STMicroelectronics STEVAL-ASTRA1B multi-connectivity evaluation platform

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The STMicroelectronics STEVAL-ASTRA1B multi-connectivity evaluation platform is designed to provide a complete ecosystem for building proof of concept for asset tracking systems. Battery-powered, and with a small form factor, the evaluation kit includes firmware to simplify development targeted applications such as livestock monitoring, fleet management and logistics.

The kit helps users evaluate short- and long-range STM32 wireless System-on-Chip (SoC) devices. The STM32WL55JC sub-GHz SoC for long-range connectivity (LPWAN) implements the LoRaWAN protocol and provides LoRa, (G)FSK, (G)MSK and BPSK modulations. The other wireless SoC is the STM32WB5MMG module for 2.4 GHz Bluetooth Low Energy and Zigbee connectivity. Each device has an Arm Cortex-M4 core for application processing with a dedicated Cortex-M0+ to manage the radio.

The development kit includes an ST25DV64K near-field communication (NFC) contactless chip for secure pairing and communication and an STSAFE-A110 secure element for privacy and to guard against hacking. A Teseo-LIV3F miniature GNSS module also provides outdoor positioning. Numerous ST sensors are integrated for monitoring asset condition and environment. These include an STTS22H low-voltage, ultra-low-power temperature sensor with ±0.5°C accuracy, HTS221 digital humidity and temperature sensor, LPS22HH barometric pressure sensor and LIS2DTW12 ultra-low-power 3-axis accelerometer. There is also an LSM6DSO32X always-on inertial module, which contains a 3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscope with machine-learning core.

The evaluation platform has a smart power and battery-management architecture to help increase application runtime. It also includes the ST1PS02 nano-quiescent synchronous step-down converter, STBC03 Li-ion battery charging controller and TCPP01-M12 USB-C port-protection IC. The evaluation platform also includes a comprehensive ecosystem that includes software and tools to help users ‘road-test’ applications in development — these include the FP-ATR-ASTRA1 STM32Cube software function pack with firmware libraries and typical application examples. In addition, the DSH-ASSETRACKING web-based cloud dashboard simplifies the creation of an end-to-end proof of concept and is free of charge for demonstration purposes.

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