German firm Würth Elektronik has developed a board to speed up prototyping for LoRaWan IoT devices.

The Daphnis-I FeatherWing development board includes an energy-efficient radio module that operates using the LoRaWan 1.0.4 protocol. This IoT radio protocol in the EU868 frequency band enables devices to communicate with a gateway located over 10km away. The FeatherWing design enables rapid prototyping for smart factory, home and city applications, or for monitoring tasks in agriculture and logistics.

The Adafruit Feather form factor lets developers seamlessly combine Würth’s growing range of FeatherWings with hundreds of compatible boards from other manufacturers. With the Daphnis-I FeatherWing, Würth now offers power-saving LoRaWan technology alongside its various other wireless options.

The radio module on the board, based on the STM32 WLE5CCU6 chip, features current consumption of 63.9nA in sleep mode. This makes it suitable for battery-powered devices such as sensor networks for IoT applications. The FeatherWing comes with an external 868MHz Hyperion-I antenna and a UMRF-to-SMA RF cable.

The LoRaWan architecture has a star topology. LoRa end devices communicate with LoRa gateways, which forward the data packets to a LoRaWan server that, in turn, communicates with the application server. All communication is secured with 128bit AES encryption.

The Daphnis-I FeatherWing supports LoRaWan classes A, B and C, which means the module can receive data in response to its transmissions, either time-controlled or with a permanently open download-receive window. The radio module is controlled via a uart interface with an easy-to-use AT command set. It can log on to the network (activation) using either the OTAA or the ABP method.

Würth offers an evaluation kit for the Daphnis-I module used here, along with a PC tool with a graphical user interface and a software development kit for its entire FeatherWing portfolio. Developers also have free access to Würth’s GitHub repository, where they can find examples for testing this product, such as secure connections between the module and a LoRaWan server to transmit sensor data to various cloud platforms. Quick-start examples are available for cloud platforms such as TTN, AWS, Microsoft Azure IoT Hub and Kaa IoT.

The Daphnis-I FeatherWing (www.we-online.com/en/components/products/DAPHNIS-I_FEATHERWING_KIT_2) is available from stock. The Daphnis-I radio modules are sold without a minimum order quantity.

Würth Elektronik (www.we-online.com) makes electronic and electromechanical components for the electronics industry. It is one of the largest European manufacturers of passive components and is active in 50 countries. Production sites in Europe, Asia and North America supply a growing number of customers worldwide.