New-Tech Europe | January 2016

a wireless device to the network. Gateways can combine the functions of a wireless access point and router, and often provide firewall security too. These converged devices save desk space and simplify wiring - one device replaces two. A gateway can also act as protocol converter for the installed base’s devices and transfer the converted data upstream using the new Internet data formats including RESTFul, XMPP and MQTT. Multiradio solutions are particularly suitable when there is a need for different wireless technologies to connect devices in a gateway configuration. One technology is used to communicate downstream to sensors and actuators. A second radio communicates with existing networks upstream. Consider the example of a medical device such as an infusion pump. Bluetooth low energy may be used with a handheld scanner to ensure that the pump is being connected to the right patient and that the correct medication is being administered. This connection carries very little data but within the same pump a Wi-Fi link may be used to provide a higher bandwidth connection for sending continuous monitoring data over a hospital network.

and you then want up-stream connectivity to existing infrastructure, perhaps over Wi-Fi. For instance, you can use Bluetooth low energy to connect to sensors downstream and use Wi-Fi to transfer the sensor data upstream. The same technology can be used to extend geographical coverage using the Wi-Fi upstream link as a repeater. In this case, Wi-Fi is used to connect several Bluetooth low energy gateways in order to achieve greater coverage. The u-blox ODIN-W262 is an example of a multiradio wireless module designed for the kinds of applications described above. The 14.8x22.3x4.5 mm module supports multiple, concurrent Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), Classic Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy links for product design flexibility and is configured easily for individual applications using AT-commands. Radio type approved in countries throughout the world, it even has a built-in antenna to make adding multi-protocol wireless connectivity to any product as quick and easy as possible. When the Bluetooth Core Specification added a standard means of creating a dedicated data channel for IPv6 the groundwork was laid for future IP connectivity. With the rapid market adoptionof BluetoothSmart (Bluetooth low energy) and the addition of IP connectivity, everything points to Bluetooth as one of the fundamental wireless links in the Internet of Things. The recent additions to the standard make it possible for Bluetooth Smart sensors to use IPv6, giving developers and OEMs the flexibility they need to ensure connectivity and compatibility. Enabling the Internet of Things

Using different technologies downstream and upstream is also ideal when a number of battery powered sensors require low power wireless communication

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 25