Cellular IoT

Cellular IoT Fundamentals

Course description

Cellular IoT Fundamentals is a self-paced hands-on online course focusing on learning the essentials of cellular IoT application development using the highly extensible and feature-rich nRF Connect SDK.

In this course, we will study the cellular technologies LTE-M and NB-IoT. We will examine in-depth the software architecture of a cellular IoT application using Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF91 Series cellular hardware.

The hands-on exercises in this course will teach you step-by-step how to configure the nRF91 Series SiP to establish a cellular link using different technology configurations and connect to the cloud through communication protocols including MQTT and CoAP. In addition to that we will practice using the GNSS receiver inside the nRF91 hardware to obtain geographic coordinates in different schemes.

By the end of this course, you will learn how to develop firmware for cellular IoT prototypes and build a GPS tracker using development hardware based on the nRF91 Series SiP.

What you'll learn

Fundamental theory on cellular IoT technologies (LTE-M and NB-IoT)
Examine in-depth the software architecture of a Cellular IoT firmware based on the nRF Connect SDK
Connect to the cloud using popular communication protocols CoAP (CoAP/DTLS) and MQTT (MQTT/TLS)
Use the GNSS receiver inside the nRF91 Series SiP to obtain geographic coordinates in different schemes
Practice through hands-on exercises developing cellular IoT prototypes and build a GPS tracker

Who should enroll in this course?

You should enroll if you are interested in learning more about cellular IoT and want to build a cellular IoT prototype using Nordic Semiconductor’s products. Embedded software engineers, firmware developers, students and makers are all welcome.

Estimated time

An estimate of about eight to ten hours in total is needed to finish this course. The actual time needed to finish the course will highly depend on your technical background and experience.

Learning Objectives

Examine the cellular IoT protocols LTE-M and NB-IoT

- Understand the basics of the LTE-M and NB-IoT technologies and the fundamental differences between them
- Examine the advantages and disadvantages between the two technologies with regard to different applications
- Understand the two RRC modem modes, and connection states related to the power saving techniques PSM and eDRX
- Go through the unboxing experience for the nRF91 Series hardware, including updating the modem and application firmware and connecting to nRF Cloud

Get familiarized with the communication with the modem

- Briefly examine the basics of network programming and socket interface
- Examine the modem library implementation and communication between the modem and the application
- Learn how to communicate with the modem, both using AT commands and the LTE link controller library
- Practice through hands-on exercises how to establish an LTE link, both through AT commands and the LTE link controller library

Study a few frequently used application protocols

Learn how to implement and use the TCP-based protocol MQTT
Learn how to implement and use the UDP-based protocol CoAP
Understand the advantages and disadvantages to these protocols with regard to different use-cases
Practice through hands-on exercise how to utilize both MQTT and CoAP in an application
Practice using TLS and DTLS for communication confidentiality, integrity, and authentication

Understand the GNSS receiver and how to use the GNSS interface

Understand GNSS and study common GNSS concepts, like TTFF, NMEA messages and operational modes
Examine the GNSS receiver on the nRF91 Series SiP and how to interface with it using the GNSS interface
Practice through hands-on exercises how to obtain your geographical coordinates, with and without the LTE modem being active by using power saving techniques PSM and eDRX

Learn about modem tracing, related tools and how to utilize them

Learn how to take a modem trace from the modem core of the nRF91 Series SiP
Practice through hands-on exercises how to capture a modem trace and decrypt it using Nordic tools

Start course

Details

Fundamental level

8 lessons

8–10 hours to complete

Certificate of completion

Prerequisites

nRF Connect SDK Fundamentals course
- (Required) Lesson 1
- (Recommended) Lesson 2 – Lesson 8
Basic knowledge of the C programming language
Some experience in developing software for embedded systems

Hardware Requirements

Any of the following development hardware: nRF9151 DK, nRF9161 DK, nRF9160 DK, Thingy:91 X or Thingy:91
A nano SIM card that supports LTE-M or NB-IoT (all nRF91 Series development hardware is shipped with at least one SIM card )