Massachusetts-based Blues Wireless has introduced a low-cost embeddable STM32L4+ based microcontroller board to accelerate the development and deployment of battery-powered IoT products.

Called Swan, it is useful for applications requiring large memory or a high degree of IO expandability at an affordable cost, such as edge-based inferencing and remote monitoring.

In this role, Swan is designed to be a companion to Blues’ Notecard, a secure system on a module (SoM) with embedded ten-year global connectivity that allows any developer to send data from remote assets using JSon and two lines of code. These data are routed to cloud applications, again using simple JSon and Rest.

Uniquely for Feather-compatible boards, Swan is designed to satisfy developers’ needs that span from early prototyping to high-volume deployment. Developers may begin to use Swan with Adafruit’s myriad sensors and FeatherWing-compatible carriers. Due to its novel design, for high-volume deployment, the Swan can also be soldered directly to a parent PCB integrating those sensors, using the full range of Swan’s IO capabilities.

Based on the STM32L4R5 microcontroller operating at up to 120MHz, Swan provides developers access to 640kbyte of RAM, 2Mbyte of flash and 55 general purpose IO ports including eight analogue, 16 digital, one SPI, one quad SPI, two I²C, four uart and one USB.

The board has three independent power options – USB, battery or line power – and provides a software-switchable 2A regulator for powering external sensors. When operating in its low-power operating mode, the entire Swan board commonly draws about 8µA while retaining all its memory, making it suitable for battery-powered devices.

Swan supports C/C++, Arduino and CircuitPython, and includes a Cortex debug connector enabling the use of development environments such as Visual Studio Code, IAR and STM32Cube IDE.

The Swan is available in a single-unit starter kit and the Swan Edition of the Notecard starter kit for Feather. When paired with a Notecard and with an MOQ, it is available below $20, delivered in trays directly to a contract manufacturer.

“While building Notecard-based remote monitoring solutions, customers have repeatedly asked us for recommendations that might help accelerate their creation of highly intelligent battery-powered devices,” said Ray Ozzie, CEO of Blues Wireless. “To them, there are many impediments. Our core mission is to help them reduce the time from concept-to-deployment and concept-to-value. Swan, as with Notecard, is a unique solution that will accelerate their journey and get them to delivery and scale with enterprise-class security, quality and robustness.”

Blues Wireless announced the general availability of Swan last month at the Edge Impulse Imagine conference. The company released the Notecard in late 2020.

Founded in 2019, Blues Wireless is the creator of Notecard, claimed to be the fastest and most cost-effective way to add wireless connectivity to any product. Blues’ customers span agriculture, automotive, construction, healthcare, industrial, manufacturing, retail, supply chain, cold chain, transportation and logistics. Use cases range from simple tracking and remote monitoring to edge analytics and remote control. Blues is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.