Blues introduces dev kits for IoT solutions

Blues introduces dev kits for IoT solutions

Oct 4, 2023 — by Giorgio Mendoza

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Last month, Blues launched various products in a Notecard (System-on-Module) form-factor which offer multiple connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, LoRa and Cellular connectivity. The company is also offering compatible kits which provide sensors, I/O ports for expansion and battery connectors for portability.

The Blues Starter Kit comes packed with a range of components and modules designed to create various IoT projects:

LTE Cat-1 Notecard + Wi-Fi: This module, designed for use in North America, offers a range of features, including a factory-installed ECC P-384 certificate for security, integrated GPS and accelerometer for versatile location-based applications, and efficient power management for battery operation. It also includes 10 years and 500MB of cellular data, eliminating the need for subscriptions, SIM fees, or monthly minimums. Additionally, it boasts PTCRB Certification for reliability.

LTE Cat-1 Notecard (left) and LoRa Notecard (right)
(click images to enlarge)

Notecarrier F: This is a carrier board designed for rapid prototyping and compatible with the LTE Cat-1 Notecard. It’s compatible with 24-pin Adafruit Feather breakout headers and provides convenient features, including Qwiic ports for connecting I2C peripherals, an external Nano-SIM slot for carrier connectivity, and a range of connectors, such as JST PH for LiPo batteries, a solar panel, V+, and a 3.3V I2C connector. 

Additional features include a battery slide switch for disconnecting the battery when not in use, a Micro-USB port for power, and a momentary button connected to Feather B0, all accompanied by clear pin labels on the front and back.

Notecarrier F top and bottom view(click images to enlarge)

Swan 3.0: This is a STM32L4-based microcontroller designed to speed up the development and deployment of battery-powered IoT applications. Blues suggests that this product is suitable for projects that require substantial memory and extensive I/O capabilities while remaining cost-effective, including edge inferencing and remote monitoring.

The Swan 3.0 offers the following specifications:

• Ultra low-power Arm Cortex-M4 core clocked at 120Mhz
• STM32L4R5-based microcontroller
• 2MB of flash and 640KB of RAM
• Castellated-edge access to 55 GPIO ports, including 8 analog and 16 digital
• 4x I2C, 3x SPI support
• USB OTG full-speed capability
• 1x 14-channel DMA
• True Random Number Generator (tRNG)
• 12-bit ADC and 2 x 12-bit DAC
• Low-power RTC and CRC calculation peripherals
• Qwiic connector for easy integration
• Outboard DFU (Device Firmware Update) Support

Swan 3.0 (left) and Blues Starter Kit for NA
(click images to enlarge)

The company includes several resources to get started with this development including datasheets, guides and also a YouTube channel. Additional resources can be found at the end section of the product page.

Furthermore, there are additional Notecards with only Wi-Fi and LoRa connectivity which costs $10.00 each.

Further information

This specific development kit costs $99.00 which also includes a Molex Antenna with frequency range of 698 MHz to 3.8 GHz. There is also a programmer/debugger which costs an additional $15.00. Refer to the Blues online store to see similar kits for customers in other regions.