Riot Micro: Building a Cheaper, Low-Power Chip for IoT Networks

By combining Bluetooth technology and a crew of engineers that specialize in Wi-Fi, Riot Micro is setting out to build a more cost effective and lower power chip designed to be used in cellular Internet of Things (IoT) networks. As explained by Peter Wong, the chief executive officer of the company, the objective was to maintain costing and power levels the same as those of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and quite obviously, Riot Micro felt it had to shift from the regular method of producing LTE modems. 

The result of that endeavor is the Riot Micro RM1000, which is now made available to module makers as well as to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that develop NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) and eMTC (enhanced machine type communication) systems, which include asset management, home automation, industrial, point of sale, smart energy, vending, and vehicle applications.

In assembling its team of engineers, Riot Micro acquired the services of veterans who did work on the LTE protocol stack at BlackBerry, as well as team members from Newport Media (now owned by semiconductor maker Atmel), Broadcom, and chip maker Qualcomm. It should be mentioned that CEO Wong himself had worked as a systems engineer at semiconductor company PMC-Sierra.

Developing the Riot Micro RM1000 was no easy task for Wong’s team, but they achieved it by cleverly lifting design techniques from both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fields, and adapting and then applying them to the world of cellular. The result is that the crew was able to create a finished product that adeptly meets the requirements set by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for NB-IoT and Cat-M1 eMTC. Many view unlicensed IoT tech as sometimes less costly as compared to IoT tech based on cellular solutions. Take long range wide area networks (LoRaWAN), for instance -- supporters of such networks have claimed that they are as effective compared to cellular networks but not as pricey and does not need as much power.

The Riot Micro RM1000 essentially serves as a hardware baseband controller that is paired seamlessly with an optimized LTE protocol stack that is powered by a super efficient integrated chip. By integrating the PHY layer directly to the hardware, the consumption of eDRX cycle power is reduced, while at the same time, allowing for ultra-fast wake or sleep transition periods.

As mentioned earlier, the Riot Micro RM1000 is being supplied to module makers and OEMs in an 8 millimeter by 8 millimeter 68 pad QFN package, or a 3.5 millimeter by 3.2 millimeter WLCSP package. Riot Micro will also provide customer support, as well as reference and module designs.