<p id="isPasted">While we live in an increasingly tech-focused world, we still face many of the same dangers and threats to our personal safety that we did centuries ago. How can we turn our technology to help mitigate those dangers?</p><h2>Updating wearables</h2><p>Many regions of the world are experiencing rising rates of crime, particularly against women and children. A greater number of crimes is seeing an associated rise in the demand for electronic personal safety devices based on wearable tech. According to analyst Market Research Future, the sector is predicted to reach $5.5 billion by 2025 and will include products influenced by other segments and of increasing sophistication.</p><p><br>For example, the recent shift towards using wireless technology for workplace safety has seen many of the same ideas turned to address personal safety challenges. Thus, we are now seeing consumer wearables, previously designed primarily for exercise monitoring, sporting safety features.</p><p>Many smartwatches now include &lsquo;panic buttons&rsquo; &ndash; inbuilt personal alarms that can notify the police or nominated contacts of the wearer&rsquo;s location in an emergency. And several new wearables can now alert designated contacts if the user experiences trauma such as a fall.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2022/09/SalusWear-employs-nRF9160-SiP?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SalusWear</a> device, for example, is a wearable designed to track and monitor individuals suffering from Alzheimer&rsquo;s, dementia or autism. The solution employs Nordic-powered LTE-M connectivity and GNSS to report the wearer&#39;s location to family, friends, or caregivers in the event they go missing or have potentially been subject to a fall.</p><h2>Adding tech to personal safety devices</h2><p>The traditional personal safety market has also evolved thanks to technology. For example, there are now personal alarms and pepper sprays that not only act as panic buttons, but can take images or record sound when activated.</p><p>However, such products come with some potential issues, as they are often carried in a bag, making them difficult to find in an emergency. And a device can&rsquo;t be activated if the person is already injured or is being prevented from accessing it. They also tend to look like obvious personal safety devices.</p><h2><strong>Devices in disguise</strong></h2><p>Wireless technology can help by enabling discreet solutions designed to deescalate a situation or simply provide an increased sense of security (with the means of backing this up, of course). One of the main trends in the personal safety marketplace is a hidden panic button disguised as an everyday item, such as a necklace or bracelet.</p><p>For instance, <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2017/12/Kwema-employes-nRF52832-System-on-Chip?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&lsquo;Eve&rsquo; and &lsquo;Pacific Ocean&rsquo;</a> are jewelry collections by Kwema, designed to send the wearer&rsquo;s GNSS location to preselected safety contacts when activated. And the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2017/04/Nordic-Bluetooth-low-energy-powered-designer-jewelry" rel="noopener" target="_blank">&lsquo;IVY&rsquo;</a> by Smartfuture can be worn either as a necklace or a bracelet and activated by tapping the stone twice to emit a loud alarm or three times to send an SOS audio message and the user&rsquo;s location to preselected contacts. Tapping the stone four times triggers a phone call to the nominated contact. Other solutions can activate a call to the wearer&rsquo;s phone to deter would-be attackers by making them think a friend or colleague is making contact.</p><h2><strong>Untethering safety</strong></h2><p>Bluetooth LE remains the most popular technology for connecting wearables to user smartphones because it uses little power, enabling compact wearables, and is interoperable with most handsets. The smartphone can then be used to forward alerts to the cloud via Wi-Fi or the cellular network.</p><p>However, some versions operate in other ways, in case the user finds themselves without a smartphone. For example, the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2019/07/Montr-employs-nRF9160-LTE-M-NB-IoT-SiP?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Montr Emergency Button</a> uses NB-IoT connectivity to transmit the user&rsquo;s location directly via the cellular network in the event of an incident.</p><h2><strong>Danger everywhere</strong></h2><p>It&rsquo;s not just the criminals that can bring harm. Everyday activities can be dangerous. Even something as unremarkable as cycling can result in anguish if an accident occurs. But if the worst happens, the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2019/02/ANGi-sensor-based-device-transforms-cycling-helmet-using-nRF52832?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ANGi</a> (Angular and G-Force Indicator) helmet will send an alert through Bluetooth LE connectivity with the user&rsquo;s smartphone if it detects a significant impact.</p><p>Elsewhere, to reduce the danger children can face in automobiles, Swedish company Halmstad has launched a &lsquo;smart&rsquo; children&rsquo;s car seat. The <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2022/06/Holmbergs-DigitalSafety-uses-Nordic-nRF52832-SoC?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Holmbergs DigitalSafety</a> system will notify parents via the accompanying app if the child unbuckles themselves. If the child is left buckled but unattended in a parked car, then an anti-abandon alert is sent, and if the child is still left alone for a period of time, a text message with their location will be sent to an emergency contact.</p><p>While we might be some way from the perfect tech solution to prevent every possible danger or accident, wireless personal protection devices have made the world a much safer place than it was just a few years ago.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

While we live in an increasingly tech-focused world, we still face many of the same dangers and threats to our personal safety that we did centuries ago. How can we turn our technology to help mitigate those dangers?

What does the future of personal safety devices look like?

In this article, we look at how Super Low power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE enable smart locks to be more agile and reliable by demonstrating these features with a case study from Renesas. 


