InPlay's IN120 NanoBeacon Wireless Sensor SoC won a Best of Sensors award in the IoT & Connectivity Solution category, presented May 6 at Sensors Converge 2026 in Santa Clara, Calif.
The awards are picked by a professional field of judges to recognize the most cutting-edge technologies across sensors, electronics and embedded systems. Entries are evaluated for innovation, market value and ability to address critical challeges in the sensor ecosystem.
The awards are presented annually, making this the 41st Sensors Converge event. Sensors Converge and Fierce Sensors fall under the Questex umbrella.
The InPlay device is an ultra-low-power Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) system-on-a-chip designed specifically for high-volume, battery-powered wireless sensing applications, with a strong focus on temperature monitoring at scale.
Wireless temperature sensing is becoming extremely important in a growing variety of IoT applications, like food logistics. That heightens the need for chip-level offerings that help support temperature monitoring at scale along with other wireless sensing applications. However, InPlay said previous temperature sensing solutions have not been easy to scale. For example, standalone temperature data loggers are accurate but too expensive and bulky, while traditional BLE sensors require multiple ICs, firmware, and large batteries. Also, RFID temperature tags lack continuous sensing, real-time visibility, and accuracy, and manufacturing complexity limits adoption at the carton and item level.
The InPlay IN120 NanoBeacon addresses these challenges. It integrated a factory-calibrated, high-accuracy temperature sensor (±1°C) directly into the wireless SoC, eliminating the need for external sensor ICs, MCUs, or firmware. It is packaged in an ultra-compact Bumped Known-Good-Die (KGD), measuring just 1.6 mm × 1.6 mm × 0.15 mm, and InPlay claimed it is the world’s smallest Bluetooth Low Energy wireless sensor SoC. That means it can enable sensing and connectivity to be embedded directly into labels, packaging, and space-constrained assets where traditional wireless sensors cannot fit, potentially extending IoT connectivity and temperature measurement to new categories of items.
The full list of 2026 award winners is available online.