Each day, wireless technology becomes more pervasive as new electronics systems hit the market and connect to the Internet. We recently asked 10 engineers to prognosticate on the future of wireless technology. Penn State Professor Chris Coulston writes:
With the Internet of Things still the big thing, we should expect exciting developments in embedded wireless in 2016 and beyond. Incremental advances in speed and power consumption will allow manufactures to brag about having the latest and greatest chip. However, all this potential is lost unless you can deploy it easily. The Futurelec FT-232 serial-to-USB bridge is a success because it trades off some of the functionality of a complex protocol for a more familiar, less burdensome, protocol. The demand for simplified protocols should drive manufacturers to develop solutions making complex protocols more accessible. Cutting the cord means different things to different people. While Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has allowed a wide swath of gadgets to go wireless, these devices still require the presence of some intermediary (like a smart phone) to manage data transfer to the cloud. Expect to see the development of intermediate technologies enabling BLE to “cut the cord” to smart phones. Security of wireless communication will continue to be an important element of any conversation involving new wireless technology. Fortunately, the theoretical tools need to secure communication are well understood. Expect to see these tools trickle down as standard subsystems in embedded processors. The automotive industry is set to transform itself with self-driving cars. This revolution in transportation must be accompanied by wireless technologies allowing our cars to talk to our devices, each other and perhaps the roadways. This is an area that is ripe for some surprising and exciting developments enabling developers to innovate in this new domain. We live in interesting times with embedded systems playing a large role in consumer and industrial systems. With better and more accessible technology in your grasp, I hope that you have great and innovative 2016!
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Chris Coulston holds a BA in Physics from Slippery Rock University and a BS, MS, and PhD in Computer Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. He is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Penn State Behrend, project editor for Circuit Cellar, and author of several books and papers on electrical and computer engineering subjects. Chris completed this work while spending the past year teaching at the United State Air Force Academy.