Super Low Power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE Unlock Smart Locks

<p id="isPasted">Enhanced Wi-Fi specification brings quicker uplinks and longer battery life for consumers and IoT devices alike.</p><p>The reverberations of the pandemic are still rippling through society. The latest thing to be affected is Wi-Fi. It seems the way people are now using the technology has caused engineers to rethink its design. And that has positive effects on the IoT.</p><h2>Dealing with more uploads</h2><p>As more people started working from home, there was a significant shift in how traffic moved across the Internet. The ratio of downlink data&mdash;information moved to a user&#39;s computer from the cloud&mdash;to information moving the opposite way (uplink data) changed from 10:1 before the pandemic to 6:1 as COVID-19 subsided. The Wi-Fi Alliance, the group responsible for promoting the tech,&nbsp;expects it to decline even further, to 2:1 in the next few years.</p><p>The change in that ratio has prompted an upgrade to the Wi-Fi 6 specification (formally known as &quot;Release 2&quot;) to enable it to cope with more significant upload usage. The original specification included a feature that allowed consumers&rsquo; network devices to simultaneously uplink on different Wi-Fi streams, effectively boosting uplink capacity. In Revision 2, this feature has been enhanced to make it easier to use and more efficient. This is a natural extension of the existing multi-user downlink feature.</p><h2>More life from batteries</h2><p>While engineers were busy boosting Wi-Fi&rsquo;s uplink capacity, they also looked at the technology&rsquo;s battery-saving features. Wi-Fi 6 had already addressed many of the power consumption challenges of previous versions, making it better suited to energy-constrained IoT devices, but Release 2 takes this several steps further.</p><p>The first improvement adds flexibility to the synchronization of uplinks between network-connected devices (such as sensors) and access points (APs, typically the Wi-Fi routers that connect directly to the Internet). This flexibility helps to limit energy usage without compromising any downlink synchronization.</p><p>A second battery-saving measure is quite technical but in essence, allows engineers to extend the time a connected device can remain in a very low power idle state&mdash;saving power&mdash;without being disconnected from the network. An advantageous side-effect to extended &ldquo;sleep&rdquo; time is that because fewer &ldquo;keep-alive&rdquo; messages are sent, message clashes between multiple devices is decreased, and, consequently, throughput increases.</p><h2>When do I wake up?</h2><p>A further technical tweak that will lead to longer battery life concerns a feature called Target Wake Time (TWT). You can think of this as an alarm clock that goes off to wake up an end device when it needs to send information. For example, an engineer might set a sensor such that it sends temperature data every minute. In between it can go to sleep and save energy secure in the knowledge that TWT will wake it up in time to send some more data.</p><p>TWT was already included in the original release of Wi-Fi 6 but in the new release, it has been modified to give the connected device implementing TWT more flexibility. The connected device can now more easily update TWT and optimize its parameters. This change will improve energy efficiency, because, for example, it removes the overhead associated with repeatedly suspending and restarting old TWT agreements.</p><h2>Greater range too</h2><p>Better battery life is one thing, but IoT end devices can also benefit from extended range. That&#39;s not been forgotten in Wi-Fi 6 Release 2 with a range extension tweak that targets uplink transmissions between connected devices and APs.</p><p>The new feature enables the AP to hear connected devices at maximum range even under bad channel propagation conditions, allowing the connected devices to associate with the AP continuously. Previously, any aggressive RF environment impacted range. The new feature generally offers an increased range for connected devices that implement it.</p><h2>Key to tomorrow&rsquo;s IoT</h2><p>Wi-Fi&rsquo;s key advantages for the IoT are its native Internet Protocol (IP) interoperability, enabling sensors to directly connect to the cloud (without having to pay additional data subscriptions), and, because APs are already everywhere, eliminating the need for widespread new infrastructure. Those advantages will see the technology playing an increasing role as the IoT rapidly expands.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

Enhanced Wi-Fi specification brings quicker uplinks and longer battery life for consumers and IoT devices alike.

