The Earth is facing problems such as climate change and waste pollution, casting a shadow on the sustainable development of human society. How to use technology to mitigate human damage to the Earth and gradually restore an ideal ecological environment is a common issue that requires global human effort. IoT technology will help in the efficient use of energy, reduce the generation of technological waste, and help mitigate the damage that human society brings to the natural environment. This article will elaborate on the current difficulties faced by the Earth and how IoT technology can assist humanity in reducing the damage caused to the planet, as well as the IoT solutions introduced by Nordic.
Addressing the Earth’s sustainability crisis is urgent
As humanity faces the challenge of transitioning to a sustainable global economy, it must find ways to maintain the ability to survive, prosper, and develop without depleting the planet’s natural resources. Currently, the Earth's average temperature is rising. In a world that warms by 2 degrees Celsius, there will be more heatwaves, increased rainfall, decreased crop yields, and rising sea levels, all of which will threaten human survival. Taking appropriate action is urgent.
On the other hand, since the 1980s, the electronics industry has developed faster than almost any other industry. It has become a major contributor to the economies of some countries and a major input to the industrial output of many other countries, with no sign of slowing growth. This growth is attributed to the increasing demand for consumer electronics.
However, while the prevalence of electronic products has improved the lives of many people, it may also relatively generate more electronic waste. Therefore, new practices in processing, manufacturing, distribution, retail, repair, and recycling must be adopted to reduce the production of electronic waste, with recycling being key. According to the United Nations, currently, 20% of electronic waste is successfully recycled. The organization has announced a plan to significantly reduce waste generation by 2030 through prevention, reduction, repair, recycling, and reuse.
The IoT will become the foundational platform for sustainable technology
While consumers and businesses are changing their habits, protecting the planet and its resources for future needs also requires the widespread deployment of new technologies. The IoT will become the foundational platform for sustainable technology. According to a report by Transforma Insights and 6GWorld, "Sustainability in New and Emerging Technologies In 2030," the construction of the IoT will significantly increase global electricity usage from now until 2030. The manufacturing of IoT-enabled solutions will consume 112 million cubic meters of water, and the hydrocarbons used to distribute and deploy IoT solutions will increase costs.
However, the Transforma report concludes that the positive environmental impacts of IoT applications will make the initial sacrifices entirely worthwhile. In fact, IoT technology will soon generate enough savings to repay the energy costs of its manufacture and deployment, and from that point on, it will save approximately eight times the energy. The report states that by 2030, IoT devices will also save nearly 230 billion cubic meters of water, with 35% coming from improved water grid operations and the rest from IoT-enabled agricultural applications, such as smart irrigation.
The benefits of big data are also expected to be key in demonstrating the environmental footprint of IoT. When effectively combined with applications such as machine learning, IoT will generate large amounts of information that help individuals and organizations better understand their energy costs and make informed environmental decisions. Additionally, the primary green benefits of IoT come mainly from enterprise solutions that typically manifest as reduced electricity consumption, lowering carbon emissions, or reduced fuel or water consumption, such as through smart electricity grid operations.
Looking ahead, the number of wireless and cellular IoT sensors could exceed 50 billion, many of which will be battery-powered. Beyond maintenance issues, these batteries could also undermine the sustainability of IoT. Rare materials like lithium must be mined, batteries must be manufactured and distributed globally, and then there is the significant issue of safely disposing of depleted batteries.
Future wireless solutions will be more efficient, greatly expanding the range of applications that can harvest all their energy from the environment. The next generation of power management ICs (PMICs), specifically tailored for energy harvesting devices, will stabilize the collection of varying energy and play a crucial role in freeing IoT products from the constraints of batteries.
Chip solutions to meet IoT device needs
To provide complete functionality and power management for IoT devices, Nordic is dedicated to launching related solutions, including system-on-chips (SoCs), power management ICs, RF front-end modules (FEMs), software development kits, and prototype building platforms to assist customers in developing IoT devices.
First, the nRF52832 is a versatile Bluetooth 5.4 SoC that supports Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Bluetooth Mesh, and NFC. The nRF52832 is a general-purpose multiprotocol SoC that meets the challenges of applications requiring advanced Bluetooth® Low Energy functionality, protocol concurrency, and a rich set of peripherals and features. Additionally, it provides ample memory for flash and RAM.
The nRF52832 uses a multiprotocol with full protocol concurrency. It supports Bluetooth Low Energy, including 2 Mbps high-speed transmission. Bluetooth Mesh can run simultaneously with Bluetooth Low Energy, enabling smartphones to provision, commission, configure, and control mesh network nodes. It also supports NFC, ANT, and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols.
The nRF52832 is based on an Arm® Cortex™-M4 CPU with a floating-point unit, operating at 64 MHz. It has a built-in NFC-A tag for simplified pairing and payment solutions. It includes numerous digital peripherals and interfaces, such as PDM and I2S for digital microphones and audio. Through a precision on-chip adaptive power management system, it achieves extremely low power consumption.
