Machine to Machine (M2M) Applications

Machine to Machine (M2M) data transfer is the new frontier for wireless interconnectivity.

Smart Meters connect to a Smart Grid managing our energy and utility costs.

The Internet connects controllers in the home over 802.15.4 (Zigbee) to regulate power usage, reduce waste and enhance security.

Low Power remote Wireless Sensor Networks monitor valuable assets in real time.

Factory Automation, Asset Tracking, RFID and Industrial Control Networks connect over wireless links to create the "Internet of Things.“ A new generation of ASICs combine low power 802.15.4, Bluetooth and Zigbee radios, low power processors, instrumentation and RF Energy Harvesting to support 24/7 monitoring and control.

Popular radio technologies for M2M applications are ISM and UWB. Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) bands at 433 MHz, 868 MHz, 915 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8GHz offer low power low data rate connections. Ultra-wide band (UWB) systems from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz offer medium to high data rates. Products demand low power and low cost.  Wireless interfaces, analog and mixed-signal  functionality as well as microcontrollers and memory are all integrated on  a System on Chip (SoC) solution.

RF Integration’s SoC and RF System IP cores provide the highly integrated solutions.

Smart MetersSmart Meters

Smart Meters monitor electrical gas or water consumption by combining real-time sensors, outage notification and resource quality monitoring. Advanced Metering Infrastructures (AMI) deployed on a wide scale allow each meter to reliably and securely communicate information to a central location over licensed or unlicensed wireless links using TCP/IP technology as a common communication platform. Utilities can deploy multiple communication systems. Low power multimode SoC solutions are required.

Home Area NetworksHome Area Networks

Home Area Networks combined with Smart Grids to allow HVAC systems and other household appliances to communicate with the Smart Meter, and from there to the Utility company. Currently there are several broadband and narrowband low power standards like Zigbee (802.15.4) that support home networking applications such as energy management, security or status monitoring. Low power multimode SoC solutions are required.

Wireless TollingWireless Tolling

Wireless Tolling using Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) support one-way or two-way short to medium-range wireless communication channels specifically designed for automotive use. With 75MHz of spectrum in the 5.9GHz band available for DSRC and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications such as Emergency Warning Systems, Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control ,Cooperative Forward Collision Warning , Intersection Collision Avoidance

Approaching Emergency Vehicle warning , Vehicle Safety Inspection
Electronic parking and Electronics tolling are possible. Low power multimode SoC solutions are required.

Logistics and Fleet MonitoringLogistics and Fleet Monitoring

Logistics and Fleet Monitoring combine GPS based position applications with vehicle or cargo status monitoring. Temperature, humidity or other environmental conditions can be monitored and events such as any disruption of the cold chain can be promptly reported. The safety, security and integrity of food, pharmaceutical and chemical shipments can be assured. Low power multimode SoC solutions are required.

Wireless Sensor NetworksWireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks provide continuous data acquisition for condition based monitoring of machines, health monitoring of structures and industrial test and measurement applications. Using IEEE 802.15.4 radios, health and status data can be reported over short ranges up to a few hundred meters. Difficult to access machine bearings can be monitored for wear and catastrophic events can be avoided. When combined with RF Energy harvesting, the battery life of such sensors can be virtually unlimited. Low power multimode SoC solutions are required.

M2M Technology

The key requirements for Wireless M2M Technology are:

Interoperability: devices may use unlicensed bands for short range communications and licensed bands for long range communication to the network.

Real-time Data Acquisition and Analysis: Instrumentation of Analog Sensors, Event ordering, time-stamping, synchronization and signal processing will be required.

Reliability and Robustness: Sensors and other devices must operate with sufficient reliability in harsh industrial environments and with little manual intervention.

See chart

The integration of different types of sensors, instrumentation, data processing, energy harvesting and wireless connectivity within a limited space with extremely low power suggests a new breed of SoC.

A typical M2M System consists of:

  • Sensors to monitor particular signals
  • Analog Instrumentation
  • Low power processing
  • Energy Harvesting and Power Management
  • Low Power Bluetooth, Zigbee or WiFi radios

RF Integration’s SoC and RF System IP cores provide the highly integrated solutions.