The core and foundation of the Internet of Things is that various objects are connected to the network and exchange information through the network to achieve the “Internet of Everything”. With the advent of the Internet of Things era, the continuous increase in the number of Internet of Things connections has brought about an explosive demand for wireless modules. Typically, one or two wireless modules need to be added for each additional IoT connection. With the iterative progress of connection technology and the explosion of demand for downstream scenarios, the number of IoT connections is ushering in an era of rapid growth.
“Generally speaking, IoT is called Industry 4.0, which is a stage from ‘Internet +’ to ‘Internet of Things ×’, which is reshaping our way of life, production, public spheres, etc. The industry predicts that by 2025 There will be 30.9 billion IoT devices in the world, and the number of IoT connections in China will double to 8 billion compared to 2020, showing an explosive growth trend.” At the 10th Annual China Hard Technology Media Forum and 2022 Industry Chain Research and Innovation Trend Prospect Seminar, Du Fudan, Marketing Director of Product Management Department of Kaga Fuyi Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., shared the IoT connection market at the beginning of his speech. Prospects.
Du Fudan, Marketing Director, Product Management Department, Kaga Fuyi Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Behind the 100 million shipments, a unique industry chain positioning is found in the transparent market
The Internet of Things is a highly fragmented market, and wireless modules have been unknown in the industry for many years. However, with the growth of the Internet of Things connection scale and the jump in connection value, the wireless module market has ushered in a window period for explosion. “In the existing IoT industry chain, from chip sensor manufacturers to terminal module manufacturers, from communication service providers, platform service providers, to industry application providers, the distribution of the entire value chain is not very uniform, and the pure module business In general, the standardization is relatively high and the price is relatively transparent, but the overall solution integrated with the cloud platform is an important direction that can improve the level of business capabilities.” Du Fudan said.
The core of the wireless module lies in the underlying communication chip, which seems to be a manufacturing industry with a low technical threshold, but in fact it is not the case. Chips are important, but it is not difficult to develop modules with competitive products and then manufacture them into terminal equipment for various industries.
Kaga FEI Electronics Co., Ltd. (KAGA FEI, referred to as Kaga FEI Electronics), which is committed to providing high-performance IoT products and services, acquired TAIYO YUDEN Co., Ltd. in 2021 for Bluetooth and wireless LAN modules. of commercial rights, development and manufacturing technologies, and intellectual property rights, officially launched a small wireless module business, and put forward a full-chain wireless solution based on technology and experience with “wireless technology” as the core, including LSI, contract design and manufacturing services, network and cloud Computing, fully develops the small wireless module business, and provides the most promising products for those global customers who are engaged in the development of Internet of Things products in the fields of communication equipment and consumer electronics.
“We have an extensive lineup of more than 20 types of Bluetooth low energy and wireless LAN modules, and have the world’s smallest class of wireless modules, with a cumulative global shipment of about 100 million. In Takasaki, Japan, we also established A research and development center for wireless module products has been established, which is already in operation.” Du Fudan shared.
Features of Kaga Fuyi Electronic Wireless Module Products
High-performance product lineup to meet the “rigid needs” of IoT applications in all dimensions
In the application of wireless modules for the Internet of Things, we will first consider the issues of speed, security and reliability, so high-performance wireless modules with small size and low power consumption are the first choice for device connection. Kaga Fuyi Electronics’ ultra-compact wireless module can be as small as 3.25mm x 8.55 mm, which is currently the smallest size class in the world. It also has a built-in antenna and a master clock, so it can operate without wireless peripherals. These ultra-compact wireless modules are lighter than metal-shielded products, and the entire module weighs less than 0.1g due to the use of shielding mold technology (i.e., a technology that seals the module with resin and covers the surface with a metal film, eliminating the need for a metal case to block internal and external noise) , ideal for installation in wearables like electric toothbrushes.
Kaga Fuyi Electronics’ wireless IoT modules are widely used in many market fields
Besides size, low power consumption is also one of the key requirements for wireless communication modules in IoT devices. Although the communication speed of Bluetooth low energy communication standard (BLE for short) is not as fast as that of Wi-Fi communication, and it is not suitable for large-capacity communication such as image and video data, it is still a standard for data communication such as sensors with relatively small traffic. The ideal choice, for example, the wireless modules that generally appear in mobile POS machines refer to BLE low-power Bluetooth modules. Kaga Fuyi Electronics has more than 20 kinds of BLE modules, and a series of wireless communication products equipped with both Wi-Fi and BLE modules and can use different communication standards, all of which can achieve the lowest power consumption for short-range communication, which will greatly extend the Working hours of connected devices, ideal for mobile POS machines, connected devices in smart homes (such as lighting systems), etc.
Lineup of wireless modules from Kaga Fujii Electronics. Users can choose modules according to their own applications, such as communication protocol, external size, communication distance, communication speed, built-in or external antenna, MCU embedded, etc.
The Internet of Things is considered to be the third climax of the development of computer and electronic information after the Internet. With it, we are all gradually entering an age where everything is connected. Through the continuous integration of technology and economy, more and more fields are using the Internet of Things technology, and the demand for wireless modules is gradually increasing. The form of WLAN+Bluetooth dual-mode chip is gradually becoming the mainstream of wireless connection in IoT technology.
