Nordic Semiconductor : Designed to detect, record, and notify within seconds any form of physical tampering, impact or attempted theft; the next generation ‘Bmmpr ...

Nordic Semiconductor today announces that U.S. startup, Bmmpr, is specifying a Nordic nRF9160 System-in-Package (SiP) and Nordic nRF52- and nRF53 Series Bluetooth® Low Energy Systems-on-Chips (SoCs) in its second-generation Bmmpr x Assets LTE-M anti-theft, anti-damage, high-value asset protection hardware platform which was launched at CES in Las Vegas this week.

When used to protect cars, for example, the two-postage-stamp-sized 44 x 28mm 'Bmmpr x Cars' is plugged in by the end user themselves under a car's steering wheel. The latest version of the Bmmpr hardware platform adds a host of brand-new sensing capabilities including full-range motion detection and tracking; detection of subtle environmental changes; and sound monitoring via a high sensitivity microphone.

In addition to the sensor enhancements, Bmmpr x Assets is also said to feature new hardware-based thermal and watchdog protections that are suitable for industrial and mission-critical applications; a 30-pin board-to-board interconnect that offers unlimited expansion capabilities; and an onboard CAN bus controller and transceiver to support communication with a wide variety of external hardware; plus a power input range that can be specified to be anywhere between 3.7 and 30V.

With a claimed sub-200µA average power consumption, the second generation Bmmpr x Assets platform is also said to consume 200x less power than the first generation Bmmpr (which used a non-Nordic cellular IoT modem). This supports a three-year battery life from a single charge of the Bmmpr platform's internal 4500mAh lithium-polymer rechargeable battery.

"The Bmmpr platform, which has been shipping for over two years to both consumer car-owners and an increasing range of non-automotive industrial customers seeking to protect remote and/or high-value assets, has now evolved into a full-blown, state-of-the-art asset protection system," says Marko Mandaric, Co-Founder & CEO of Bmmpr.

"This includes a unified but modular hardware architecture that allows the Bmmpr platform to be customized to protect an unlimited range of high value and industrial assets including motorcycles, shipping containers, and construction vehicles and equipment."

Mandaric concludes: "Our products are built to identify what you cannot see, hear, or feel when it comes to protecting what matters to you most, and instantly relaying that information. One of the reasons we selected Nordic Semiconductor was because the extreme miniaturization of its nRF9160 SiP enabled us to develop an end-device product size that was simply impossible in the cellular world even three years ago. When allied with the nRF9160 SiP's extremely low power consumption, we believe we have been able to develop a uniquely capable high-value asset protection device for both consumer and industrial applications."