Avnet subsidiary EBV Elektronik helped Budapest-based General Mechatronics devise a smart sensor for use in asset-tracking applications. It uses antennas from Taoglas.

Set up in 2012 as a spin-off from the Budapest University of Technology & Economics, General Mechatronics was formed by two PhD students from the university.

Designed to operate for years, without external power or charging, the NaBi Solo is a battery powered long-life tracker that enables the collection of GPS location with any kind of sensor data, from the location of a piece of machinery or a gas bottle to the internal temperature of a food transport container.

The use of low-power transmission technology and its flexible configurability mean the NaBi can monitor any assets without electricity.

A Red Dot award winner in 2021 in the smart product category, the NaBi is a configurable smart sensor device that employs NB-IoT technology. Leveraging the use of the 5G mobile network, NB-IoT enables the transmission of relatively small amounts data while consuming low levels of power.

The device enables the sending of data to cloud-based data-analytics processing software, which can then be used by organisations to optimise processes and reduce or even eliminate costs, as well as potentially creating completely new business opportunities. The collected data can be read by users via a web interface, mobile app or Rest API.

From the beginning of the project, a local team of engineers from EBV worked closely with the NaBi design team at General Mechatronics. The EBV team helped with the selection and sourcing of many components, especially those devices that provided the compute power and wireless connectivity for the NaBi Solo, including the STM32 family of microcontrollers from ST Microelectronics and antennas from Taoglas.

“The EBV support team delivered a really high level of technical support, together with strong and responsive customer care,” said Géza Szayer, owner and founder of General Mechatronics. “EBV also has strong relationships with manufacturer’s engineering teams, thus giving us a great overview about preliminary state products and the future of semiconductor trends. This enables our company to keep ahead by designing tech products beyond state-of-the-art.”

EBV Elektronik was founded in 1969 and is a specialist in European semiconductor distribution. It has 240 technical sales specialists and 120 continuously trained application specialists.

“The relationship built up between our team of application engineers and supply specialists and the NaBi design team is a great example of what can be achieved between a distributor and a maker of highly innovative cutting-edge products,” said István Gnyálin, technical account manager at EBV Elektronik in Hungary. “Additionally, it shows that small teams of engineers – from both sides – working closely together can really make the difference. It also demonstrates EBV’s resources to quickly deploy expertise and product development capabilities that can meet the needs of leading innovators across Europe.”