Upgraded Wi-Fi 6 improves the IoT

<p dir="ltr" id="isPasted"><em>This is the sixth and the final article in a&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/next-gen-wi-fi-applications-and-solutions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>6-part series</em></a><em>&nbsp;featuring articles on <strong>Next-Gen Wi-Fi Applications and Solutions.</strong> The series focuses on the improvements Wi-Fi 6/6E and its applications bring to enhance the performance of the next-gen wireless networking devices. This series is sponsored by Mouser Electronics. Through the sponsorship, Mouser Electronics shares its passion for technologies that enable smarter and connected applications.</em></p><p dir="ltr">As discussed in the previous articles of our Next-Gen Wi-Fi Applications and Solutions Series, improving wireless communication performance is no longer limited to just pushing the limits of raw data transfer rates. To offer an improved user experience, it is necessary to mitigate interference and optimize the use of the available frequency spectrum in the best possible way.</p><p dir="ltr">The sixth and the final article of the ongoing series examines the interference problem in-depth and explains how Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) technology offers a promising solution to maximize spectrum utilization by high-precision filtering to recover signals with greater noise immunity.&nbsp;</p><h2 dir="ltr">Solving the Interference Problem</h2><p dir="ltr">Cellular networks, Wi-Fi, ZigBee&reg;, Bluetooth&reg;, and several other protocols all share a common Radio Frequency (RF) space. They use different modulation schemes, channel widths, channel spacings, and frequency-hopping algorithms.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">As next-generation services and devices emerge, more frequencies, bandwidth, coexistence, and interference immunity is needed. This means claiming more of the spectrum that was lost using older technologies.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii" style="width: 758px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjUzMjQxMTE3NzgzLTE2NTMyNDExMTc3ODMucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="interferences-in-wifi"><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Fig. 1: Wi-Fi devices suffer from internal as well as external interference all the time. Source: Mouser-Qorvo</span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr">Spectrum utilization is the key, and as the move from 3G to 4G increased the number of bands from 5 to 40, recovering clean signals from a world of muddying interference is getting tougher.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr"><iframe id="641adb382efaf40008a1771d" width="250" class="specs-iframe" height="420" src="https://wevolver.com/iframe/specs/digilent-b200-ettus-usrp-cognitive-radio?iframe=true" frameborder="0" scrolling="true" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe>In other words, for reaching deep into a turbulent pool of RF, more precision filtering is needed to recover stronger and more reliable signals with improved noise immunity. And with handheld devices that feature multiprotocol transceivers that can operate simultaneously, the need for 40 filters is not uncommon. Even within a home setting, Wi-Fi routers suffer, and end-point devices fall victim here as well.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Improving Performance Through Precision Filtering</h2><p dir="ltr">Key to improving performance are filters, but older space-eating Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) filter technologies are reaching a brick wall as far as being effective solutions to the doubling of RF bands is concerned.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">Supplanting SAW filters is BAW technology. Both are forms of electromechanical resonators. The structure of the BAW resonator consists of a thin layer of a piezoelectric material sandwiched between two electrodes. When an electric field is applied across the electrodes, the piezoelectric crystal excites an acoustic wave. As the wave propagates through the surface, cavities are formed between the electrodes. <sup>[1]</sup></p><p dir="ltr">This technology can handle higher power levels than SAW devices. Electric current distributes more freely, and there are no narrow channels of fingers prone to electromigration damage as in SAW filters. Bulk filters have been used to partition the bands and are proving a more reliable bandwidth within the band. BAW technology extends the edges of the filters while maintaining sharp band edges.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">BAW filters, which can be made using crystal quartz, can be 1000 times smaller than ceramic technologies while retaining low cost at high-volume manufacturing. As this technology takes over older SAW solutions, new and tightly packed filters can allow smaller, more clever use of specific bands and power levels to set up a true next-generation band-sharing technique.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">To sum it all up, here is a list of key advantages BAW filters offer:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Sharp band edges:&nbsp;</strong>Systems using BAW filters showcase a high rejection in the frequencies outside of the band edges. This helps in reducing the leakage of signal outside the used frequencies.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Smaller size:</strong> Whole BAW filter can be fabricated on a single IC as opposed to some crystal oscillators that require a dedicated footprint and a triggering Resistor-Capacitor (RC) circuit. This feature helps in the size reduction of the PCB used in the end product.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Temperature stability:</strong> Though the products are designed to work at 25 &deg;C, in practical applications, the temperatures can go up to 60-80 &deg;C due to high ambient temperatures and heat emitted by other components. BAW filters are more resilient to these extremities as compared to SAW filters.</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr">All the observations point to a single direction, and that is towards a system with less interference than ever before.</p><h2 dir="ltr">New Ways of Partitioning and Preferential Allocation of Bands</h2><p dir="ltr">WiFi 6E&rsquo;s expansion in the 6 GHz band grants more number of non-overlapping channels for connected devices to communicate over. The jump from 5 GHz to 6 GHz band is a pretty significant upgrade than it may appear at first.</p><div align="left" dir="ltr"><table><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr"><strong>2.4 GHz</strong></p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr"><strong>5 GHz</strong></p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr"><strong>6 GHz</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr"><strong>20 MHz</strong></p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">3 channels</p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">25&nbsp;channels</p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">60&nbsp;channels</p></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr"><strong>40 MHz</strong></p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">1&nbsp;channel</p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">12&nbsp;channels</p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">29&nbsp;channels</p></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr"><strong>80 MHz</strong></p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">N.A.</p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">6&nbsp;channels</p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">14&nbsp;channels</p></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr"><strong>160 MHz</strong></p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">N.A.</p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">2&nbsp;channels</p></td><td style="text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr">7 channels</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p dir="ltr"><em>Table 1: Number of non-overlapping channels in Wi-Fi</em></p><p dir="ltr">With just a GHz increase in the frequency, the latest WiFi standard increases the number of non-overlapping channels by more double compared to the 5 GHz band. One of the reasons for such a large increase in the number of channels is the unavailability of bands reserved for RADARs in the sub-5 GHz frequencies, which is not a concern in the 5-6 GHz frequencies.</p><p dir="ltr">To make use of all the available channels to the fullest and transition between interfering bands, engineers can make use of BAW filters in their designs. These filters help to avoid interference from band to band and are large enablers of capacity increase. For customers, this translates to reduced interference and an increase in the effective range of the devices. Multiple users can communicate at the same time with the router.