The IoTFi 2G and 4G Are Raspberry Pi RP2040-Powered Cellular Connectivity Powerhouses

Hardware developer Arushi Arushi has put together a pair of development boards targeting the Internet of Things (IoT) and featuring Raspberry Pi RP2040 and Espressif ESP32 microcontrollers plus a choice of 2G or 4G cellular connectivity: the IoTFi 2G and IoTFi 4G.

"Based on [the Raspberry Pi] RP2040, IoTFi comes with an in-built GPS technology and Wi-Fi[-enabled] ESP32 for an exceptional wireless experience," Arushi claims of his board design. "The board is equipped with a 3.5mm audio jack, micro-SIM slot for SIM868/SIM7600G, an SD Card slot and a [USB] Type-C connector."

The boards are based around a dual-microcontroller approach: User applications run on the Raspberry Pi RP2040, a dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ with flexible programmable input/output (PIO) capabilities, while the ESP32 is used to handle Wi-Fi communication. The cellular connectivity, meanwhile, is driven by a SIMCom SIM868E or SIM7600G module depending on which model of board you pick up.

The 2G model offers limited network throughput at 85.6Kb/s up and down and includes a multi-constellation global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver with GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou support; the 4G LTE CAT1 model, meanwhile, can handle 10Mb/s down and 5Mb/s up with fallback to HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, or GPRS where required, and likewise offers GNSS connectivity for location-tracking projects.

Both boards include support for external antennas, an on-board accelerometer, Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, and USB Type-C connectivity for data and power. They also include an on-board display, a compact full-color 1.14" LCD with a 135×240 resolution.

The project is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter with physical rewards, produced by SB Components, starting at £45 for the IoTFi 2G or £105 for the IoTFi 4G (around $57 and $132 respectively.) All hardware is expected to be delivered in August 2022.