Connectivity Primer: Solutions for the IoT Space
[Copy link]
There is no doubt that there is a lot of excitement and new applications coming out of the Internet of Things (IoT). From smart homes to connected cars to managed wireless infrastructure, the IoT has many benefits and new technologies that will come with it.
Smart Home: Managing the Growing Number of Smart Devices
With the emergence of new devices for today’s smart homes, we can now remotely control the temperature, “talk” to the TV, and even automatically compile a shopping list without even opening the refrigerator door to see what needs to be stocked. With Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) becoming a reality, many things have been improved, mainly in terms of RF range, data rates, reduced size, and RF interference management. Distributed Wi-Fi, or what we call Pod in Every Room, is a viable approach to wireless connectivity throughout the house. With this blanket connectivity, the pod in each room is a wireless access point that supports a large number of Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth signals on multiple channels—with both high- and low-speed IoT devices in every room.
However, like all emerging technologies, these technologies also face challenges. For IoT devices, the two main considerations are: size and heat. Designers must consider heat and size issues when using separate chips to enable Zigbee, Thread and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) in their systems. In addition, while Wi-Fi 6 continues to expand, the number of MIMO streams and the possibility of increased spectrum will bring thermal and size challenges - creating optimization tools for allocating the big data bandwidth requirements needed in today's homes. Now, smart home solutions can bring design and heat reduction advantages to the real estate industry. These solutions include:
- System on Chip (SoC). Using a multiprotocol IoT solution that sends and receives these wireless signals in one integrated system on chip (SoC) can save space. For example, Qorvo not only focuses on multi-layer SOCs (processing all the above RF signals on one chip), but also on band-edge performance. This ensures that the signals transmitted on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands remain clear, free from interference, and provide the power required for communication.
- Integrated front-end module (iFEM). Instead of using separate PAs, LNAs, filters and switches, they can all be integrated into the iFEM. This reduces design time and eliminates the cost of additional equipment such as lumped element resistors, capacitors and inductors. iFEMs with filtering technology also enable coexistence and bandedge performance. Optimized RF performance reduces power consumption and solution size. Qorvo uses its technical capabilities to help simplify the complexity of Wi-Fi 6 and expand frequency coverage.
- System-in-Package (SiP). Qorvo has developed a SIP that supports Zigbee 3.0, Green Power, Thread, and BLE simultaneously. This SiP integrates Qorvo's power amplifier technology to provide 20 dBm output, increased range, extended battery life, and stable interference resolution. These are all very important for smart home applications. This means that you can stream video, receive doorbell snapshots, manage the thermostat, and respond to smartwatch alerts without affecting the wireless performance of other things in the house (sensor alerts, alarms, lighting, etc.).
Cellular IoT: Connecting Fleets, Farms, and Cities
While we already use smartphones, tablets, and doorbell cameras to connect to the IoT, there are also some IoT connections with longer range coverage, including utility meters, sensors that monitor farm irrigation, and telematics modules that track trucks on cross-country routes. Telematics modules measure commercial vehicle performance by monitoring factors such as fuel consumption, vehicle maintenance, fleet usage, vehicle location, optimal routes, and driver behavior.
Smart buildings, smart grids, and smart manufacturing, or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), all have far-reaching implications. Machine-to-machine connections use high-capacity cellular smart metering, and asset tracking applications use low-power wide-area networks based on NB-IoT and LTE CAT-M1 (eMTC) standards. NB-IoT RF technology optimizes performance and provides low-power solutions in low-power IoT applications. Designed for global use, the solution helps IoT manufacturers minimize the need to localize products, thereby reducing costs. New features and capabilities for smart factories, such as manufacturing equipment that reports statistics and usage efficiency, can mean repairs and maintenance before equipment fails, or even provide more accurate forecasts and supply chain/customer data.
ABI Research predicts that by 2025, LPWAN will be the fastest growing connectivity technology globally, supporting 4 billion IoT devices.
Automotive V2X: Driving multiple possibilities
“Vehicle-to-everything”, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X), encompasses spectrum communications possibilities, including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), and vehicle-to-network (V2N). Gartner Research predicts that by 2020, there will be 250 million connected vehicles on the road.
Qorvo is working with Qualcomm and major automakers to trial cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) applications, an important step toward enabling safe wireless communications between cars, bicycles, pedestrians, and infrastructure. C-V2X uses low-latency direct transmission technology in the 5.9 GHz Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) band to detect and exchange information for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) scenarios, improving situational awareness without requiring a cellular subscription or any network-assisted technology.
Qorvo is working with leading automakers to deliver accurate RF communications through the performance and integration of C-V2X modules. Qorvo's RF modules offer higher operating power, support greater RF range, and improve accuracy and reliability, which are critical to enabling intelligent in-vehicle communication systems required for connected and/or autonomous vehicles. Qorvo's FEMs include HBT PAs, PHEMT LNAs, and PHEMT switches, which provide the high-bandwidth benefits of 5G in automotive applications while running cooler.
However, the extensive use of V2X and Wi-Fi hotspots will also bring new safety challenges to the field of connected vehicles. For example, V2X and 5 GHz Wi-Fi will face serious spectrum coexistence challenges that need to be addressed using innovative filter products. Some filters help ensure safety, such as when using Band 13. Appropriate bandpass filters (such as Band 13) can eliminate interference between cellular LTE Band 13 and public safety bands (used by US public safety services).
Finally, V2X is used to enhance the capabilities of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). ADAS typically uses cameras and radar sensors to allow drivers to see the situation around the car within a range of about 200 meters. V2X applications can share and coordinate information to extend the effective range of ADAS to thousands of kilometers.
Qorvo conducts global trials to ensure that all products meet stringent automotive industry requirements (AEC-Q100 and AEC-Q200). To read Qorvo's Connected Car For Dummies e-book, click here.
Base Stations: Paving the Way for Data
IoT devices, smart homes, machine-to-machine communications, and connected cars all require reliable network infrastructure performance. IoT data traffic is increasing in volume, and this increase will challenge existing communication capabilities, and we are ready to meet these challenges.
5G base stations are expected to transmit more traffic at faster speeds than existing network base stations. 5G can use new frequency bands in the sub-7 GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave) bands, and the entire ecosystem built around 5G network implementation can provide carrier aggregation, massive MIMO, and beamforming solutions to maximize data capacity and throughput.
New amplifiers, switches, and filters are now available to drive the rapid deployment of IoT networks. In fact, in China, these solutions are driving the deployment of early networks using the 900 MHz band. The small signal portfolio offers high linearity, low power, low noise, and small size for easy integration. This portfolio includes transmit linear amplifiers, gain blocks, and variable gain amplifiers, as well as attenuators, switches, filters, duplexers, and low noise amplifiers.
We continue to innovate to enable the more promising world of Wi-Fi 6/6E by meeting and exceeding 5G performance targets and developing new products for customer premise equipment (CPE), mmWave repeaters, small cells and base stations, and enterprise systems. We leverage our front-end technology to reduce power consumption and interference resolution while maintaining high throughput and coverage.
Conclusion
As we look ahead to the possibilities of 5G and IoT, we see that new solutions are essentially focused on building a foundation for connectivity in homes, cars, machines, cities, and even regional infrastructure. The increasing connectivity of devices will help drive the Internet of Things and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to cover 100 times more devices at a scale never seen before.
|
提升卡
变色卡
千斤顶