Development of wireless IoT apps using ARM mbed and u-blox ODIN-W2 modules.

u-blox announced that it has selected the ARM mbed IoT device platform for customers developing Internet of Things (IoT) wireless applications.

Developers can quickly and easily develop and use wireless IoT apps by adopting the open ARM mbed environment and the u-blox ODIN-W2 module.

As initially intended for the ODIN-W2 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module, developers have access to the ARM Cortex M4-based microcontroller housed within the module, leveraging the ARM mbed development environment, tools, and libraries. This means that the module's microprocessor can be used to implement sensor- and actuator-based IoT designs without the need for an external host CPU.

Developers can significantly reduce costs and development resources, while minimizing product board size. Furthermore, the open standards approach ensures IoT connectivity and restricts access to the communication stack, maintaining pre-certified type approval.

▲ARM mbed IoT Device Platform

“It’s a great idea for u-blox to provide IoT developers with access to the ARM processor that powers the ODIN-W2 multiradio module,” said Coby Sella, vice president of the IoT business unit at ARM. “Being able to design on top of pre-certified wireless modules accelerates the development process and significantly reduces costs,” he said.

The ODIN-W2 module measures 14.8 x 22.3 mm and supports dual-band Wi-Fi and dual-mode Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity, operating simultaneously. It is equipped with core Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stacks, and the Wi-Fi function can operate in either infrastructure (STA) or access point (AP) mode. Peripheral support for connecting sensors and other devices includes SPI, I2C, UART, and CAN, along with GPIO, ADC, and DAC. In addition to supporting multiple communication standards, the mbed development environment offers security features such as secure boot, hardware-enhanced security domains, and SSL/TLS capabilities.

During ARM TechCon, u-blox will demonstrate the ODIN-W2 wireless module, connected via GPIO to an Arduino board that collects various sensor data. An ARM mbed app running on the ODIN-W2 will transmit sensor data via Wi-Fi to the IBM Bluemix cloud-based analytics platform. The data can be used for real-time verification as well as for more sophisticated analysis via a server app developed here.

“By choosing the ARM mbed platform, our customers can benefit from a development platform that provides the libraries and security features they need to build robust IoT applications,” said Mats Andersson, Head of Product Technology, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth at u-blox. “ODIN-W2 enables developers to provide wireless connectivity using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy without having to develop or integrate the communication stack themselves.”