The nPM1300 is a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) with unique system management features. The nPM1300 PMIC integrates essential functions needed for embedded Bluetooth Low Energy designs into a small package, simplifying system design and enabling longer operation times and efficient battery charging with fewer components.
The nPM1300 is optimized for maximum efficiency and compact size and can be configured via an I2C-compatible two-wire interface (TWI). This interface allows easy access and configuration of a range of advanced system management features, including two-button hard reset, battery fuel gauging, system-level watchdog, power loss warning, and recovery from failed boot.
The nPM1300 PMIC is designed to provide efficient power regulation for Nordic's nRF52 and nRF53 series SoCs, supporting wireless protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy, LE Audio, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, and Zigbee. This product is an ideal choice for advanced compact IoT products, such as advanced wearables and portable medical applications.
The nPM1100 is another ultra-small form-factor power management IC for charging batteries and power delivery, featuring an efficient dual-mode configurable buck regulator and an integrated battery charger. It is a complementary component to the Nordic nRF52® series and nRF53® series SoCs, ensuring reliable power delivery and stable operation while maximizing battery life through high efficiency and low quiescent current. Its extremely compact form factor makes it ideal for wearable devices, connected medical devices, and other size-constrained applications, with a PCB area usage as small as 23 mm2.
This integrated battery charger is designed for lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries with a selectable termination voltage of 4.1 or 4.2 V, supporting nominal voltages of 3.6 and 3.7 V, respectively. It features built-in battery thermal protection and automatic selection of three charging modes: trickle charge, constant current charge, and constant voltage charge.
The nPM1100's built-in high-efficiency step-down buck regulator can provide up to 150 mA of current with selectable output voltages of 1.8, 2.1, 2.7, or 3.0 V. It features soft startup and automatic transition between hysteretic and PWM modes. It also allows forced PWM mode to ensure clean power operation. The conversion efficiency is up to 92%, and the footprint is only 27 mm2, including passive components.
Nordic's nRF21540 is an RF front-end module (FEM) for extending the range of Bluetooth® Low Energy, Bluetooth® mesh, Thread, Zigbee, and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols. The nRF21540 is a "plug-and-play" wireless range extender. It provides robustness connection reliability by integrating a power amplifier (PA) and low noise amplifier (LNA), making it ideal for low-power short-range wireless solutions.
The nRF21540 is a complementary product that can be used to enhance the link budget of advanced multi-protocol wireless SoCs from the nRF52 and nRF53 series. When used with nRF52 or nRF53 series SoCs, the nRF21540 RF FEM's +20 dBm TX output power and 13 dB RX gain ensure an excellent link budget improvement of 16-20 dB. This corresponds to a theoretical transmission distance increase of 6.3 to 10 times.
The nRF21540 comes in a 4x4 QFN16 package and as a supplement to the nRF21540 RF FEM. Nordic provides a development board that can be used to evaluate the RF front-end module's performance using lab equipment and assess its performance in practical applications when combined with nRF52 or nRF53 series SoCs. The primary applications tailored for the nRF21540 include smart home, asset tracking, audio, and industrial applications.
Scalable and unified IoT software development kit and prototyping platform
To accelerate customers' product development, Nordic has also launched the nRF Connect SDK (Software Development Kit), a suite of tools for building low-power Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular IoT, Bluetooth Mesh, Thread, Zigbee, and Matter products.
The nRF Connect SDK is a scalable and unified software development kit designed for building products based on all Nordic nRF52, nRF53, nRF70, and nRF91 series wireless devices. It provides developers with a scalable framework for building size-optimized software for memory-constrained devices, as well as powerful and complex software for more advanced devices and applications. It integrates Zephyr RTOS along with various samples, application protocols, protocol stacks, libraries, and hardware drivers.
Additionally, Nordic has introduced the Thingy:53 IoT prototyping platform, making it possible to build prototypes and proofs of concept without the need for custom hardware. Thingy:53 is built around Nordic's flagship dual-core wireless SoC nRF5340. The processing power and memory capacity of its dual Arm Cortex-M33 processors enable it to run embedded machine learning (ML) models directly on the device.
Thingy:53 also comes equipped with a variety of integrated sensors, such as environmental sensors, color and light sensors, accelerometers, and magnetometers, all of which can be used without additional hardware. It is powered by a 1350 mAh rechargeable Li-Po battery, which can be charged via a USB-C interface. Additionally, it has an external 4-pin JST connector compatible with Stemma/Qwiic/Groove standards for hardware accessories.
Conclusion
The IoT technology is transforming our world at an unprecedented speed and scale. From the construction of smart cities to the application of environmental monitoring and the revolution in healthcare, IoT is bringing infinite possibilities to human society. It not only improves our quality of life but also plays a key role in addressing global challenges. Through smart agriculture technology, we can utilize resources more efficiently, reduce waste, and minimize environmental pollution. Through intelligent transportation systems, we can alleviate congestion and reduce carbon emissions. Through remote medical and health monitoring devices, we can provide higher-quality medical services and enhance public health levels. The IoT application solutions launched by Nordic can accelerate customers' development of IoT products, making it worthwhile for you to further understand and adopt them.