What We Know and Don’t Know About Developing a Wireless Product

Editor’s note: Mark Dohnalek is President & CEO of Pivot International, a US-based global manufacturing, engineering, technology, product development company with 14 offices across 3 continents worldwide.

In today’s world, it is unlikely any manufacturer will have commercial success in product development unless there is an IoT aspect to the solution.

All innovations from medical devices to industrial equipment to consumer products will need to have an integrated approach to optimizing wireless technology applications. And, regardless of the technical specifications, during development it will be necessary to make strategic trade-offs to successfully solve your SWaP-C equation (size, weight, power, and cost).

The first step is to fully understand the differences between wireless technologies. If your expertise is limited, then pursue partners who offer an integrated approach to optimizing wireless technology applications for your use case and balance SWaP-C challenge.

The technologies we will discuss are known but how they can be configured to work together and maximize results is often not as well known. It often requires a capable partner to collaborate with you to capture detailed requirements and determine the best technical solution. Below is a list of the most popular and advanced technologies and how they can be integrated effectively to optimize IoT for manufacturers and supply chain partners.

LoRa—Despite the relative newness of this technology, it has already proven to be effective with integrating Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Cellular technologies. Quite simply, LoRa is a long range, low power, proprietary wireless platform with geolocation capabilities that is utilized in many of IoT networks worldwide. Both LoRa devices and the open LoRaWAN® protocol can support smart IoT applications across use cases that include smart cities, smart buildings, smart agriculture, smart metering, smart supply chains, and more. Inquire on this when seeking technology partners, as having LoRa capabilities can achieve impressive results in challenging applications, particularly when low power or long range are key requirements.

Wi-Fi—We certainly know what this is but very often the range of Wi-Fi networks is too limited by their frequency, transmission power, antenna type, location, and environment. A typical indoor wireless router in a point-to-multipoint arrangement comes with a range of about 60 feet or less. Using directional antennas and outdoor point-to-point arrangements can be extended for many miles between stations. While Wi-Fi is well established, Wi-Fi 6 is the next generation of this technology and holds game-changing possibilities for new product development. More on this is described in my previous SCMR column.

Bluetooth—Bluetooth is certainly a well-established wireless technology. Depending on conditions, connectivity extends around 30 feet and delivers a maximum data transfer speed of up to 24 Mbps. Power usage is an overarching concern in solving the SWaP-C challenge. (The higher the power usage, the faster the battery life of a device is drained.) Bluetooth has a surprisingly small power requirement, meaning that its effect on a device’s battery life is much less than using Wi-Fi or an ethernet connection.

Cellular—While cellular services can reliably be accessed in well-populated areas, there are still many parts of the US in which signal connection is unreliable, even non-existent. When operating, the speed of connectivity, data, downloads, and uploads are based on the rapidity of the network connection. When high speeds are lacking, all the product capabilities may not be supported.

We know these technologies are able to intersect but the appropriate technologies and suitable configuration for each to optimize performance and SWaP-C tradeoffs will vary depending on requirements for use cases and value that particular functionality can offer your target market. The question of which wireless technologies, and which combinations, are just one piece of a larger puzzle. Cost, size, and weight must also be factored in.

Every variable in the SWaP-C equation needs to be looked at in its larger context. This requires an integrated approach to design, engineering, and manufacturing to maximize the IoT of your innovation. Online & offline components must be approached as two variables that go hand-in-hand in order to have the most successful outcomes for your product development and improved supply chain processes.

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