Designing an Ultra-Low-Power RTU for Use in NB-IoT Water Applications

Abstract

This paper presents the design and realization of a ultra-low-power and low-cost remote transfer unit (RTU), working as an outdoor gateway for collecting hydrographic data, such as rainfall, water flow rate, water quality, etc. Based on the NarrowBand Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard, it facilitates the communication between the sensors and the information center (server). The unit consists of an Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) microcontroller unit (MCU), a NB-IoT module, and a power supply module. The RTU was experimentally tested and its use successfully demonstrated.