Machine-to-person communication and machine-to-machine communication results into considerable amount of data generation. For genuine functioning of IoT (internet of things) network, there is a necessity for data storage, data transfer and data interpretation at minimal cost in real-time. These particular necessities of market are being fulfilled by cellular networks. Evolution of Cellular technologies such as WCDMA, GSM, LTE & future 5G comprise new functionality & new radio access technology – narrowband IoT providing an attractive solution for the upcoming LPWA (low power wide area) applications.
Collaboration of Cadence Design Systems Inc. with CommSolid for Boosting Cellular IoT Market
On 21st February 2017, Cadence Design Systems Inc. announced collaboration with CommSolid (a company of cellular internet of things) for addressing fast growing cellular IoT market using new baseband IP customized for ultra-low power cellular communication pertaining to 3GPP’s NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) communications standard.
CommSolid integrated Cadence’s Tensilica Fusion F1 DSP in its latest CSN130 baseband solution for operating an ultra-low-power modem along with smart IoT applications such as audio identification, sensor fusion and voice trigger. Low energy, signal processing and high-performance control suited ideally for IoT & wearable markets are offered by Tensilica Fusion F1 DSP.
Highly configured DSP is particularly designed for excelling at tasks of digital signal processing such as voice pre-processing, wake-on voice, narrowband connectivity and sensor fusion, and also for processing tasks of traditional control code such as real time operating systems (RTOSs) and communication stacks. Completion of all processing workloads is done by ultra-low energy consumption in very small footprint. Fusion F1 DSP is an optimum solution for system-on-chip devices targeting wearable, smart city, smart home, headphone, medical and other connectivity products.
Altair’s New ALT1250 Chip has GPS Integrated Benefitting a Large Number of Applications
Altair Semiconductor, a Sony company, made an announcement on 15th February, 2017 Wednesday about its narrow-band CAT-M1 & NB1-based cellular IoT chip named ALT1250. Although Altair’s introduction to CAT-M1/NB1 market took time as compared to competitors such as Intel and Sequans (Paris, France), it is set to outstand others with its new ALT1250, stated Eran Eshed Altair’s vice president and co-founder of worldwide sales & marketing. He also said that ALT1250 is highly advanced in terms of service provisioning, ease of integration and cost and that ALT1250 chip is a generation ahead compared to other CAT-M1/NB1 chips currently available in the market.
As Altair is a piece of Sony’s semiconductor operation, it is integrating a GPS receiver to its ALT1250 chip. The integrated GPS renders cellular IoT chip more obliging to get designed into several IoT applications. Such applications include tracking kids & pets and figuring out device location. GPS integration benefits a large number of applications.
Limitations of Cellular IoT – A Constant Battle
Although IoT continues to expand at a considerable rate, the battle for prediction of an optimum technology succeeding in connecting these endless devices still continues to rage. This has resulted into several myths concerning IoT connectivity. The Cellular IoT has registered high power consumption as these technologies weren’t initially designed for battery-life applications. The cost of LPWA modules currently are approximately same as CAT-1 modules resulting these modules’ incompetence with LPWA. From the perspective of TCO (total cost of ownership), discrepancy between LTE and LPWA technologies will always witness a small gap. Cellular IoT necessitates complex RF expertise entailing a lengthy & expensive carrier certification process which in turn impacts the time and cost required for developing a cellular module. The market is currently dominated by players such as Intel and Qualcomm and conducting business with these behemoths is not easy. But, this creates an opportunity for smaller companies to step in with unique technologies to claim a primary market position. However owing to aforementioned limitations, the market is predicted to witness several advancements in the near future and register an exponential growth.
