The results of recent study showed that device connectivity is the number one issue out of six possible areas of IoT device design. The first thing designers need to understand is that when designing devices for wide scale application, one size does not fit all. They are finding that the application itself defines the design needs of the device. These applications can alter the delicate balance of how power requirements, coverage, data rates, mobility and delay time are baked into the final design. Wireless options also have to be taken into consideration, as there are many to choose from, such as Bluetooth, Zigbee and Wi-Fi, to LoRaWAN and Sigfox. The key for designers is to take the time to understand the desired business outcome expected from the device, and design and adequately test its performance for delivery against the desired outcome prior to production.
A recent survey of nearly 600 designers interested in IoT design showed that the number one struggle they have is with connectivity. That doesn’t mean security isn’t a concern, it just may not be as troublesome to implement, once they get around to it.