WLAN+Bluetooth combination module refers to a module product that integrates two communication methods of WiFi and Bluetooth. Users can realize data transmission through the WLAN part, and can also realize data transmission and intelligent control through the Bluetooth part. The Bluetooth terminal product is embedded in the combination module. , can easily connect to the Internet. The dual-mode module greatly simplifies the network distribution difficulty of the product, and guides users to quickly add devices through the Bluetooth connection to the mobile phone to achieve “fool-level” applications. On the other hand, the stability of the distribution network is also optimized. Smart devices equipped with WLAN+BLE dual-mode modules can greatly solve the distribution network problems in the 2.4G & 5G dual-band/mixed-frequency routing environment, with higher compatibility.
“All WLAN modules provided by Kaga Fuyi Electronics use NXP’s IC, and there are combined modules that support IEEE802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2, which can be divided into antenna built-in type, MCU embedded type, and combination of WLAN and Bluetooth. The built-in antenna type There are radio type approval certification for the United States, Canada and Japan on the module.” Du Fudan said, “In addition to inheriting Taiyo Yuden’s development of products and business models from PAN, LAN series to communication series according to the needs of multi-level customers, Kaga Fuyi Electronics will continue to provide products, modules, software support in the wireless field to various certification services, etc., to provide customers with the overall solution needed when developing and selling wireless products.”
Wireless LAN Module Type
From wireless testing and certification to EMS manufacturing, creating a full-chain solution for IoT devices
Wireless modules use radio waves to communicate between two devices. However, the main board, housing resin, metal, etc., which are usually installed around the antenna of the wireless module, affect the radio waves, thereby affecting the communication distance of the product. In addition, if the shape of the product is a priority, it may not be possible to install the wireless module under ideal conditions, so it is necessary to have an antenna measurement support. It is reported that Kaga Fuyi Electronics also provides antenna measurement services, which can confirm the state contained in the product or the radiation pattern in the prototype. Usually, in the equipment design stage, Kaga Fuyi Electronics will let the technical team work with the customer to determine the installation position, direction and the shape of the product shell based on some information provided by the customer, such as the design of the circuit board to be installed and the surrounding environment of the product. Designed to maximize wireless characteristics according to customer requirements.
The era of the Internet of Everything is rapidly approaching. According to GSMA forecast, by 2025, the proportion of industrial IoT connections will reach 61.2%. The fields of smart industry, smart transportation, and smart health are expected to become the fields with the fastest growth in the number of industrial IoT connections. While the wireless module undertakes the data interface function, it can also integrate complex functions such as fusion perception, front-end data processing and analysis, and data access and transmission required by customers, thereby reducing product costs. Kaga Electronics, a subsidiary of Kaga Group, has 20 years of experience in EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) and professional SMT and assembly manufacturing technology in China. It has complete processing equipment and mature manufacturing technology, and its perfect manufacturing quality assurance and testing methods. Obtained the certification of many well-known customers, Kaga currently also provides IoT equipment manufacturing services based on its wireless module solutions to domestic customers.
Kaga Fuyi Electronics’ skills to support customer products
Embrace the future IoT system that goes beyond intelligence and beyond the Internet
The realization of wireless connection in the Internet of Things is inseparable from wireless technology. “There are many new wireless technologies, but the overall progress is not particularly fast, because the development of the entire Internet of Things industry is still relatively stable.” Du Fudan believes that Wifi 6E is a technology based on the 6G frequency band, which can achieve high-speed transmission and low latency. specialty. With the promotion of existing applications and the certification of Wifi 6E, he believes that in the next few years, Wifi 6E technology may have a relatively large development. Another new technology, Wifi Halow, Du Fudan thinks it may be a little slower than Wifi 6E, although it also has many advantages, but the substitutability is not necessary at present, and now there are few big companies in the market targeting Wifi Halow is specially developed, so it is estimated that it will take some time for it to enter the public eye.
“The real blue ocean of the digital economy may come from the combination of digital platforms and production scenarios. The upgrading and empowerment of traditional industries may form the Industrial Internet, which may be an Internet of Things system that goes beyond intelligence and beyond the Internet. In our country Under the background of ‘removing from the virtual to the real’, the Internet of Things technology still has great potential in the future.” Talking about the future trend of the Internet of Things, Du Fudan shared, “I think in the Internet of Things market, the next two can be expected. One is the integration of sustainable energy and IoT, and the other is the mass adoption of IoT technology in the public sector.”
No matter how the Internet of Things develops, the wireless module that enables various Internet of Things terminal devices to have network information transmission capabilities is the information portal for all kinds of intelligent terminals to access the Internet of Things. With the acceleration of the upgrade of the intelligent industry chain, the enrichment of the software ecosystem has also promoted the rapid iteration of hardware, and the improvement of the degree of intelligence of product modules has made the manufacturer’s product line more flexible, effectively saving costs and R&D cycles. In addition to providing wireless modules and manufacturing services with competitive advantages, Kaga Fuyi Electronics also strengthens its service capabilities to customers from more dimensions including software design, deeply empowers the IoT smart terminal industry, and meets industry and consumer requirements. user needs.
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