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">With improved filters exhibiting higher power levels, taking up less space, device-specific and even protocol-specific partitioning of the airwaves can take place. Additionally, design engineers can classify power levels based on criticality, throughput, or other importance so that channel assignments for noncritical transmissions avoid these channels.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">For example, a high-speed streaming multimedia link has higher bandwidth needs than SMS texting services. An interruption in the streaming could be a turnoff if insufficient bandwidth or buffering is used. On the other hand, seconds of delay in SMS services would not even be noticed.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">By the same token, newly emerging medical devices connected to the Internet of Things could use specific subsets of the newly evolved bandwidth to assure the most reliability while monitoring a patient or transferring error-free vitals. Even assigned fallback channels can be used to increase reliability.&nbsp;</p><h2 dir="ltr">High-performance BAW filters for cutting edge RF applications by Qorvo</h2><p dir="ltr">As RF technology achieves new heights with each passing generation of Wi-Fi, cellular, and several other wireless communication networks, a precise filter is required to support wideband and high-frequency designs. Qorvo&rsquo;s innovations in BAW technology are vital components in advanced filtering solutions for mobile products, radars, and other wireless communication technologies.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">Qorvo BAW filters range from 1.5 GHz to 9 GHz, encompassing the consumer wireless bands as well as carrier services. Parts such as the <a href="https://www.mouser.com/new/qorvo/qorvo-qpq1909-baw-filter/" target="_blank">QPQ1909SR</a> perform signal-conditioning filtration within the 2402MHz to 2494 MHz bands for Wi-Fi bandage (Figure 1). Terminating into 50 Ω, the low 0.8 dB to 1.2 dB insertion loss is essential for maintaining signal integrity. <span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjUzMjQxOTkyNjMzLUFydGljbGUgNCAoMSkuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt=" Qorvo QPQ1909 Wi-Fi"><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Fig. 2: Qorvo QPQ1909 Wi-Fi&reg; edgeBoost&trade; BAW Filter: Packing multiple high-performance RF front-end filters in smaller space while improving performance lets hexaplexers such as this multiband filter provide superior performance in smaller designs. Source: Mouser/Qorvo</span></span></span></p><p>BAW designs use the high-performance high-power edge boost Wi-Fi technology for channels 1 through 14. This means end-users will see a better quality of service as well as higher regulatory power allowances (to +30 dBm averaged input power). Note how the higher performance channels in conjunction with a priority scheme can ensure more reliable data communications to more critical applications.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjUzMjQxOTc0NzIwLUFydGljbGUgNC5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="Qorvo QPQ1909EVB01 Active Filter Development Tools Evaluation Board"><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Fig. 3 Qorvo QPQ1909EVB01 Active Filter Development Tools Evaluation Board. For those willing to get started with BAW designs, resources like QPQ1909EVB01 Active Filter Development Tools Evaluation Board can be a perfect choice. Source: Mouser/Qorvo</span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr">BAW filters are not limited to better Wi-Fi solutions but are also useful for GPS, DiPlexer, Duplexers, and other assorted protocol-specific access points, routers, gateways, and wearables. If you are going to filter, it is a better idea to do it in bulk.&nbsp;</p><h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2><p dir="ltr">With the introduction of next-generation services and devices, more frequencies, bandwidth, coexistence, and interference immunity are required. As a result, design engineers must maximize spectrum utilization. BAW technology and filters enable the partitioning of frequency bands for more precision filtering to capture stronger and more reliable signals with enhanced noise immunity.</p><p dir="ltr">To read more about BAW filters and other technologies enabling better Wi-Fi solutions, do check out: <a href="https://www.mouser.com/news/qorvo-ebook/mobile/index.html" target="_blank">Future-Proofing Wi-Fi</a> by Mouser and Qorvo.</p><p dir="ltr"><em>This article was initially published by Mouser and Qorvo in an <a href="https://www.mouser.com/news/qorvo-wifi6-app-ebook/mobile/index.html" target="_blank">e-magazine</a>. It has been substantially edited by the Wevolver team and Electrical Engineer <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/ravi.rao" target="_blank">Ravi Y Rao</a>. It&#39;s the sixth and the final article from the Next-Gen Wi-Fi Applications and Solutions Series.</em></p><ul><li dir="ltr" id="isPasted"><em>The introductory article <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/next-gen-wi-fi-applications-and-solutions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">provided an overview of wireless communication and the subsequent articles of the series.&nbsp;</a></em></li><li dir="ltr"><em>The first article&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/the-evolution-of-wi-fi-networks-from-ieee-80211-to-wi-fi-6e" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>explored the origins and the evolution of WiFi to showcase how the wireless local area networking standard improved over time.</em></a></li><li dir="ltr"><em>The second article was&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/the-design-philosophy-behind-wi-fi-6e-recent-trends-in-wireless-networking/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>focused on recent trends and the design philosophy behind WiFi 6/6E.</em></a><em>&nbsp;The article explains why even with a marginal improvement in raw data rates, WiFi 6/6E is the biggest upgrade yet.</em></li><li dir="ltr"><em>The third article dives into the technicalities of WiFi 6/6E.&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/six-technologies-enabling-wi-fi-6e/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>It explains the 6 enabling technologies of WiFi 6/6E including OFDMA, BSS Coloring, TWT, Beamforming, 8X8 MU-MIMO, and 1024-QAM.</em></a></li><li dir="ltr"><em>The fourth article is a&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/future-of-wireless-communication-wi-fi-6e-or-5g/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>comparison between WiFi and 5G based on some of the key performance parameters.&nbsp;</em></a><em>It tries to form a perspective regarding which technology is suitable for different use cases.</em></li><li><em>The fifth article features a discussion on where the wireless communication industry is headed to. <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/the-next-generation-of-wi-fi-in-conversation-with-cees-links/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Concepts like mesh WiFi networks are explored with excerpts from an interview with Cees Links, General Manager of the Low Power Wireless Business Unit in Qorvo and one of the leading pioneers of WiFi.&nbsp;</a></em></li><li><em>The final article introduces the readers to the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/baw-filters-for-performance-improvements-in-wi-fi-5g-and-rf-applications" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">concept, benefits, and applications of BAW filters in WiFi, 5G, and other RF communication systems designs.</a></em></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr"><em>About the sponsor: Mouser Electronics</em></h2><p dir="ltr"><em><a href="https://eu.mouser.com/" target="_blank">Mouser Electronics</a> is a worldwide leading authorized distributor of semiconductors and electronic components for over 1,100 manufacturer brands. They specialize in the rapid introduction of new products and technologies for design engineers and buyers. Their extensive product offering includes semiconductors, interconnects, passives, and electromechanical components.</em></p><p dir="ltr"><em><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjUzMjQxMTE2NzQ1LTE2NTMyNDExMTY3NDUucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="mouser-electronics-logo"></em></p><h2 dir="ltr">References</h2><p dir="ltr">[1] Advanced BAW Filter Technology and Its Impact on 5G, Qorvo, [Online], Available from: <a href="https://www.qorvo.com/resources/d/qorvo-advanced-baw-filter-technology-impact-on-5g-white-paper" target="_blank">https://www.qorvo.com/resources/d/qorvo-advanced-baw-filter-technology-impact-on-5g-white-paper</a></p>

