Nordic nRF9160 Adopted in Cube Trackers
Built-in multimode LTE-M/NB-IoT modem
PSM and eDRX power saving modes are also supported.


Nordic Semiconductor announced on the 10th that its 'nRF9160 low-power SiP (System-in-Package),' which integrates LTE-M/NB-IoT modems and GPS functions, has been adopted in Cube Tracker's 'C7004 Cube GPS' tracking device.

The C7004 Cube GPS is designed for location monitoring via cellular infrastructure. It enables location monitoring with an accuracy of within 30 meters and provides coverage across the United States. It offers IP67 water resistance and is easy to attach and carry.

Based on the LTE-M and GPS capabilities of the nRF9160 SiP, the Cube Tracker periodically transmits the location of tracked objects to the cloud via a cellular network. For indoor tracking, it is supplemented by Wi-Fi and BLE functions. Users can review the location history of tracked objects, sound when in proximity, and set up geo-fencing notifications through a dedicated smartphone app.

The Cube GPS integrates a 10×16×1mm nRF9160 SiP, Wi-Fi/BLE chipset, antenna, 500mAh battery, LED indicator, emergency alarm button, and customizable functions into a device approximately 70×40×16mm in size. Additionally, thanks to the ultra-low power characteristics of the Nordic SiP, it maintains a battery life of about 10 to 60 days depending on the GPS update interval.

The 64MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 processor embedded in the nRF9160 SiP provides sufficient computing power to handle LTE-M cellular connectivity as well as all other functions of the product. Additionally, with 11MB of flash and 256KB of RAM, it processes complex application software and supports rapid response to location requests.

Nordic low-power SiP supports PSM and eDRX power saving modes. For example, when uploading 1KB every 12 hours in PSM mode, the average current is 5.5uA. In addition, it integrates an AP, memory, multimode LTE-M/NB-IoT modem, integrated RF front-end, GPS, and power management functions, and has obtained certification for global cellular IoT applications.

In addition, it includes the Arm M33 processor, flash and RAM, various analog and digital peripherals, automatic power and clock management, as well as 'Arm TrustZone®' for trusted execution and 'Arm CryptoCell™ 310' for application layer security.

The processor communicates with the LTE modem using the BSD Secure Socket API and supports application layer protocols such as CoAP, MQTT, and LWM2M, as well as the applications themselves. The modem supports SIM and eSIM, and provides the 700–2,200 MHz LTE band, 23 dBm output power, a single-pin 50 Ω antenna, and a UICC interface. LTE stack layers L1–L3, IPv4/IPv6, TCP/UDP, and TLS/DTLS are supported as part of the modem's firmware.

Nordic provides the 'nRF9160 DK', a pre-certified single-board development kit, as well as the 'nRF Connect SDK', a software development kit that includes downloadable pre-certified and pre-compiled application layer protocols, application examples, and LTE modem firmware.