Seeed Studio's SenseCAP A1102 Delivers Compact, Affordable LoRaWAN-Connected Edge Vision AI

Seeed Studio has announced the launch of the SenseCAP A1102 LoRaWAN Vision AI Sensor, a two-part gadget designed to deliver no-code computer vision at the edge alongside long-range low-power communications capabilities — and offers a cheaper RS-485 variant, too.

"SenseCAP A1102 [is] an IP66-rated LoRaWAN vision AI sensor, ideal for low-power, long-range tinyML edge AI applications," says Seeed's Violet of the release. "It comes with three pre-deployed models (human detection, people counting, and meter reading) by default. Meanwhile, with SenseCraft AI platform, you can use the pre-trained models or train your customized models conveniently within a few clicks. Of course, SenseCAP A1102 also supports TensorFlow Lite and PyTorch."

The camera side of the hardware is built around the Himax WiseEye2 HX6538 processor — the same as found in Seeed's earlier Grove Vision AI v2 Kit — with two Arm Cortex-M55 cores and an Ethos-U55 neural processing unit (NPU) for on-device artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) acceleration. This is linked to an Omnivision OV5647 five-megapixel sensor module with a maximum frame rate of 1080p30 or 720p60 — though the on-device computer vision system use an input of 480×480 at around 10 frames per second depending on model.

For communication, Seeed has added a Wio-E5 module based on STMicro's STM32WLE5Jc and a Semtech SX126x LoRa transceiver — giving it a dedicated Arm Cortex-M4 core to handle the long-range low-power communication stack. For shorter-range higher-throughput communications, in particular the transmission of captured frames, there's also a XIAO ESP32C3 on-board for Wi-Fi connectivity. Everything is powered by a D-size Li-SOCl2 battery, which is not rechargeable, delivering a claimed 279 days when running on a five-minute activation interval.

This isn't Seeed's first LoRaWAN-connected edge-AI camera system: the SenseCAP A1101 boasts similar features, though is limited to a maximum 640×480 resolution at 60 frames per second. "The SenseCAP A1102 has stronger performance compared to the SenseCAP A1101," Seeed claims, "offering better Vision AI capabilities, more supported models and frameworks, and the ability to transmit keyframe images via Wi-Fi."

In addition to the LoRaWAN variant, Seeed has also launched a version designed for integration into industrial infrastructure — swapping the LoRaWAN transceiver for RS-485 connectivity. "Simply put," Violet explains, "it is the camera part of the SenseCAP A1102, which adopts the Himax AI processor for AI performance. You can use [the] RS485 Vision AI Camera with SenseCAP Sensor Hub 4G Data Logger to transmit the reference results via 4G. If your existing devices or systems support MODBUS-RS485, you can connect it with this RS485 Vision AI Camera for your applications."

The camera is now available to order on the Seeed store at $75 before volume discounts — coming in $4 less than the earlier SenseCAP A1101; the RS485 variant is even cheaper at just $39 before volume discounts.