Article #6 of Next-Gen Wi-Fi Applications and Solutions Series: Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) filters are high-performance chips that help in mitigating interference and reducing the physical size of 5G, Wi-Fi, and other RF communication system designs.

BAW filters for Performance Improvements in Wi-Fi, 5G, and RF Applications

Article #1 of Next-Gen Wi-Fi Applications and Solutions Series: Wi-Fi standards have come a long way since they first surfaced over two decades ago. The developments in its data transfer rates and range have led it to become the most prevalent wireless communication technology of present times.

The Evolution of Wi-Fi networks: from IEEE 802.11 to Wi-Fi 6E

<p dir="ltr" id="isPasted"><em>This is the final article in a 2-part series about choosing cellular or Wi-Fi.&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/cellular-vs-wifi-for-iot-how-to-choose-the-right-one-foundations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Read article one&nbsp;</em><em>here.</em><em>&nbsp;</em></a></p><p dir="ltr">There&rsquo;s no one &ldquo;best&rdquo; choice for every single IoT project. Choosing cellular vs. WiFi comes with tradeoffs that have to be understood and managed to find the best option for your deployment. Here are a few things to consider as you decide which technology would be best for your IoT project.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Device Location and Movability</h2><p dir="ltr">The first question that you should ask yourself is where your device is going to live and whether it&#39;s movable. For example, any device that&#39;s moving even a few-hundred feet, won&rsquo;t work on WiFi because it&#39;s not going to have access to the same WiFi network across those different places where it needs to operate. If the device is movable, then cellular connectivity would be your best bet. Key examples here would be IoT-connected light electric vehicles, whether they&rsquo;re part of a rideshare, privately owned, or used for last-mile delivery.</p><p dir="ltr">If the device is going to be part of a mostly stationary asset that will have constant access to a reliable WiFi network, then WiFi can be a good choice as well.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Number of Devices</h2><p dir="ltr">A high concentration of connected devices may lend themselves to more to cellular connectivity. This is because the more devices connected to a single WiFi network, the more the signal degrades, potentially leading to lost connectivity. If you have a high concentration of devices in one location, cellular connectivity might be your best bet.</p><h2 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">The Desired End-User Experience</h2><p dir="ltr">If you want to provide a seamless onboarding experience for your customer, you want the device to be instantly connected to the Internet anywhere in the world, cellular would be your top choice.</p><p dir="ltr">WiFi requires the end user to set up the network and ensure the device can connect to it. This isn&rsquo;t a problem if someone with the required technical expertise to do this is present, but can be difficult for those without.</p><p dir="ltr">The ongoing <a href="https://www.particle.io/iot-guides-and-resources/what-to-know-about-3g-sunsetting/" target="_blank">3G sunsetting</a> and introduction of 5G and other advanced technologies is bringing down the cost of cellular connectivity and widening the network coverage. More and more, IoT deployments that were previously impossible to run on cellular due to no coverage or high cost are becoming technically and financially feasible. Cellular will get increasingly more valuable relative to WiFi with the benefits of 5G and technology innovation.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Security Needs</h2><p dir="ltr">Protecting your devices from bad actors is critical, especially if downtime or improper usage can lead to injury or equipment failure. In general, cellular networks offer considerable security advantages. They are encrypted by default, while encryption on WiFi connections must be enabled manually by the network owner. Additionally, security upgrades for cellular-connected devices happen automatically, while security patches must be installed manually for WiFi. If your devices are going to be connected to a public WiFi network, or if they&rsquo;ll be connected to a private network that may not be adequately protected by the owner, cellular would be a safer choice.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Cellular or WiFi? Why not use both with Particle.</h2><p dir="ltr">Particle, an integrated IoT Platform provides an opportunity for the best of both WiFi and cellular connection by working on the same Device OS operating system. Device OS offers an easy-to-use programming framework that makes it simple to write IoT applications that can connect via cellular or WiFi. It gives you the same interface no matter how you choose to connect to the Internet. &quot;Whether you build your specific logic for a hot tub, a scooter, or a water monitoring solution, all of that&#39;s built on the same software interface called Device OS, regardless of its WiFi or tracker or site. That makes it really useful for customers who have what we call heterogeneous fleets,&quot; &nbsp;Calvin Jepson, senior manager of solutions architecture at Particle explains.</p><p dir="ltr">&ldquo;Heterogeneous fleets&rdquo; have multiple device types. If you&rsquo;re using Particle devices, you&rsquo;d be using a mix of the following:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://docs.particle.io/argon/" target="_blank">Argon</a> - a powerful Wi-Fi development kit</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://docs.particle.io/boron/" target="_blank">Boron</a> - a powerful cellular enabled kit</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://docs.particle.io/datasheets/asset-tracking/tracker-one/" target="_blank">Tracker/TrackerOne</a> - a ready-to-go tracker SoM (system on a module) carrier board with optional weatherproof enclosure.</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr">A heterogeneous fleet reduces technical debt associated with managing various projects and allows for switching between device/connectivity types for different stages of development.</p><p dir="ltr">In some cases, people start by buying Argons since there&rsquo;s no subscription fee and you can develop firmware and conduct tests easily. Once it&#39;s time for them to start building the devices, they can switch from Argon to Boron and use the same code, which is a unique proposition that Particle can offer.</p><p dir="ltr">&quot;Imagine you&#39;re a novice at squash, and you&#39;re a right-hand dominator. To get started quickly, you want to use your right hand. But once you join the major leagues, you have to use your left hand to be competitive,&quot; suggests Calvin. &quot;It&rsquo;s the same with IoT. You might be great at using cellular or WiFi during prototyping or at a small scale. But when you <a href="https://www.particle.io/iot-guides-and-resources/iot-scalability/" target="_blank">scale an IoT deployment</a>, you might need to use completely different technologies, redesign a lot of stuff, and redo a lot of the work that you already did to build a scalable solution to be market-ready.&rdquo;</p><h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2><p dir="ltr">By understanding the pros and cons of cellular and WiFi technologies you will be able to make the right choice for your IoT device. IoT platforms, such as Particle are enabling innovation by providing easier routes to creating prototypes that can then easily scale at the appropriate time.&nbsp;</p><h2 dir="ltr"><em>About the sponsor: Particle</em></h2><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.particle.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Particle&nbsp;</em></a><em>provides an integrated IoT Platform-as-a-Service that helps businesses connect, manage, and deploy software applications to connected devices, from edge to cloud and back. Over 240k developers, and 160+ Enterprise customers are building on Particle, from fast-growing startups to Fortune 100 companies.&nbsp;</em></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Our expertise goes beyond world-class technology, enabling next-generation business intelligence, insights, and expert customer support to make sure IoT projects succeed. So you can build the business of tomorrow, today.</em></p><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1652969762255-particle+bottom.jpg" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p><p><br></p>

Choosing Cellular or WiFi Article #2: Learn how you can determine the best choice for your IoT deployment.


