Nordic expands commercial support for nRF9160 SiP cellular IoT customers with cloud location services

Nordic expands commercial support for nRF9160 SiP cellular IoT customers with cloud location services

nRF Cloud Location Services enables customers to get reliable support for a broad range of cellular IoT devices, including cellular network services, assisted and predicted GPS location services, and over-the-air firmware updates

OSLO, Norway – August 13, 2021 – Nordic Semiconductor has announced the launch of “nRF Cloud Positioning Service”, a cloud offering that enables customers to access richer, faster, and more accurate commercial positioning services for their nRF9160 System-in-Package (SiP)-based cellular IoT devices.

nRF Cloud Positioning Services is built on top of Nordic's versatile cellular IoT connectivity enabler, nRF Cloud. Once Nordic customers' nRF9160 SiP-based cellular IoT products are deployed, they can access the entire commercial positioning service model through nRF Cloud Positioning Services. nRF Cloud will also provide wireless firmware (FOTA) updates for these customers' deployed devices.

Cellular and GPS location services

nRF Cloud Positioning Services will initially include positioning services using "single cell" and "multi-cell" locations, as well as assisted GPS and predicted GPS services for indoor and outdoor scenarios.

The single-cell method relies on identifying the cell in which the tracked device is located, and then determining the cell identity based on a database of known cell tower locations. Since it does not require a GPS modem to operate, it can provide accuracy down to kilometers while extending battery life. Multi-cell positioning builds on single-cell technology and provides positioning accuracy down to hundreds of meters by referencing the locations of multiple nearby cell towers, while still maintaining very low power consumption.

GPS provides higher positioning accuracy (down to tens of meters). However, when using cellular IoT devices, the time to first fix (TTFF) based on a set of satellites when cold starting the GPS modem can be up to several minutes and consume a lot of battery power. Before the GPS modem is turned on, assisted GPS can provide IoT devices with satellite positioning data in the near future through the cellular connection. Assisted GPS can typically reduce the TTFF time to 5 seconds, helping to extend battery life. Predictive GPS technology is built on the basis of assisted GPS and can provide IoT devices with more than two weeks of predicted auxiliary satellite data, thereby achieving shorter TTFF time and accurate positioning. Because IoT devices request auxiliary data from the cellular network less frequently, predictive GPS can save more power than assisted GPS.

Collaboration with partners

Nordic is working with a number of third-party vendors to ensure high-quality services for Nordic devices and nRF Cloud customers. These partners will provide GPS-assisted data for each of the customer's IoT devices, as well as low-cost and easily accessible location history with timestamp information. The product can also be connected to the customer's own applications and cloud (Cloud-presence) through a user-friendly REST API, or integrated into third-party applications.

“With our short-range and cellular IoT products and development tools, Nordic is making the IoT more accessible and simpler for everyone,” said Ville-Veikko Helppi, Product Manager for Cloud Solutions at Nordic Semiconductor. “The nRF Cloud Location Service and nRF Cloud extend this strategy to the configuration, management, and maintenance of fleets of cellular IoT devices.”

“Customers increasingly look to Nordic as a reliable supplier for providing an easy way to manage cellular IoT devices in the field. nRF Cloud removes all the hassle of coordinating setups with unaffiliated cloud providers, allowing customers to select only the services they need. By building on the proven nRF Cloud platform, the nRF Cloud Location Service gives Nordic customers the familiar Nordic ‘sight and feel’ with the high quality and long-term commercial support required to deploy large numbers of cellular IoT devices.”

About Nordic Semiconductor

Nordic Semiconductor is a Norwegian fabless semiconductor company specializing in wireless communication technologies that power the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 1983, Nordic has more than 1,000 employees worldwide. Our award-winning Bluetooth low energy solutions pioneered ultra-low power wireless communication technology, making us a global market leader. We have supplemented our technology range with ANT+, Thread and Zigbee technologies, and launched compact and low-power LTE-M/NB-IoT cellular IoT solutions in 2018 to expand the penetration of the Internet of Things. In 2021, we further supplemented our product portfolio with Wi-Fi technology.

We have built our reputation by delivering leading wireless technologies supported by development tools that shield designers from the complexity of RF technology, enabling anyone with a bright idea to create innovative products based on IoT platforms. Today, our award-winning, high-performance and easy-to-design Bluetooth low energy solutions are used by the world's leading brands in a wide range of products, including wireless PC peripherals, gaming, sports and fitness, mobile accessories, consumer electronics, toys, healthcare and automation products. Nordic is a member of the ANT+ Alliance, Bluetooth SIG, Thread Group, Zigbee Alliance, Wi-Fi Alliance and GSMA.