EE-Evaluation Engineering seeks input on Internet of Things test

The Internet of Things (IoT) is here. According to Gartner, 4.9 billion connected “things” will be in use this year, with the number reaching 25 billion in 2020.

Many of these “things” will have wireless connectivity, and in fact many will operate at multiple frequencies (up to 28 bands) and support multiple generations of standards to provide communications worldwide. To complicate test, these heterogeneous devices include analog and digital circuitry as well as RF, and many will include mechanical structures (antennas and MEMS, for example) in addition to electronics circuitry. Many will not be amenable to traditional test strategies.

And while each IoT device may not require high bandwidths or generate massive amounts of data, latency may be important in some applications. Further, the proliferation of the devices will result in massive amounts of data that the wireless infrastructure must handle. 5G will have a role to play, but billions of connected devices will be deployed long before 5G rolls out.

To examine these issues further, the May 2015 issue of EE-Evaluation Engineering will include a special report on RF test strategies for IoT devices, products, and systems.

We welcome input from engineers involved in designing and deploying the IoT and from test vendors offering RF test equipment that can serve IoT test applications. The questions below indicate some of the topics we will be covering in this feature, and we would appreciate your brief responses. Send me an email at [email protected].

1. What is your strategy for RF test for the Internet of Things?
2. Do you test, or do you make equipment for testing, IoT semiconductor devices, or complete products or systems?
3. If you are a test-equipment provider, what specific products do you offer that find use in IoT test applications?
4. If you are building and deploying IoT products, what types of test equipment are you using now, and what types of new test equipment would make your job easier—in particular with respect to RF test?
5. At what stage of the design, development, and production process are you addressing (for example, debug, validation, characterization, production test)?
6. What are the implications for test of devices and products having analog, digital, and RF circuitry?
7. Are there any specific issues related to IoT test that you would like to see addressed?

Thanks for your help.