Choosing Cellular or WiFi for your IoT Project

<p dir="ltr" id="isPasted">Cellular and WiFi are the two most popular connectivity methods for IoT technology. Though many early IoT projects relied on WiFi, cellular technology has grown in popularity as it became better equipped to handle more use cases. Against the backdrop of continuous innovations in the wireless industry, choosing the best radio access technology for your IoT project has become challenging. In this first half of a two-part article, we&#39;ll examine the key differences between cellular and WiFi, show example use cases for each one, and explain how you can choose the right technology for your project.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Cellular VS. WiFi for IoT - A quick comparison</h2><p dir="ltr">There are several criteria you can use to compare cellular vs. WiFi, such as:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Cost</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Reliability and security</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Location detection</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Coverage</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Data throughput</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Device provisioning</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr">Let&rsquo;s dig into the details of each one to understand how cellular and WiFi are meaningfully different (or in some cases, similar).</p><h2 dir="ltr">Cost</h2><p dir="ltr">Cellular data plans are generally more costly than comparable WiFi plans on a per-byte basis. If your project requires recurring big data transfers, WiFi networks would be your best choice. However, when doing a cost comparison, you should factor in ongoing cost of maintaining your WiFi network as well as the cost of provisioning many devices across different WiFi networks that you as the IoT fleet operator may not control.</p><p dir="ltr">Cellular is generally more expensive on a per device basis than WiFi but you should also take into account the cost of maintaining and managing the WiFi network as a part of the per-device cost when comparing the two.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">When comparing one-time hardware costs, cellular modems are more expensive than WiFi modems. That said, it&rsquo;s important to understand how either type of connectivity will influence the total cost of ownership of your IoT deployment.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Reliability and Security</h2><p dir="ltr">Part of what you&rsquo;re paying for in your cellular plans is world-class security and reliability. While it is possible to create comparable security and reliability over WiFi, you&#39;re relying on WiFi network owners &amp; building management teams to do that work on an ongoing basis. In contrast, cellular security is backed by knowledgeable cybersecurity specialists.</p><p dir="ltr">When you&#39;re buying cellular, part of the costs is for the expert network management from the provider. However, when buying WiFi, network management is managed by yourself. Your own WiFi network generally provides a less stable network than the cellular solution does.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Location Detection</h2><p dir="ltr">There is not much difference between getting accurate location information via WiFi and cellular. However, in some circumstances where your device is out of range of WiFi, cellular networks will perform better, being able to mark your devices&rsquo; approximate location. In either case, getting location from WiFi SSIDs or cellular towers requires integrations with 3rd party providers which give location estimates based on a geographical database of network IDs.</p><p dir="ltr"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 553px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjUxMzE1MTQ0OTgzLWltYWdlMy5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 551px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner"><em>Image 1: In some circumstances where your device is out of range of WiFi, cellular networks will perform better.</em></span></span></span></p><h2 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">Coverage</h2><p dir="ltr">WiFi is a great access technology when your deployed environment has WiFi coverage. This tends to be the case for devices deployed in homes or buildings, or in places where cellular networks are known to not have coverage such as oil rigs and mines. If you&rsquo;re planning to track things that are mobile, such as vehicles, or deployed in remote locations, then cellular is better.</p><p dir="ltr">Although this is covered below, it bears repeating that cellular is often a great choice for stationary assets in urban and office environments because of the relative ease of onboarding a device to the cellular network compared to a WiFi network where you have to know passwords and get through network-specific security measures.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Data throughput</h2><p dir="ltr">Traditionally, WiFi performs faster than cellular networks. But with the development of 4G and 5G, the data throughput of cellular networks can be relatively on par with WiFi. Both cellular and WiFi networks are sufficient for most IoT projects.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Device Provisioning &amp; Setup</h2><p dir="ltr">It&rsquo;s much easier to deploy fleets of cellular devices when compared to WiFi. Installing a cellular fleet can be as simple as turning on the power to the device. Assuming that connected device has cellular coverage, it will automatically connect to the network.</p><p dir="ltr">In contrast, with a WiFi device you may need to first set up your network or otherwise manage access to that network with usernames &amp; passwords for each device. This can be a deal breaker for many use cases where the WiFi network is heavily protected by the owner.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Benefits and drawbacks of cellular for IoT</h2><h2 dir="ltr">Pros:</h2><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Cellular has more robust privacy and security with automatic encryption.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Cellular service has more comprehensive coverage with no set range since you don&#39;t need a router. This is important for remote assets like oil rigs.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Obstacles do not as easily block deeper coverage with cellular signals.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Often better for use cases that need low power consumption</p></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Cons</h2><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Data plans can be expensive if your use case requires you to send large amounts of complex data.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Bundling SIM cards from different providers can force you to get your entire IoT deployment recertified. Be sure to understand what goes into <a href="https://www.particle.io/iot-guides-and-resources/iot-fcc-certifications/" target="_blank">FCC certifications for IoT</a>.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Devices can lose coverage in locations where cellular service is spotty.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Not always accurate when determining device location.</p></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Benefits and drawbacks of WiFi for IoT</h2><h2 dir="ltr">Pros:</h2><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Private WiFi connections are secure and enable fast access to connecting multiple devices.