Technology startup InPlay Technologies has built an integrated circuit (IC) that is intended to make active RFID technology relatively affordable and easy to deploy, via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The IN100 NanoBeacon system-on-chip (SoC), launched in 2021, leverages the Bluetooth 5.0 standard (a type of BLE with long range capability) to enable low-cost, compact beacon modules, powered by a coin-cell battery, that can be paired with sensors and be pre-configured for event-triggered conditions. The technology won the Best New Product Award at last month’s RFID Journal LIVE! conference, held in Phoenix, Ariz. (see RFID Journal Announces Winners of Its 15th Annual Awards).
The IN100 NanoBeacon is being adopted by San Jose, Calif., solution provider BeeFi, while InPlay intends to work with other partners as well to create low-cost solutions that not only locate devices, but could capture sensor data. The SoC in its smallest package (the DFN8) measures 2.5 millimeters by 2.5 millimeters (0.1 inch by 0.1 inch), and it can be built into a beacon device powered with a 1.5-volt coin-cell battery, which could be affixed to a piece of equipment, a container or a wall. It could then be configured via an app, without requiring software development. The SoC was developed to be free of software programming.
The IN100 NanoBeacon system-on-chip
The IC could cost as little as 30 cents apiece, according to David Hu, the company’s cofounder and COO. Once the SoCs are built into a module with crystals (electrode connections), batteries and enclosures, companies can expect the commercially ready devices to cost approximately $2 or $3, he says, whereas beacon devices currently in use are typically priced above $20 each. Supporting Bluetooth 5 long-range capability, the IN100 NanoBeacon can transmit data at a distance of up to several hundred meters. Because of the high silicon integration, requiring only an external 26 MHz crystal, IN100-based beacon modules are a fraction of the size compared with the hockey puck size of most beacons, Hu notes. The technology supports the Eddystone and iBeacon protocols.
BeeFi, cofounded with Hu’s former high school classmate John Yu, has been making Internet of Things (IoT) systems for Qualcomm, whose AWS-ready modules employ Wi-Fi connectivity. “What we bring them is a Bluetooth version” for IoT solutions, Hu explains. Based in Irvine, Calif., InPlay was launched in 2016 by engineers from Atmel (now Microchip) to address technology-based challenges involving gaming, robotics and industrial systems. “We looked at gaming because the low-latency wireless issues were not being addressed.”
At the time InPlay was founded, Hu says, Bluetooth 5 was being adopted, and his company saw an opportunity to provide a solution that could better enable multi-player gaming with a higher-quality user experience by reducing the lag time between wireless controller and console. However, the firm is also focused on industrial applications that could benefit from the same technology. “Then we made the first chip, a multi-protocol Bluetooth, low-latency and SDR [software-defined radio] for networking,” he states, adding that the SDR edge-networking solution is designed to connect tens of thousands of devices while concurrently supporting the Bluetooth 5 protocol.
With regard to RTLS with BLE technologies, Hu explains, active RFID systems have previously been more complex to deploy than passive RFID. Such solutions require software to manage each device, while the beacons typically consume a great deal of power and thus need to be recharged or have their batteries periodically changed. This translates to more complex and costly maintenance. “We thought, ‘We have to reduce the power consumption of Bluetooth beacons. Can we take a different architectural approach to solve this issue?'” Hu recalls.
The product is the first in what InPlay expects to be a family of NanoBeacons. BeeFi plans to pilot the IN100 during the coming months, with deployments expected in early 2022. The device was built without need for a CPU, though it includes a one-time programmable memory so users can configure the beacon to suit their applications’ needs. One version of the package, the QFN18, comes with interfaces to accommodate multiple sensors so the chip can capture sensor readings, such as temperature or shock, and users can have options, such as identifying a temperature excursion outside of an acceptable threshold, or simply putting senor data dynamically onto the beacon payload.
Configuring the SoC would require only a PC tool, on which users could select from a list of options and indicate parameters (not exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, for instance), then burn those settings onto the chips. The technology is likely to be adopted for real-time location and the monitoring of assets and equipment at warehouses, manufacturing sites and healthcare facilities. For example, the devices could be attached to high-value items, after which users could employ a single BLE gateway to capture data potentially from thousands of devices and forward it to a server. In a warehouse, a company could view the locations and statuses of its tools, forklifts or pallets, and the collected data could be viewed through an app on a smartphone or tablet device.
The company predicts its differentiators from other BLE or active RFID systems will make it affordable for a wide variety of new deployments. “The key points are cost, ease of use and low power consumption,” says Russ Mohn, InPlay’s RF design director. The energy consumption is as low as 1.4 uA of power over a 10-second period, he reports. InPlay can customize how much power is consumed, by programming the transmission power, advertising intervals and triggers depending on an application’s requirements.
For location tracking, Beefi’s SensiBLE IoT platform uses InPLay’s IN100 SoC and IN612L bi-directional SDR protocol edge-networking SoC in its gateways, and it employs a combination of angle-of-arrival and received signal strength indicator algorithms to achieve real-time tag location accuracy within 1 meter (3.3 feet), while also capturing sensor data. Because the SoC uses so little power, the company reports, it could potentially leverage solar, radio or mechanical power sources.
The SoC can operate at high temperatures. During testing, Hu says, it was shown to operate at 135 degrees Celsius (275 degrees Fahrenheit), whereas most BLE chips tend to lose functionality above 125 degrees (257 degrees Fahrenheit). This high-temperature capability means the device could be applied to industrial-grade applications, such as tire pressure monitoring. When built into a device with a pressure sensor, the NanoBeacon could be attached to tires and thereby enable users to view the pressure with their smartphone without requiring a mechanical testing system.
To serve this market, InPlay expects to continue developing the NanoBeacon so that it can be sold as an automotive-grade product. The IN100 comes with a unique private key to provide security and authentication, the company reports. If that private key is compromised, the corresponding beacon will be removed and delisted from the authentication server so that it can no longer be used. Moreover, the sensor payload is encrypted and only the key’s owner can decrypt and verify the message’s authenticity. To support its current and future partners, InPlay plans to sell an IN100 evaluation kit by the end of this year.