Arduino has officially launched its Single-Pair Ethernet add-on for the Arduino UNO R4 family of development boards, adding expanded support for industrial communications: the Arduino UNO SPE Shield.
“Bring cutting-edge industrial connectivity to your Arduino UNO R4 projects,” the company promises of the new board, designed specifically for the latest-generation variants of the popular UNO development board range — and incompatible with the UNO R3 and earlier. “The Arduino UNO SPE Shield combines Single Pair Ethernet (T1S) and RS485 communication in one versatile module – perfect for smart automation, retrofitting, and IoT innovation.”
Arduino is angling to put the UNO R4 family at the heart of industrial IoT with the new UNO SPE Shield add-on. (📷: Arduino)
Announced back in November last year, the Arduino UNO SPE Shield’s primary focus is on Single-Pair Ethernet (10BASE-T1S, IEEE 802.3bw) connectivity. Focused primarily on long-range industrial communications and using only a single twisted wire pair, the SPE connectivity is provided through the integration of a Microchip LAN8651B1T-E/LMX SPE MAC-PHY — with the two companies working in tandem to ensure the add-on board is plug-and-play compatible with the Arduino UNO R4 Minima and UNO R4 WiFi development boards.
The board also includes what Arduino describes as “legacy” RS485 connectivity, with the company positioning the board — attached to a suitable Arduino UNO R4, naturally — as an ideal way to add SPE connectivity and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities to existing RS485 infrastructure. “Whether you’re retrofitting industrial machines, building smart energy monitoring systems, or prototyping advanced IoT devices,” the company promises, “the SPE Shield simplifies communication between modern or legacy equipment.”
The Arduino SPE Shield is now available on the Arduino store, priced at $39; an Arduino UNO R4 Minima or Arduino UNO R4 WiFi to go with it will cost $20 or $22 extra respectively, the latter currently on sale with a 20 percent discount.