WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY FEATURE
THE INTERNET OF THINGS: When one size doesn’t fit all
Barry Gillibrand, Managing Director of Low Power Radio Solutions explores the options for advancing wireless communication in IoT devices and considers the best solutions for the application
will be battery powered. A wireless transceiver can offer significant power savings from its “always on” current consumption by providing control of the duty cycle of the receiver. With ‘ON’ times able to be set to typical values of 12.5%, 6.25%, 3.1%, 1.56%, 0.78%, 0.39% and 0.2% corresponding savings in power consumption are available down to 32µA. When using this technique the transmitter may be independently set to the same duty cycle as the receiver or longer as required for reliable transfer of data. An IoT connected device requires more
than just a wireless module. Local “intelligence” is required for data analysis and control. This usually requires additional memory and processing power, with attendant increased component and manufacturing costs, increased size and power consumption. It is now possible to source a transceiver which uses system on chip (SOC) technology removing the need for an external processor. This provides on-board processor
I
t becomes evident when you get past the hype that the Internet of Things
(IoT) means very different things depending on the application or market for which connectivity solutions are being considered. Domestic consumer goods likely to be able to share the wireless connectivity of a home wireless router will require a very different solution to industrial sensors in remote applications, which may require connection via a local router to a fibre-optic or cellular network. For consumer goods where mains
power is available and 24/7 data reliability may not be a prerequisite, an obvious choice might be a high-level solution, for example ZigBee, while continuous remote monitoring of a hazardous process in a remote location is likely to require a more complex solution. Far from being a simple “one size fits all” technology we may be better advised to refer to the IoT as the Internet of “Thing” as every application needs to be evaluated on its own merits. So what are the key considerations when selecting an IoT connectivity solution? At the top of any design engineer’s list will be the security of data transmission. A good starting point is to look for a
wireless product offering at least AES 128 bit data encryption. Originally adopted by
/ ELECTRONICS Figure 1 & 2:
The new eRIC miniature transceiver modules features the LPRS easyRadio Operating System or ‘eROS’
the government of the USA the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is now widely used worldwide. The algorithm used in AES is a symmetric-key algorithm, with the same key used for both encrypting and decrypting the data. Next we should consider the end
markets any IoT enabled end product is intended for use, in all available frequency bands, power limits and broadcast standards, which vary across the globe. The simplest solution will be to design-in a wireless module offering the ability to be set to the local standard for legislation in the end user market. The main individual markets are
Europe, North and South America, APAC, India and China, with the most common standards for ISM Frequency Bands being 433MHz and 868MHz for the UK and Europe and 315MHz and 915MHz for the USA. Any wireless module intended for worldwide use will need to meet ETSI and FCC standard requirements. Industrial IoT applications, generally
falling into the M2M category, are likely to be installed in remote or hazardous locations where power availability and consumption will be critical. Low power consumption is key to applications which
memory which is partitioned giving half to the wireless transceiver configurable settings and communication software and leaving the rest available for design engineers to add their own application code. Code can be written using industry standard tools and a quick to learn API (application programming interface). This partitioned memory design will often eliminate the need for any additional microcontroller. A great number of wireless connected
products never make it to market as designers tend to underestimate the complexity of getting a functional wireless link to work reliably and the programming requirements to convert and transmit data. Previously LPRS offered end users an out-of the-box wireless solution called easyRadio. Recognising the new landscape LPRS are now operating in its new low size, low cost eRIC system-on-chip wireless transceiver offering a secure, low power, internationally proven solution with on-board memory for user application programming. The new eRIC miniature transceiver
modules feature the company’s easyRadio Operating System or ‘eROS’. The eROS operating system provides an intuitive means to get a project active within the minimum time, and without expert knowledge.
LPRS
www.lprs.co.uk/elec 01993 709418
Enter 204 ELECTRONICS | SEPTEMBER 2014 17
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