Soracom IoT Starter Kit Includes LTE SIM Card, Arduino, and Sensors

Getting started on a new electronics prototype can be tricky unless you have a wide variety of parts available. Developing IoT products can be incredibly daunting since you need to think about radio for connectivity and a strategy to connect to the cloud. The Soracom IoT Starter Kit aims to solve both of these challenges. Their new kit includes an Arduino MKR series board with cellular connectivity, seven Grove-based sensors, and a SIM card for either 3G or LTE networks.

Arduino designed the MKR series for commercial and industrial IoT applications. Their form factor contains several standard features: an Arm-based microcontroller, battery charging circuit, standardized pinout, and radios for connectivity. Soracom based their IoT kits around the MKR GSM 1400 and MKR NB 1500. These kits support GSM/3G and LTE cellular networks, respectively. Being an Arduino board, the Arduino IDE and numerous libraries work with the MKR out-of-the-box.

Grove is a connection platform that simplifies the connection of sensors and actuators to a microcontroller platform. A keyed-connector with retention maps analog signal, I2C communication, and power between the MKR board and a sensor. The Soracom IoT kit includes seven modules: a button, a piezo buzzer, combined temperature and humidity sensor, GPS receiver, 3-axis accelerometer, magnetic (reed) switch, and an ultrasonic range sensor. This array of modules is a great starting point. By utilizing the Grove-style connector, no soldering is necessary to add other sensors to your prototype.

If you need some project ideas, Soracom has a tutorial with four examples of IoT devices to help you get started. You might also want to look at their GitHub repository for additional code support.

Soracom intends these kits for the global market. Since LTE is not available in all regions, there are both GSM and LTE-based kits available. Both kits do include a $20 credit to use Soracom's cloud service with your IoT device. The LTE Arduino NB 1500 kit is available for $144.90, and the Arduino GSM 1400 kit is available for $134.90. You can order either Soracom IoT Starter Kit from their web store.