10 key trends for the future of wireless technology

10 key trends for the future of wireless technology

Wireless technology will have a major impact on the development of components for emerging products and applications, including robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles and next-generation medical devices. It also means that product designers may need to upskill their skills in new technology areas over the next five years.

According to market research firm Gartner Inc, technology trends in wireless communications are being driven by several potential challenges and opportunities. These include spectrum congestion, longevity of wireless protocols, wireless security, system architectures such as edge computing, power consumption, and cost.

Here are 10 wireless technology trends expected to play a significant role over the next five years, according to a new Gartner report, "Top 10 Wireless Technologies and Trends Driving Innovation."
1. Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi will remain the primary high-performance networking technology for homes and offices through 2024. Example: Gartner expects more than 1.5 billion Wi-Fi chips to ship in 2020. Wi-Fi will also find new roles, for example in radar systems or as a component in two-factor authentication systems.

2. 5G cellular
While 5G cellular systems began to be deployed in 2019 and 2020, a full rollout will take five to eight years. The technology can complement Wi-Fi and become a more cost-effective option for high-speed data networks in large sites such as ports, airports and factories. A key advantage is its ultra-reliable low-latency communication, which holds great potential for real-time critical control functions and communications such as vehicle-to-vehicle and drone applications.

3. Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) wireless
The V2X wireless system will enable traditional and autonomous driving cards to communicate with each other and with road infrastructure. In addition to exchanging information and status data, V2X can also provide a wide range of services, including safety features, navigation support, driver information and fuel saving. There are two main V2X technologies in 2019: the Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) standard, based on Wi-Fi using the IEEE 802.11p standard, and Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X).

4. Long-distance wireless power
The first generation of wireless power systems did not deliver the user experience that manufacturers expected. The need to place the device at a specific charging point is only slightly better than charging via cable, although there are several new technologies that can charge devices at a distance of up to 1 m or on a table or tabletop. Expect long-range wireless power to eliminate power cords for desktop devices.

5. Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) Networks
LPWA networks provide energy-efficient and low-bandwidth connectivity for IoT applications to extend battery life. Current LPWA technologies include Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Long Term Evolution of Machines (LTE-M), LoRa, and Sigfox, often supporting very large areas such as cities or countries. IoT manufacturers use low-cost modules to enable small, low-cost, battery-powered devices such as sensors and trackers.

6. Wireless sensing
Wireless sensing technology can be used in a variety of applications from medical diagnostics to smart homes. Wireless signals can be used in sensing applications, such as indoor radar systems for robots and drones, or virtual assistants to improve performance when multiple people are speaking in the same room.

7. Enhanced Wireless Location Tracking
A key trend is for wireless communication systems to be location-aware of the devices they are connected to. The upcoming IEEE 802.11az standard will enable high-precision tracking to about 1-meter accuracy and is expected to be a feature of future 5G standards. Position sensing integrated with a core wireless network can provide benefits such as reduced hardware cost and power consumption, and increased performance and accuracy compared to other systems such as fingerprints and inertial navigation.

8. Millimeter wave wireless
Millimeter wave wireless technology operates in the frequency range of 30 to 300 GHz, with wavelengths in the range of 1 to 10 mm. The technology can be used by wireless systems such as Wi-Fi and 5G for short-range, high-bandwidth communications. Key drivers include the need for more spectrum and higher bandwidth.

9. Backscatter Network
Backscatter networking technology can send data with very low power consumption, targeting small networked devices. Backscatter networks operate by remodulating ambient wireless signals. As such, it will be used in areas where wireless signals are saturated and require relatively simple IoT devices such as sensors in smart homes and offices.

10. Software Defined Radio (SDR)
SDR moves most of the signal processing in the radio system from the chip to software so that the radio can support more frequencies and protocols. Although the technology has been around for years, it never took off because it was more expensive than a dedicated chip. Gartner expects SDR to grow in popularity as new protocols emerge. It will enable devices to support old protocols and add new ones through software upgrades.