New radio technologies such as LoRA, Sigfox and Weightless, which operate in the license-free ISM band and achieve long ranges with very low power, are currently boosting M2M communication. One of the first applications of the Germany-wide LoRa network of Digimondo GmbH, a company founded and funded by E.ON, is the remote reading of electricity meters by radio from the energy supplier E.ON.

In summer 2016, the mobile communications industry positioned itself as a further competitor for M2M applications with new LTE standards such as LTE-Cat-NB1 and LTE-Cat-M1.

What are the differences between LPWAN technologies? Will there be cut-throat competition? Which LPWAN technology is best suited to which applications?

Panel discussion at the Wireless Congress.

© WEKA SPECIALIZED MEDIA

Energy harvesting

Wireless sensors can only be used flexibly if they can be operated energy self-sufficiently. Only then can they be placed anywhere - without having to worry about a power connection. It is even better if wireless sensors are completely maintenance-free during their service life, i.e. nobody has to change the batteries in the wireless sensor. Energy harvesters - micro-generators that collect energy from the environment, e.g. solar cells or thermocouples - promise to supply wireless sensors with sufficient electrical energy for operation so that neither a power connection is required nor a battery needs to be changed.

Current developments for "harvesting energy" are a topic of the Wireless Congress 2016: Systems & Applications. The development of a particularly robust and reliable energy converter will be presented in a separate tutorial.

Mobile radio or license-free?

Developers of M2M systems are confronted with this question. In addition to mobile radio, which has recently expanded LTE to include LTE-Cat-NB1 for M2M applications, there are several LPWAN technologies in the ISM band to choose from as alternatives: LoRa, Sigfox and Weightless. An M2M wireless standard that is ideally suited to all applications is unlikely. In the future, it will continue to be important to precisely analyze the requirements of the application in order to determine the most suitable wireless method.

This year's Wireless Congress 2016: Systems & Applications, with its focus on "Wireless for Wide Area with Low Power", offers developers the opportunity to come into contact with experts in the individual LPWAN radio technologies in order to discuss their application.

Integration of a wireless modem

The integration of a wireless modem is now relatively simple. There are ready-made radio modules, microcontrollers with integrated radio transmitters and numerous reference designs from individual manufacturers. However, a small part is still required for reliable radio transmission: the antenna. It must be suitable in several respects - for the transmitter, the radio standard, the application and the housing. In his tutorial "Antenna" at the Wireless Congress 2016: Systems & Applications, Harald Naumann shows how to determine the optimum, correct antenna design and what pitfalls are lurking.

Detailed program information, attractive early bird prices and much more can be found on the congress homepage.

Date: November 9-10, 2016
Venue: ICM, Messe München