Shulou(Shulou.com)06/02 Report--

No one can deny that a large part of the convenient life in the city comes from the blessing of wireless networks, and the lives of modern people are given by WiFi.

As for smart cities, automated factories, car networking, AIoT. These cool concepts want to really enter the industry, but also can not do without the reliance on the communication network.

In the final analysis, the hope of a smart life depends on the next generation of communication networks. We have heard this term a lot over the past year, but most people must be ambiguous about what "next-generation communications" looks like and how it will subvert and reshape the network.

At the same time, there are more questions brewing: what are the weaknesses of the WiFi we are used to? will 5G be a breakthrough for the Alliance of everything? what kind of network does AIoT need? Today we might as well try to open our minds.

Former King: why did WiFi and NB-IoT lose the election?

Before that, it is necessary to answer a question: what is the core logic of IoT communication? This problem is not difficult, that is, to connect all kinds of edge devices (especially all kinds of sensors) to the Internet.

Many protocols and solutions are used, such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, WiFi for short-distance transmission, NB-IoT, LoRa, Sigfax and so on for long-distance transmission. It is not uncommon for us to know the wired network such as Ethernet and optical fiber network.

One of the most common technologies is NB-IoT. With the gradual withdrawal of 2G network signals, the advantages of NB-IoT scheme in power consumption and price are gradually highlighted. Since the standards freeze in 2016, NB-IoT has been successfully commercialized on a large scale in just three years. By 2019, the number of NB-IoT chip manufacturers in China has reached 14, and the number of application terminal enterprises has reached more than 1000, which has become the leading technology of IoT applications.

Of course, WiFi is no less than that. As the only protocol that can provide high-speed data transmission, it has always become the main network of home and office with the characteristics of high performance and low latency. In the new era, WiFi has also been given a new mission, such as radar system, dual authentication system. According to Gartner's forecast, shipments of WiFi chips will exceed 1.5 billion in 2020.

So why can't these two take on the important task of "next generation network"? There are mainly restrictions from three aspects:

1. Integration of cloud and network. More and more Internet of things devices need to be connected to various cloud platforms, but end-to-end solutions from edge to cloud require a lot of field testing and support efforts in cooperation with operators, while most of the NB-IoT manufacturers'R & D capabilities are limited, so they are easy to encounter concurrency delays and low data upload success rates.

two。 Collaboration. Another feature of intelligent Internet of things is vertical industrialization, which also means that service providers need to meet the differentiated needs of application manufacturers in different industries, so a single communication technology can not meet the application needs of IoT. However, in the industrial areas where intelligence is most needed, the capabilities of NB-IoT and WiFi are relatively limited. The range of WiFi is only about 200m and the working frequency is 2.4-5Hz, which means that it is impossible to penetrate some special structures, while industrial production needs the combination of short-distance, long-distance and wired communication technology to build a smooth IoT network, and the application of a single technology is obviously not enough.

3. Performance to price ratio. Another reason to limit the large-scale use of WiFi is money. In the industrial field, the devices that need to be connected are often high-density and low-cost devices, such as water level sensors in pumping stations, rainfall sensors in cities, or weather sensors. their scale and never go offline means that bit-by-bit power consumption is a cost, while the access of WiFi will consume a lot of electricity and become unbearable light for enterprises.

All in all, the era of using a single communication technology to control a single microcontroller to deal with communication protocols is becoming a thing of the past.

When mashup has become a trend: the embryonic form of "Lego" of the next generation network

When it comes to the Internet of things, you will inevitably encounter a "menstrual post"-5G? 5G? Can't you TM 5G?

Indeed, the 5G communication network is endowed with great ambition by the market, especially supporting a large number of machine-to-machine communications (that is, M2M), isn't it the chosen son to save the network?

Unfortunately, it will take time for such expectations to be realized one by one:

First of all, the 5G will not be deployed until 2019, and it will take three to five years to mature even at the "Chinese speed". For factories, airports and other large places that need high cost-effective network, it can be used as a supplement to WiFi to provide reliable instant messaging, or used in some areas with high real-time requirements, such as car networking, UAV and so on, but it is still a long way off.

