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Introduction

Icarus IoT Board (nRF9160)

Icarus IoT Board (nRF9160)

Icarus IoT Board (nRF9160)

The Icarus is a cost-effective board combining the latest cellular IoT technologies on the market. It is equipped with the nRF9160 System in Package / modem engineered by Nordic Semiconductor. This low-power SiP integrates the use of GPS and Cellular communication (LTE-M / NB-IoT) to get your project online anywhere, anytime. Furthermore, the Icarus hosts a low-power 3-axis accelerometer, battery charging and measurement, a SIM-card holder and an eSIM (full feature list in the Icarus datasheet). Control, monitor, and keep track of any asset, fleet or cargo: the possibilities are endless.

What's in the box

Your board comes pre-programmed with the following:

  1. The modem firmware from Nordic. The modem inside the nRF9160 contains a co-processor that takes care of the cellular communication. You can update the modem firmware easily using this guide.
  2. The MCUboot bootloader: A secure bootloader for 32-bit microcontrollers which provides you with the option to upload firmware to the Icarus using the USB-port and the Actinius I/O Serial Programmer. The MCUBoot bootloader is used in combination with the Zephyr RTOS on the nRF9160 and enables failsafe and secure Firmware Over-The-Air (FOTA) updates.
  3. Certificates that make it possible to register your board on our online IoT Platform actinius.io.
  4. The Actinius Asset Tracker Application Firmware: Firmware which handles the device registration on the Actinius I/O platform. After succesful registration, this firmware also sends some sensor data to the platform, which can be seen under the devices section.

Getting started

  • Register for an account at actinius.io. There you can register and manage your Icarus, as well as receive data from firmware such as the Actinius Asset Tracker. Furthermore, you can use the Actinius I/O Serial Programmer (on Actinius I/O) to upload ready-to-use, pre-built firmware applications and samples to your Icarus directly from your browser.
  • Follow the Getting started guide for setting up the toolchain(s) and development environment on your computer.
  • See the Board files page in case there are newer board files for your board and nRF Connect SDK version.
  • Check-out some samples and tweak the code. The nRF Connect SDK contains a wide range of samples which are compatible with the Icarus, alongside our own samples. Some good starting points: