Q2 SUMMER 2019
Following
the herd
POWER MAD:
HOW TO CURB ENERGY USE
FASTER FOOD:
TECH ENHANCES
QSR EXPERIENCE
NB-IoT REVITALIZES
FROZEN BEVERAGES
PROTECTING POLICE
WITH BLUETOOTH TECH
WHY CELLULAR IoT
DEMANDS eSIMs
Cellular keeps track of the
Sami’s most valuable asset
across the vast subarctic
3
W
Summer 2019
2 W
Summer 2019
News
In Brief
Ovulation and
fertility tracker helps
women conceive
A tracking device that can be attached to an
ear of herding animals and autonomously
measure a location and health has been
introduced by Finnish startup, Anicare.
e Anicare Healtag employs Nordic
Semiconductor’s multimode cellular IoT
module to send data to the Cloud so that in the
event a roaming animal becomes injured, it can
be quickly identified for treatment.
Existing herding animal trackers are so large
they have to be hung from the animal’s neck,
and they consume so much power that their
batteries have to be replaced every year. In
contrast, by employing the compact nRF9160
SiP, the Healtag is small and light enough (at
25g) to be attached to an animal’s ear like
a traditional livestock ear tag, and offers a
battery lifetime of up to five years.
e device integrates an accelerometer
and thermal sensor to measure the herding
animal’s activity and temperature once an
hour. NB-IoT cellular technology carries
reports of any significant changes that
would tend to indicate either illness, injury,
or predator attack. is includes using the
nRF9160 SiP’s built-in GPS functionality to
immediately send the owner the exact location
of a distressed animal.
“e commercial challenge for herding
livestock farmers is that they have to manage
hundreds or thousands of animals and the loss
of even a few of these can significantly reduce
or even eliminate already slim profit margins,”
says Geir Langeland, Nordic Semiconductor’s
Director of Sales & Marketing. “is makes
IoT-enabled herding livestock management
solutions particularly attractive as a way to
protect profits.”
e Anicare Healtag will be commercially
available from September this year.
e latest developments from Nordic Semiconductor
Ear tag tracks location and
health of herding animals
CELLULAR IOT
CONNECTIONS EXPLODE
According to a new report from IoT analyst,
Berg Insight, the number of global cellular
IoT subscribers during 2018 increased by
70 percent to reach 1.2 billion. e firm said
the growth was driven by “exceptional
adoption” in China which accounted for 63
percent of the global installed base, and has
now surpassed Europe and North America
in penetration. By 2023, Berg Insight
forecasts, there will be 9 billion IoT devices
connected to cellular networks worldwide.
NORDIC DEVELOPMENT
TOOL WINS AWARD
Nordic’s nRF Connect for
Cloud has been named winner
of the “Most Competitive
Development Tools in China”
category by the judges of
the 2018 CEM Editor’s Choice Awards. e
program recognizes products that meet the
needs of the Chinese market. e product
is a free service for Cloud-based evaluation
of products employing Nordic’s Bluetooth
SoCs and nRF91 Series SiPs for cellular IoT.
Welcome
Svenn-Tore Larsen
CEO
W
hen the first Bluetooth LE applications hit the market,
even Nordic’s engineers—who were among those
that developed the specification—were amazed at the
applications customers introduced. at amazement continues
to this day as Nordic’s products are used to power applications
across industry, commerce, health, education and consumer
electronics. is edition of WQ, for example, features applications
as diverse as a fertility tracker, a cycling safety beacon and a
monitor to track green sea turtles. And while we never take
success for granted, the future for Nordic’s solutions looks bright
in a market that the Bluetooth SIG forecasts will reach 1.6 billion
Bluetooth LE chips shipments per year by 2023.
Now I’m pleased to report that Nordic’s customers are
exhibiting the same impressive innovation with the first
applications of the nRF91 Series cellular IoT module: the nRF9160.
e product combines Nordic’s nRF91 SiP with Qorvo’s custom
RF front end and advanced packaging into a device so compact
and battery friendly it brings LTE-M and NB-IoT connectivity to a
host of applications that were previously impractical.
Apart from the advanced hardware and software, a key
advantage of the nRF91 Series is that Nordic’s R&D engineers
have made it easier for customers to realize their designs by
abstracting away the complexity of cellular via easy-to-use
development tools. And Nordic customers—small and large—are
wasting no time in taking advantage of that proposition.
Scores of design partners have been working for months
to develop and test nRF9160-based products and the first of
those are now coming to market. is edition features cellular IoT
reindeer trackers, smart alarms, and frozen beverage makers.
Expect to read about many similar products in the coming weeks.
Contents
e Bluetooth
®
word mark and logos are
registered trademarks owned by the Bluetooth
SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Nordic
Semiconductor is under license.
© Nordic Semiconductor 2019
Wireless Quarter is published on behalf of Nordic Semiconductor by Ecritech
www.ecritech.com
Editor
Steven Keeping steven@ecritech.com
Assistant Editor
Chris Williams chris@ecritech.com
Production Editor
Andrew Woolls-King andrew@ecritech.com
Creative Director
Sam Grimmer
Image Editors
Nathan Sargent, Neale Hobday
Print & Distribution
Printech Europe
News
Cellular IoT ear tag tracks animals 3
News Extra
Nordic powers retail innovations 7
Analysis
Wireless tech boosts police safety 8
Comment
Why the smart home needs
to get smarter 9
Cover Feature
Following the herd 10
Feature
Power mad 14
Feature
Faster food 18
Nordic Inside
ATMOS enhances
dive experience 20
Case Study
Smart boot improves
skiing technique 22
Nordic People
Karl Helmer Torvmark 23
Tech Zone News
OS maintains robust
wireless communication 24
Tech Briefing
Why cellular IoT needs eSIMs 25
Tech Perspective
Bluetooth 5.1 enhances
location systems 26
Nordic Product
Selection Guide
27
Scores of
design partners
have been
working to
develop, test,
and verify
nRF9160-
based products
and now the
first of those
are coming to
market
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nordicsemi.com
U.S. healthcare technology company
Quanovate has released a Bluetooth LE
based ovulation and fertility tracker that
helps women conceive by providing hormone
readings and personalized ovulation cycle
predictions through the measurement of
fertility hormone concentrations.
Once the user has collected a urine sample
using a test wand, the sample is analyzed
by the Mira Analyzer device, and the data
is automatically synced using Bluetooth LE
wireless connectivity (provided by Nordic’s
nRF52832 SoC) to the Mira Fertility app on
the user’s smartphone.
e partner app then uses AI-based analysis
to learn the unique hormone levels and
patterns of the user. From the app display, the
user can receive accurate fertility hormone
data, monitor hormone patterns, and view
precise, personalized ovulation predictions.
e app also provides accurate insights
into their fertility window to enhance the
prospects of conception. Users can also
enter and store a full suite of additional
fertility tracking data.
According to Quanovate, Mira is the only
FDA, CE, and CDFA registered and certified,
at-home diagnostic device with the capability
to cover every stage of women’s health
testing. Mira can test fertility, pregnancy,
fetal health, ovarian reserve, and the progress
of menopause.
Smart Health
To subscribe to WQ visit www.nordicsemi.com/wqmag