In addition, 5G large-scale applications need unified technical standards to support. At present, 3GPP is stepping up the formulation of relevant specifications. For example, Release 16, which is aimed at the application demand of low-latency industrial fields, is expected to freeze the relevant specification details next year. At that time, it will be convenient for chip manufacturers to carry out product research and development. In a flash, one or two years have passed.

(5G Development Roadmap)

So, where should the Federation of Industrial things go? The answer may be hidden in Lego blocks.

Building a complete building block requires many different types of components, similarly, the composite IoT network also carries more diverse requirements, such as the need to view and control IoT devices through mobile phones, Bluetooth is essential, to transmit factory equipment, Ethernet network can not be decommissioned, some low-delay requirements require high-speed 5G. In addition, WiFi, optical fiber, xDSL and other technologies also have their own advantages. A complete next-generation "IoT network" must stack multiple wireless technologies in a single chip to meet the market demand.

This also poses a new challenge to the R & D and creative ability of terminal manufacturers.

Because different chip suppliers have different software and development tools, terminal equipment manufacturers must integrate different technologies on their products according to these different development environments, which will undoubtedly greatly affect the original interview speed of the products.

The IoT terminals based on the Internet of things are often customized, a small number of diverse, can integrate the development of software ecology, to help terminal manufacturers quickly through the pains of network upgrade period of upstream manufacturers, will also have more advantages to attract more developers, ushered in the life cycle of rapid development and growth opportunities.

A successful Lego building block must also have a well-jointed, complete and solid mechanical structure to ensure the stability of its shape. Reflected in the IoT network, the interweaving of a variety of systems and communication technologies, coupled with the intensity of data transmission, will also create countless possible "attack points", which will give rise to doubts and worries about network security. Therefore, the deployment of IoT network must also be considered from the perspective of the whole ecosystem, in addition to chip self-protection, the establishment of security channels, and the construction of authentication system, and so on, and may even need to consider political risks to achieve relative IoT security.

Comprehensive subversion: the Industrial Rich Mine of the next Generation of Industrial Communications

Presumably from the previous trend, keen friends have insight into a lot of industrial business opportunities. Such as integrated IoT chips, unified Internet of things development platform and so on, but these high-tech threshold business opportunities are often opportunities for players in the upper reaches of the industrial chain.

For many small and medium-sized services, in what areas can we take off with the help of this wave of communication subversion?

So far, there are three changes worth noting:

1. The industrial application of real-time network. The application of the new generation network means changing from store-and-forward information flow to real-time information flow, so the industrial Internet of things is developing faster to a predictable, real-time and high-bandwidth network, which means that the transmission of a lot of high-definition data is possible. it further opens the scene imagination of image, audio and other real-time interactive technology in the industrial side, and makes the visual operation of remote assistance and real-time response a reality.

two。 The substantial change of vehicle networking. Whether it is the vehicle with self-driving module or the unmanned vehicle technology that is close to fully self-driving, it has become a fact that the vehicle control system is becoming more and more complex, whether it is the whole vehicle communication system or the on-board entertainment network. all need low delay, real-time transmission, high security to ensure unified management, through the composite system to ensure stable data exchange, will re-establish a security standard for vehicle networking.

3. The management service of the Federation of Industrial things. The change in the mode of communication will also change the management of the Internet of things from device-oriented to policy-oriented, which requires that the IoT network should be intelligent enough to provide advanced embedded management tools for different B-end users, as well as cloud service providers who can continuously carry out fault diagnosis, performance monitoring and automatic fault handling, and take the lead in realizing "zero management". There is hope to maximize access to rich mines of enterprise-level services.

Generally speaking, "next-generation communication network" has never been exclusive to a certain technology, it will be synonymous with simplification, efficiency and security, subverting all kinds of existence that we have long been accustomed to. What kind of branches it will grow in the new year's spring breeze and rain, you might as well look forward to it together.

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