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Suitable for data-heavy transfers since there is no cost limitation on the amount of data transferred. A note here is that with the development of 5G, the advantages of WiFi relative to cellular might be eroded.</p></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Cons:</h2><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Public WiFi may not be secure.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Reliant on end user&#39;s WiFi. If they change their password or get disconnected, the device may go down.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">The devices need to have access to a WiFi router. The limited range can be a barrier for remote assets.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Too many devices connecting to one router may degrade the signal.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">WiFi configuration may require technical expertise.</p></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Best use cases for Cellular</h2><p dir="ltr">The use cases for cellular IoT are extensive. In this section, we&rsquo;ll share a few examples of where it&rsquo;s effective.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Deploying Continuous Emissions Monitoring</h2><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.qubeiot.com/" target="_blank">Qube</a> was an early mover in response to emissions-cutting pledges that gained widespread attention following 2021&rsquo;s COP26 conference. Qube offers <a href="https://www.particle.io/iot-guides-and-resources/energy-production-continuous-emissions-monitoring-solution/" target="_blank">continuous emissions monitoring</a> solutions by combining proprietary algorithms that can detect greenhouse gas emissions and pinpoint their type and location with IoT sensors that provide a continuous data feed.</p><p dir="ltr">Qube was looking for an affordable platform that could scale across the world while offering low power consumption. The team knew that cellular connectivity would be the right choice as many of their devices would be deployed in remote locations where WiFi wouldn&rsquo;t be available.</p><p dir="ltr"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 555px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjUxMzE1NTE2NTQzLWltYWdlMS5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 553px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Image 2: By connecting monitoring devises via cellular networks, Qube created a continuous emissions detection system that detects sources of emissions and gives real-time insights on leak sources, quantity, and type. Image credit: Qube</span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" id="isPasted">Qube built its solution using IoT platform, Particle&rsquo;s, EtherSIM solution, a SIM card powered by over 350 carriers worldwide. No matter where Qube&rsquo;s devices are deployed, they will automatically connect to the best cellular network available.</p><blockquote><p dir="ltr">&ldquo;We rely on Particle&rsquo;s devices to get continuous data, which is streamed to our servers on a minute-by-minute or second-by-second basis. We then use that continuous data in our machine learning algorithms to infer what is actually happening in terms of leak quantity, leak size, and leak type,&rdquo; Cube COO Eric Wen said.</p></blockquote><h2 dir="ltr">Managing Remote Industrial Assets</h2><p dir="ltr">While the emissions monitoring sector is benefiting from global connectivity, those with <a href="https://blog.particle.io/the-top-5-applications-for-industrial-iot/" target="_blank">industrial IoT applications</a> are also finding key benefits from cellular connectivity.</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.networkinv.com/solution/fieldintell-iiot-automation-tracking/" target="_blank">FieldIntell</a>, a cloud platform serving customers mainly in oil &amp; gas, agriculture, and mining, is also seeing a promising future of stable global-wise cellular connection.</p><p dir="ltr">Particle provides global connectivity with hundreds of carriers worldwide, which saves FieldIntell&rsquo;s time spent on negotiating with carriers across multiple countries. FieldIntell&rsquo;s customers push Over-the-Air updates and remotely control complex assets with connectivity that&rsquo;s integrated with both the devices and cloud.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Best use cases of WiFi for IoT</h2><p dir="ltr">Cellular isn&#39;t always the best everywhere. If your devices mostly live in a facility with cement and metal all around it, signals from a cell tower aren&#39;t going to reach them. There are other use cases, like oil rigs in the middle of the ocean, where there&#39;s no cellular coverage. Under those circumstances, WiFi can be a superior choice. For example, remote oil rigs or mining operations generally have a satellite uplink and a local WiFi network. The same applies to industries like mining, which are usually based in remote locations where cellular networks haven&#39;t invested in putting a cellular tower.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Combatting the COVID-19 pandemic</h2><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://auraair.io/" target="_blank">Aura Air</a> built a data-driven air quality monitoring system with a WiFi-connected IoT product that was designed to disinfect 99.9% of viruses, bacteria, mold, and VOCs from indoor air. Aura Air&rsquo;s devices can help combat the threat of COVID-19. With the help of IoT technology, the product can detect influenza and COVID-19 viruses and sterilize the air to reduce spread. By harnessing Particle&rsquo;s WiFi module P1 SKU, the Aura Air devices can be connected through local WiFi networks of 2.4 GHz that do not have a firewall enabled. Users can view and update real-time air quality data through their phones or central dashboards.&nbsp;</p><h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2><p dir="ltr">As the IoT and the wireless industry continue to innovate, selecting the right radio access technology for your IoT project is increasingly challenging. However, by understanding the pros and cons of each technology and examining similar use cases the decision can become clearer. In the second half of this article, we&rsquo;ll dive deeper into the strengths and weaknesses of each one and how you can determine the best choice for your IoT deployment.</p><h2 dir="ltr"><strong><em>About the sponsor: Particle</em></strong></h2><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.particle.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Particle</em></a><em>&nbsp;provides an integrated IoT Platform-as-a-Service that helps businesses connect, manage, and deploy software applications to connected devices, from edge to cloud and back. Over 240k developers, and 160+ Enterprise customers are building on Particle, from fast-growing startups to Fortune 100 companies.</em></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Our expertise goes beyond world-class technology, enabling next-generation business intelligence, insights, and expert customer support to make sure IoT projects succeed. So you can build the business of tomorrow, today.</em></p><p dir="ltr"><em><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1652969804194-particle+bottom.jpg" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></em><br></p>

Choosing Cellular or WiFi Article #1:Cellular and WiFi connectivity have their own distinct benefits for IoT. Learn about the strengths and weaknesses and application examples of each one. 


