Industrial wireless technologies serve different purposes. Whether 5G, NFC, mesh Wi-Fi or another system, they can help businesses improve efficiency and reduce costs. What distinguishes them, and where do their strengths and limitations lie? — Mountainview Technology
Understanding industrial wireless equipment
The range of technical terms can be overwhelming: 5G, mesh Wi-Fi, NFC, RFID and LoRa, among others. How do these technologies affect industry and daily life?
Industrial wireless systems are not new. As Industry 4.0, IoT and automation have developed, fast and reliable wireless communication has remained an important enabling technology in industrial environments. Here are six widely used approaches.
Types of industrial wireless technology
5G
5G is the fifth generation of mobile, or cellular, networking, following 1G through 4G. Data travels by radio to a base station, which connects to the wider network through wired or wireless links.
It offers higher upload and download speeds, greater capacity and more consistent connections. By connecting people, machines, objects and equipment, 5G supports applications that need high throughput, reliability and low latency, including autonomous vehicles, drones and streaming services.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is a short-range, high-speed wireless communication technology commonly used to create local area networks. A wireless router broadcasts a radio signal and provides an internet connection for devices on the network.
The Wi-Fi Alliance introduced Wi-Fi 6, also called 802.11ax, in September 2019. It improved speed, performance and capacity. OFDMA divides channels into smaller subchannels so capacity can be allocated efficiently among multiple devices, reducing congestion in busy environments.
Zigbee
Compared with higher-throughput Wi-Fi applications, Zigbee focuses on low-power, short-range IoT connections. Its low energy requirements and ability to connect multiple devices make it useful for smart lighting, locks and other connected home equipment.
Some systems combine the two technologies: Zigbee controls the lighting devices, while a Wi-Fi connection gives users access over the internet for remote control and management.
LoRa
LoRa is short for “long range.” Designed for IoT applications, it uses chirp spread spectrum (CSS) to support communication over thousands of meters while consuming little power. A transmitter modulates and encodes the signal; the receiving antenna captures it, and the receiver decodes and demodulates it to recover the original information.
Its strengths include long-distance communication, low power use, scalability and straightforward deployment and maintenance. Factories can connect equipment over a LoRa network to support automated management. Its data rates are relatively low, so it serves a different role from broadband wireless systems.
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is designed to identify objects wirelessly. A system consists of a reader and a tag. The reader emits radio waves; a compatible tag within range responds with information from its chip.
RFID appears throughout daily life, including tagged clothing at store security gates and identification cards for employees or students.
Tags may be passive or active. Passive tags have no battery and rely on energy from the reader’s radio signal, so they can respond only within an appropriate range. Active tags contain a battery and can communicate over a greater distance.
NFC
Near-field communication (NFC) developed from RFID and enables short-range communication between devices. When compatible devices are brought close together, magnetic coupling allows information to be exchanged. An active device, such as a phone, produces the field, and a passive device can receive information through it.
NFC can support both reading and writing and can act in reader or tag roles. Familiar applications include mobile payments and contactless transit cards. In IoT systems, NFC tags also support identification and management in logistics, smart homes, healthcare and smart cities.
These six technologies are widely used, but each addresses different communication requirements.
Why consider wireless instead of wired equipment?
Before wireless equipment became common, industrial systems relied on cables to gather machine data. Manufacturers have good reasons to evaluate wireless carefully. A factory differs from an office: large floor areas, heavy machinery and metal obstacles can block or reflect signals and make coverage challenging.
When appropriately designed, industrial wireless systems offer several benefits:
- Flexibility: equipment can be placed where needed without the same cabling and connector constraints.
- Lower costs: reducing cable installation and maintenance can simplify deployment and reduce labor costs.
- Bandwidth: suitable wireless technologies can provide fast data transfer and reliable signals.
- Range: appropriate systems support long-distance communication and difficult layouts, which can be valuable across large factories.
- Convenient maintenance: remote management can help diagnose and address problems without stopping or dismantling equipment unnecessarily.
These advantages are increasingly relevant to smart factories. Wireless systems still face challenges and require continuing improvement, but they offer a strong alternative to wired connections in many applications.
Choosing the right technology for the environment and task can support business growth. If you are unsure which wireless approach fits your requirements, contact Mountainview for practical engineering advice.
