SIMCom has enhanced it SIM900 quad-band GSM/GPRS module with new FOTA (firmware over the air) capabilities. FOTA provides a way for devices to update their core firmware over the air. SIMCom has refined the FOTA process to allow customers to use the AT command interface of the SIM900 to perform firmware upgrades.
The system works by SIMCom providing customers with a delta firmware file containing the difference between the existing firmware on the module and the firmware it is to be upgraded to, and making this delta firmware file available to the customer to place in a specific IP network location. The MCU interfacing to the SIM900 gets this delta firmware file from the specific IP network location via FTP and then writes the delta firmware file to a fixed place on the SIM900 with the use of AT commands. After receiving these AT commands from the MCU, the module then updates the current firmware from the delta firmware file. The status of this update process is read via the MCU.
The SIM900’s FOTA functionality is based on Redbend’s vCurrent Mobile software platform, a tried and tested technology currently used in hundreds of millions of cellular handsets globally. The update package (delta firmware file) is tiny and only about 5% of the total firmware size. Using this technology, the update process is reliable and secure, since the SIM900 will automatically resume the process from the last interruption in case of an event such as power loss.
Another useful feature of the enhanced firmware of the SIM900 is the implementation of GSM location. This allows the module to determine its approximate whereabouts using the latitude, longitude, date and time of the nearest cellular tower that it connects to.
The ability of the module to perform basic positioning in this way allows manufacturers of GSM-based security products to find lost alarms that technicians may have installed in incorrect places, as well as allowing for distributors to keep track of products which have been fired-up initially but have not been configured properly. The distributor can then notify the installer of the product in this area.
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