u-blox has announced the ALEX-R5, a miniature cellular module that integrates low power wide area (LPWA) connectivity and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology into an ultra-small system-in-package (SiP) form factor. Comprising hardware components designed fully in-house, ALEX-R5 is based on the secure UBX-R5 LTE-M / NB-IoT chipset platform with out-of-the-box Secure Cloud functionality and the u-blox M8 GNSS chip for world-class location accuracy.
ALEX-R5 stands out for its miniature 14×14 mm footprint, achieved thanks to its SiP design, reducing its size compared to the functionally equivalent u-blox SARA-R5 module by half.
Its 23 dBm cellular transmission power guarantees that end devices operate effectively in all signal conditions, even at cell edges, underground, or in other challenging scenarios. And a dedicated GNSS antenna interface enables fully independent, simultaneous operation of the u-blox M8 GNSS chip, matching the performance of a stand-alone u-blox M8 module. u-blox IoT Location-as-a-Service with CellLocate and AssistNow (online, offline, and autonomous) further enhance positioning performance.
ALEX-R5 is optimized for power-sensitive and battery-dependent applications, addressing common pain points of size-constrained applications such as wearables and connected medical devices.
Engineering samples of the ALEX-R5 SiP will be available by Q1, 2021.