Internet of Things (IoT) specialist RAKwireless has announced a new all-in-one module that combines an Espressif ESP32-C2 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) chip and an STMicroelectronics STM32WL LoRa controller in one compact footprint: the $6.50 WisDuo Module RAK11160.
“RAK11160 is a dual-core, low-power module for LoRaWAN that combines the [STMicro] STM32WLE5 LoRa controller with an [Espressif] ESP32-C2 chip for Wi-Fi and BLE connectivity,” the company writes of the low-cost device. “This unique architecture is designed for IoT applications requiring long-range wireless communication and occasional high-bandwidth tasks like MQTT forwarding or OTA [Over-The-Air] updates.”
RAKwireless is looking to make flexible IoT design easier with an all-in-one module design, the RAK11160. (📷: RAKwireless)
The module, brought to our attention by CNX Software, is designed to cover three key radio standards: single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) provided through the ESP32-C2, and LoRa 1.0.3 Class A/B/C through the STM32WL. In this dual-chip design, the ESP32 is placed under the control of the STM32WL — which can disable it when Wi-Fi and BLE aren’t required, in order to save power. There’s 64kB of static RAM (SRAM) and 256kB of flash storage available on the STM32WL, with 2MB flash on the ESP32-C3.
RAKwireless has proposed two example use-cases for the part. In the first, a farm would deploy battery-powered LoRaWAN-connected sensor nodes built around the RAK11160 — using the higher-speed Wi-Fi or BLE connections only when firmware updates are being deployed. The second use-case sees the RAK11160 used to drive a LoRa gateway on a roving vehicle, providing an uplink over LoRaWAN then powering down until the next scheduled transmission.
The ESP32-C2 is placed under the control of the STM32WL, and can be fully disabled when you don’t need Wi-Fi or BLE. (📷: RAKwireless)
The company promises full support for programming the STM32WL chip in RUI3, its in-house application programming interface, in the Arduino IDE; the ESP32-C2, meanwhile, can be programmed using the ESP32 core in the Arduino IDE or Espressif’s ESP-IDF.
The RAK11160 module is now available directly from RAKwireless, priced at just $6.50 in single-unit quantities; users will need to supply their own LoRa and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennas. Additional information is available in the RAK Documentation Center.