5G NTN, NB-IoT, LTE-M Pet Tracker with MIPI bus

Pet tracker key data

Customer: Any IoT developer and maker
Website: TBD
IoT application: GPS tracking of pets
Radio technology used: 5G NTN, LTE-M, NB-IoT, GNSS, Bluetooth
Frequency range: 700–2600 MHz
Type of antenna: Antennity Chip Loop antenna
Special feature: World’s first 5G NTN pet tracker reference design with loop antenna with MIPI RFFE bus like with iPhone

Pets are part of the family. They provide companionship, encourage exercise and reduce stress. People who love animals care about their location, activity, health and eating habits. Modern pet trackers meet these needs – they provide both security and information.

For an animal to accept the device, it must be small and lightweight. However, small IoT enclosures measuring only 60 to 80 mm in length offer too little ground plane for the low frequencies in the NB‑IoT and LTE‑M range. The ground plane must be in a certain ratio to the lowest operating frequency – around 790 MHz in Europe and around 690 MHz in the USA and Australia. If it is too small, bandwidth and antenna gain decrease significantly.

The solution: an Antennity Loop antenna with active control via the MIPI RFFE bus – familiar from iPhone technology. In modern smart phones, filters, amplifiers and antennas are permanently tuned during operation. Antennity has combined this principle with magnetic loop antennas. In the pet tracker, the nRF9151 continuously switches the antenna, dynamically optimises the matching and changes the centre frequency with minimal TRP and TIS losses. The loop antenna is used for NB-IoT, LTE-M, 5G NTN, GNSS and Bluetooth.

The Bluetooth SoC is coupled to the same antenna via a precise diplexer. The filter passes the Bluetooth signal bidirectionally with only 0.5 dB passband attenuation – a highly efficient solution for simultaneous use of cellular and Bluetooth in a tiny device.

Embever’s open Feather PCB-based eval kit allows you to understand the MIPI RFFE control and the pinout of the loop antenna. The schematics are open source. In addition, Achim Kraus’ CoAP DTLS CID stack is available as an open source library on GitHub. The proof-of-concept dashboard is based on the community edition of ThingsBoard.

Never before has the development of a small pet tracker been so simple, transparent and open. Through this collaboration, Antennity is opening up a new path for IoT developers – towards compact, intelligent and fully integrated wireless technology.

Are you planning an IoT device that needs to be as compact as it is powerful? We can support you with antenna matching, antenna development or the design of complete IoT devices. Contact us – we will make your idea measurably better.