DPTechnics

About DPTechnics

DPTechnics, a European leader in Internet-of-Things (IoT) development, is based in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. The company excels in transforming concepts into fully realised, internet-connected products. Utilising their proprietary IoT platform, BlueCherry.io, DPTechnics ensures ongoing support and management post-deployment.

Catering to a diverse clientele, including both small and medium-sized enterprises as well as large multinationals, DPTechnics offers a range of products and services. While they do not market end-user products directly, they provide ‘IoT building blocks’. These building blocks enable companies to venture into IoT projects efficiently, reducing initial investments and streamlining development processes.

Meet Walter

The team at DPTechnics is the creative mind behind the remarkable Walter board.

Walter is a small form-factor IoT system-on-module which combines the powerful ESP32-S3 processor with a 5G modem and GNSS receiver. On top of the ESP32-S3’s many built-in peripherals, such as UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, Wi-Fi b/g/n, and Bluetooth 5, Walter also boasts the second-generation Sequans GM02SP LTE-M/NB-IoT 5G modem and GNSS receiver.

The Walter module can be used for both prototyping and production, as it will be certified for FCC, CE, Australia SDoC, and New Zealand SDoC. Guaranteeing a minimum of ten years of availability makes it a uniquely reliable building block for your IoT application.

Walter is open source

Walter comes with a range of 100% open source software libraries for jump-starting your 5G IoT project in minutes. So you can program in familiar languages and toolchains, Walter supports ESP-IDF, Arduino, Micropython, and Toit. All software is available on GitHub: https://github.com/QuickSpot. No special dongles are needed to program Walter – connect it directly to your development machine via a normal USB Type-C cable.

Integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and External LTE-M/NB-IoT Antennas with Taoglas Partnership

Walter has a built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antenna, and relies on external antennas for optimal LTE-M/NB-IoT and GNSS operation. There are two u.FL connectors, especially for this purpose. We have chosen Taoglas as the recommended antenna partner because of their quality and ten-year availability guarantee. The antennas are designed to be stuck onto a product case. This self-adhesive flexible design makes it possible to easily integrate the antennas into your projects.

Features and specifications

ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R2 microcontroller:

• Xtensa dual-core 32-bit LX7 CPU
• 16 MiB quad SPI flash memory
• 2 MiB quad SPI PSRAM
• 150 Mbps 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 with on-board PCB antenna
• 2 Mbps Bluetooth 5 Low Energy with on-board PCB antenna

Sequans GM02SP 5G modem:

• Dual-mode LTE-M / NB-IoT (NB1, NB2)
• 3GPP LTE release 14 (upgradeable up to release 17)
• Ultra-low, deep-sleep mode in eDRX and PSM
• Adaptive +23 dBm, +20 dBm and +14 dBm output power
• Integrated LNA and SAW filter for GNSS reception
• Assisted and non-assisted GNSS with GPS and Galileo constellations
• Integrated SIM card
• Nano SIM card slot
• u.FL RF connectors for GNSS and 5G antennas

Inputs & outputs:

• 24 GPIO pins for application use
• UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, I2S, and SD available on any of the GPIO pins
• ADC, DAC, and PWM integrated in ESP32-S3
• 3.3 V software-controllable output
• USB Type-C connector for flashing and debugging
• 22 test points for production programming and testing
• On-board reset button

Power supply

• 5.0 V via USB Type-C
• 3.0 – 5.5 V via Vin pin
• Not allowed to use both power inputs simultaneously
• Designed for extremely low quiescent current

Form factor

• Easy to integrate via 2.54 mm headers
• 55 mm x 24.8 mm board dimensions
• Pin- and footprint-compatible with EOL Pycom GPy
• Breadboard friendly

Software

• Libraries for the Espressif IDF
• Libraries for the Arduino ecosystem
• Libraries for the Micropython
• Future support and libraries for Toit
• Natively supported in the BlueCherry.io IoT platform
• We are open to other suggestions

Certifications

• Industrial temperature range of -40°C to +85°C
• Pending certification for CE, FCC, Australia and New Zealand
• Designed and manufactured in the European Union
• Ten-year availability guarantee
• CE (EU), FCC (US), SDoC (AU), SDoC (NZ)

Meet Walter – A Soracom and DP Technics Webinar

In this next episode of our “Let’s Talk IoT Devices” series, delve into Walter’s technology through exciting use cases and understand how its features make it ideal for IoT applications.
Learn more