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u-blox SARA-R5 Series LTE-M / NB-IoT Modules

Designed to last an IoT lifetime, now LTE-M certified with US operators

The u-blox SARA-R5 series modules are based on the UBX-R5 cellular chipset and the u‑blox M8 GNSS receiver chip. By bringing all technology building blocks in house and having full hardware and software ownership, u‑blox can guarantee long-term device availability and provide lifetime support of the entire platform, down to the chipset level.

The SARA-R5 LTE-M and NB-IoT modules support a comprehensive set of 3GPP Rel. 14 features that are relevant for IoT applications, like improvements to power consumption, coverage, data rate, mobility and positioning. The modules are 5G-ready, meaning customers will be able to (software) upgrade their deployed devices, once 5G LTE has been rolled out by mobile operators, greatly improving end product scalability and lifetime.

The u-blox SARA-R5 series includes three Secure Cloud variants that support u‑blox unique security based services, making these the ideal choice for devices that transmit critical and confidential information.

SARA-R5 Secure Cloud modules benefit from the technology ownership of the entire value chain and are combined with an internal, hardware-based, secure element and a lightweight pre-shared key management system that guarantee state-of-the-art security. Thanks to this implementation, the SARA-R5 series offers security-based features and services like local data encryption and decryption, zero touch provisioning, anti-cloning, and secure chip-to-chip communication.

SARA-R510M8S is pre-integrated with the u‑blox M8 GNSS receiver and separate GNSS antenna interface, which provides highly reliable, accurate positioning data in parallel to LTE communication. In addition, the module offers unique hybrid positioning, in which the GNSS position is enhanced with u‑blox CellLocate® data, providing location always and everywhere.

SARA-R510S has been optimized for extremely low power consumption, using less than 1 μA of current in PSM mode, and is ideal for battery-powered applications.

Customers can future-proof their solutions by means of OTA firmware updates, thanks to the uFOTA client/server solution, which utilizes LWM2M, a light and compact protocol ideal for IoT applications.

SARA-R5 Series Key Highlights

  • Designed to last an IoT lifetime: 5G-ready with the u-blox UBX-R5 chipset
  • Built-in Secure Cloud functionality with hardware-based root of trust inside a discrete secure element
  • IoT-Security-as-a-Service with Foundation, Design and End-to-End security, as well as access control
  • Accurate and reliable positioning, always and everywhere, with the u-blox M8 GNSS receiver
  • Optimized ultra-low power consumption
  • Critical firmware updates delivered and services enabled via uFOTA

SARA-R500S Block Diagram

u-blox – SARA-R500S Block Diagram

 

EVK-R5 – Evaluation Kit for SARA-R5 Cellular Module

The EVK-R5 kit is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that simplifies the evaluation of the u-blox SARA-R5 series LTE-M / NB-IoT cellular modules.

The following evaluation kits are available with u-blox SARA-R5 cellular modules:

  • EVK-R500S evaluation kit is for evaluation of SARA-R500S modules
  • EVK-R510S evaluation kit is for evaluation of SARA-R510S modules
  • EVK-R510M8S evaluation kit is for evaluation of SARA-R510M8S modules

All the evaluation kits are identified herein as the EVK-R5.

Highlights

  • u‑blox LTE Cat M1/NB2 cellular technology
  • Easy to use
  • Simple access to pins and features of SARA‑R5 series modules
  • Extensive visualization and evaluation features
  • 3 USB interfaces: 2 cellular (1 native USB, 1 USB/UART), 1 GNSS
u-blox – EVK-R5 – Evaluation Kit for SARA-R5 Cellular Module