Cellular VS. WiFi for IoT How to Choose the Right One: Foundations

<h2 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">What is (and isn&#39;t) a microcontroller?</h2><p dir="ltr">A microcontroller unit (MCU) is a small, self-contained computer that is housed on a single integrated circuit, or microchip. They differ from your desktop computer in that they are typically dedicated to a single function, and are most often embedded in other devices (e.g. cellphones; household electronics).</p><h2 dir="ltr">What&#39;s the difference between a microcontroller and a microprocessor (MCU vs MPU)?</h2><p dir="ltr">Microcontrollers also differ from microprocessors. Microprocessors contain only a CPU, and therefore require added peripherals to perform tasks. MCUs, on the other hand, contain RAM, ROM, and similar peripherals, which allow them to perform (simple) tasks independently.</p><p dir="ltr">Ultimately, despite similar names and appearances, microcontrollers and microprocessors differ widely in their applications. Microprocessors are more powerful, but must be employed as single components in larger systems to function.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">Microcontrollers, meanwhile, are limited in power and functionality, but can perform simple functions independently. Your Apple TV, for example, requires a microprocessor to handle all the varied and demanding tasks it performs. A connected coffeemaker, on the other hand, only needs to perform simple routines and tasks, and therefore employs a microcontroller.</p><h2 dir="ltr">What is the difference between a microcontroller (MCU) and a system-on-a-chip (MCU vs SoC)?</h2><p dir="ltr">The other term one hears often in this discussion is System on a Chip (SoC). The distinction between an MCU and an SoC is much less clear, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. However, in common usage, the term SoC typically refers to MCUs with a greater number of onboard peripherals and functionality. For the purposes of this outline, we won&rsquo;t make a distinction between MCUs and SoCs.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Why use an MCU for IoT</h2><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Simplicity</strong>: In most IoT use-cases, the relative simplicity of an MCU is an advantage rather than a disadvantage. MCUs don&rsquo;t require operating systems to function, and are easy to interface with external devices such as sensors and motors. Their lack of external dependencies also makes them easy to set up. You can simply turn them on, upload firmware, and they work. Additionally, the coding required to program an MCU is minimal.</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Security</strong>: By virtue of their relative simplicity, MCUs also offer fewer avenues of attack. As a rule, each open port and available protocol is also a potential vulnerability. Code on MCUs runs &ldquo;bare metal&rdquo;, meaning it includes no intermediary operating system to execute instructions. This results in limited potential attack vectors and increased inherent security.</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Cost</strong>: In most contemporary IoT applications, an MCU can deliver all the processing power and functionality one needs. As a result, MCUs are most often the best, most economic hardware choice for IoT applications. Overall, they offer simple, secure, functionality for little cost.</li></ul><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 557px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjUxMjU3Nzk1MjI1LXNodXR0ZXJzdG9ja181Nzg2MjY0NzcgKDEpLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 555px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner"><em>Image 1: Security, cost, and simplicity are key factors in choosing an MCU for your IoT project.</em></span></span></span></p><h2 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">Which MCU is right for you?</h2><ul><li dir="ltr"><strong>Tech Specs</strong>: Which technical specifications your MCU should have will depend entirely upon its intended application. The relative importance of specs such as processing speed and memory capacity will be different from use-case to use-case. For example, An IoT device meant to perform more demanding tasks will necessitate an MCU with a higher clock speed. Less processing-intensive tasks, however, may not necessitate such high-performance hardware. That&rsquo;s why it is imperative that you clearly determine your technical needs before deciding upon a specific piece of technology. Overall, primary spec considerations include: memory, speed, power use, security features, and connectivity type (Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/Cellular).</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Cost</strong>: All these technical specifications will be invariably weighed against their cost. Although the cost of MCUs is rapidly decreasing, added power, memory, and other specs will generally result in increased costs. While the costs of hardware may not seem daunting initially, increases in scale can quickly amplify even minute differences in hardware price. At the same time, selecting an MCU with only the bare minimum specs required to function may leave you unable to implement updates, new features, and other improvements in the future.</li><li dir="ltr"><strong>Support</strong>: When selecting an MCU, it&rsquo;s also important to consider the community surrounding it. MCUs with limited adoption will have fewer resources available to aid you in development.</li><li dir="ltr">Devices like the Photon from Particle, have a large community of users and developers, which makes it much easier to find information and support when needed. With a community of over 100,000 developers and engineers, the Particle platform has a wealth of resources available, including sample projects, demos, and development tools.&nbsp;</li><li dir="ltr">By selecting a more widely adopted MCU, you will ensure that integrating your IoT device with existing cloud services will be easy.</li></ul><h2 dir="ltr">Looking beyond the MCU</h2><p dir="ltr">Your IoT product is a system, not a component. So, when planning any element of your design, it&rsquo;s important to take into consideration the full stack of hardware, software, and infrastructure. Obviously, your product needs to connect to the Internet to qualify as IoT.</p><p dir="ltr">How it does so, and how that data is managed, should be central considerations in your IoT development process. In the past, developing, hosting, and managing one&rsquo;s own cloud infrastructure was a necessary part of IoT implementation. Now, platform providers such as Particle are offering cloud-connected hardware and comprehensive IoT platforms that lower the total cost of ownership of an IoT project, as well as reduce the time to market.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Begin your IoT undertaking with Particle</h2><p dir="ltr">A piece of IoT hardware is only as good as the platform it lives on. As an integrated IoT platform-as-a-service Particle provides everything you need to connect your device to the web. Pre-configured modules like the Electron are ready to connect to the internet right out of the box, and are already FCC/CE/PTCRB certified. These integrated platforms are allowing entrepreneurs to focus on their products, rather than the complications of connectivity. Particle offers a variety of low-cost, Wi-Fi and Cellular MCU dev kits that are easy to set up, and simple to integrate with your organization&rsquo;s existing infrastructure.</p><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1652969871830-particle+bottom.jpg" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p>

Wi-Fi

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