New Industry Products

Low-Power Wide-Area M2M Module with 128-Bit Encryption

May 16, 2017 by Jeff Shepard

u-blox announced SARA-S200 , one of the smallest modules for the Machine Network™, based on RPMA® (Random Phase Multiple Access), a low-power wide-area (LPWA) technology. The SARA-S200 offers significant size and cost savings for secure and robust M2M and IoT wireless applications. The first prototypes will be available in June 2017.

The Machine Network is a wireless network built by Ingenu, the creators of RPMA technology, exclusively for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Operating in the globally license-free 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band, RPMA is at the heart of secure wireless networks operating in over 20 countries around the world.

u-blox has successfully ported the proven technology used in its first-generation RPMA modules and made it 65 percent smaller. SARA-S200 delivers significant cost and size optimizations for application in the smart meter, smart building, gas & oil, asset/personnel tracking and agricultural industries.

As the second generation module developed by u-blox in association with Ingenu, SARA-S200 builds on the companies' strategic partnership, which began in September 2016 and was quickly cemented with the introduction of u-blox's first module for the Machine Network, the NANO-S100.

Andreas Thiel, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of u-blox, commented: "Ingenu's patented RPMA technology offers significant advantages to a great variety of IoT applications, such as excellent in-building range and AES 128-bit security encryption. With autonomous adaptation, the Machine Network delivers interference-free operation and the best performance and reliability in real-world applications. By bringing the SARA-S200 to market we can now deliver these outstanding features in the SARA footprint; our most popular form-factor."

Measuring just 16 mm by 26 mm by 2.3 mm in a Land Grid Array (LGA) package, SARA-S200 provides an easy migration between other u-blox form factors and cellular technologies thanks to nested design. Its low-power design (50µW average power consumption in sleep mode) means it can operate for 10 years or longer from a single battery.

The modules will be manufactured in ISO/TS 16949 certified facilities with guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) and a secure design that meets NERC CIP and other industry-mandated critical infrastructure requirements. The SARA-S200 has been designed for industrial applications and offers an extended operating temperature of -40 to +85 degrees C.

John Horn, CEO of Ingenu, said: "Our strategic partnership with u-blox is further strengthened by the introduction of SARA-S200. It will give our partners the option of a fully compliant RPMA module with the same outstanding performance, in a significantly smaller format. The introduction of the SARA-S200 module will help enable a new generation of IoT applications."