Wireless IoT Challenges in the Super-Connected World

One area that is growing in importance for wireless IoT is the quality of service. Christian Koehler, Manager of Product Management for RF Solutions at TE Connectivity, spoke about the various challenges facing wireless IoT in this super-connected world. Costs, scalability, security and ecosystem are all areas of concern for wireless IoT providers, Koehler said.

“There is also the complexity of antenna design,” Koehler said. “Antennas are different from regular passive components. There is a tendency to ignore this complexity and treat antennas like any other component. And the next challenge is the understanding of RF requirements. How do I know my antenna is good enough today, and more importantly, how do I know it’s good enough tomorrow?”

With the exponential growth in wireless IoT, so grows interference issues. How are today’s wireless engineers navigating these choppy waters to provide solutions with so many different concerns?

“The most advanced engineering groups are in the area of smartphones and wireless handhelds like tablets and even laptops,” Koehler said.

Proper antenna development for those devices is crucial to get right. And Koehler mentioned three vital elements for a design cycle for the new development of a device. There needs to be a clear definition of RF requirements, an understanding of how the device will operate under the worst-case field conditions and an overall understanding of its conditions.

These elements will determine the type of antenna the device will require.

“And this makes clear,” Koehler added, “the antenna cannot be designed at the end of a design cycle. It should be considered at the beginning.”

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