UnaliWear has selected the Quectel BG77 for its Kanega Watch, a medical alert smart watch device for use by independent seniors. The Kanega Watch has been designed with input from independent seniors to provide discreet 24/7 protection for users. UnaliWear says the device is the only medical alert watch on the market offering fall detection, extending independence for wearers across the US.

Key features include long battery life, so users never need to remove the Kanega Watch to recharge it. In addition, wearers can connect to a 24/7 monitoring centre to get help for a variety of major or minor emergencies. This provides a substantial enhancement over calling 911 because the service enables the wearer to speak to an agent, who has all the wearer’s emergency contacts and health information, through the smart watch. The agent can directly dispatch emergency services if required or contact relatives as appropriate.

The design input of independent seniors means the smart watch is comfortable to wear in bed, can be used in the shower and wherever the senior goes with pinpoint GPS to share their location if needed.

“We use the BG77 since we need fairly low data rates while also requiring low power consumption and a small board footprint,” explains Jean Anne Booth, the Chief Executive Officer of UnaliWear. “The Cat M1 network is capable of delivering more than enough data throughput for our needs, and the BG77 is an excellent module for efficiently accessing that network. We need to have simultaneous transmit and receive over both a TCP connection and a UDP connection when handling an emergency situation for our customers. The BG77 handles this use case just as easily as it handles simple unidirectional data on a single connection.”

BG77 ideal for smart watch due to low power use and easy integration

Quectel’s BG77 is an ultra-compact LPWA module supporting LTE Cat M1, LTE Cat NB2 and integrated GNSS which meets the 3GPP Release 14 specification. The module achieves maximum downlink rates of 588Kbps and uplink rates of 1119Kbps. The module’s integrated RAM and flash memory enables ultra-low power consumption, and the ARM Cortex A7 processor enables an up to 70% reduction in power saving mode (PSM) leakage and 85% reduction in extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) current consumption compared to its predecessor. The BG77’s highly integrated, cost-effective and compact SMT form factor of 14.9mm × 12.9mm × 1.7mm allows integrators and developers to benefit from its mechanical intensity and low power consumption and design their applications with ease.

“We’re delighted that UnaliWear has selected the Quectel BG77 module to support Cat M1 connectivity for the Kanega Watch,” said Peter Fowler, Senior Vice President North America at Quectel. “We’re proud that the module’s low power consumption, small form factor and reliable Cat M1 performance is able to provide discreet 24/7 protection for seniors, allowing them to extend their independence with dignity. It’s great to see a product that is having such a positive effect on the lives of wearers and we’re proud that our modules are helping UnaliWear to build a smarter world.”

UnaliWear selected the Quectel BG77 for the smart watch due to its compact size, competitive pricing and the strong support offered by Quectel. “Ease of FCC certification was a strong attraction for us and the level of engineering support provided by Quectel is outstanding,” adds Booth. “Both design-in support and continuing support during the life of the product are strong and Quectel listens to our enquiries and challenges and provides feedback or assistance that is relevant.”