAN module manufacturer Move-X, and with Embedded World coming up and Move-X’s Cicerone LoRaWAN + GNSS development board a key feature on last year’s ipXchange booth, we thought it was time for another ipXperience with Ylenia Carola to see what’s new with Move-X – one year is a long time in electronics!
Ylenia starts by outlining some of the big changes and new ventures for Move-X, and reminds us of Move-X’s place as part of a larger family of companies that provide high-performance structural monitoring IoT installations based on LoRaWAN technology. Key landmarks include the Colosseum (Rome) and St. Mark’s Basilica (Venice).
Perhaps the most exciting news is the opening of a new office in Silicon Valley for Move-X’s custom ASIC development department, as well as the development of a new tool that uses the latest innovations in AI to provide significant time savings to engineers designing new projects.
But as always, the main topic of conversation is the component-level innovation that Move-X brings to the design engineering table:
As Ylenia explains, the MAMWLE LoRaWAN module was born out of a need for higher power efficiency and more peripheral interfaces when designing the world-class building-monitoring sensor nodes of its associated companies. MAMWLE incorporates a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller (by STMicroelectronics, running at up to 48 MHz with 37 usable GPIOs) and LoRa connectivity in the 868-915 MHz band, with transmission output at up to +22 dBm.
Most importantly, MAMWLE consumes just 0.255 μA in standby mode, making it great for long-term IoT deployments. Another key differentiator compared to alternative technologies is that Move-X uses different LoRa partners for different regions so that power is not wasted in tuning the device to serve the correct frequency. That said, the region can also be configured through the firmware to support a Global market, and there are several options available to suit different antenna requirements.
The Cicerone board combines the low-power performance of MAMWLE with u-blox’s MAXM10S GNSS module and an on-board LiPo battery charging circuit to create a high-performance metre-level asset tracking development board that enables regular data transmission over long distances while retaining long battery life.
Over the past year, Cicerone has found use in many interesting applications, including tracking and monitoring animals to see the impact of wind turbine placement on their habits and wellbeing. Here, the MAMWLE supported a range of up to 10 km thanks to the open, rural setting.
For familiarity of development ecosystem, Cicerone is also built in an Arduino MKR form factor, with the programming environment to match, so if this conversation has sparked your interest in learning more, follow the link to the board page below, where you can apply for a Cicerone to assist in the development of your next commercial IoT project.
Keep designing!
Enjoyed this conversation? Check out our previous ipXperience with Ylenia from back in the days when we used to record over Teams:
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