The best radio communication is the one that does not exist
Do we really need to transmit over the air?
The best radio communication is the one that does not exist
Hi builder,
Wireless feels modern, cables feel old. People do not want to make holes
I understand it.
So, when a product team wants to make a device more attractive, the temptation is obvious:
“Let’s add Bluetooth. “Let’s add Wi-Fi.” “Let’s add Bluetooth and Wi-Fi”
“Let’s connect it to an app, and send data to the cloud”
Sometimes, it is the right decision. Remote monitoring can be valuable and useful: safety alerts, monitoring of remote areas. Connected products can make human’s lives easier and more convenient.
The problem? Taking the effort of implementing radio for granted
Design effort is not the same as production effort
Many teams add radio without asking the most important question:
Does this information really need to be sent over the air?
Radio is not just another feature, it changes the product:
The architecture
The enclosure (Bye metal, hello plastic)
The PCB layout (Bye FR-4, hello stable dielectrics)
The firmware
The power budget
The certification path
The documentation
A product without radio may be a simple product. The same product with radio suddenly becomes a regulated product. More standards, more laboratories, more debugging, new gear, new skills, more uncertainty, more ways to fail
I am not against radio. I am against implementing a complexity that nobody uses
Yes, I could recommend you to add 5 different radio communications and spend the next 6 months working together on the certification. I prefer to ask you: do we really need to add that radio at all?
I work on projects that add value, not in complexities that do not add any
Whenever you are ready, I can help you:
Building your Hardware from requirements to production, at the stage that you decide
Being an extra pair of eyes to your existing project with a Risk Assessment
Bringing you to the certification laboratory
Happy building!
Ignacio