Testing IoT Devices

What to consider when integrating wireless functionality into home electronics and appliances?
More and more appliances, previously without communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, garage doors, and vacuum cleaners, are now designed with wireless connectivity functions. This brings new challenges to device designers in order to assure the product quality.
Details: Assuring IoT Device Communications Quality >
Have we cleared the legal requirements?
It is mandatory to conform with the local legal restrictions and regulations.
Details: Laws and standards to be followed by IoT devices >
Have we considered the product usage environment?
Details: Assuring IoT Device Communications Quality >

What is expected of the RF components in actual 5G use cases?
RF components are one of the key aspects in determining the features of IoT devices. In order to enhance the wireless technology and the complicated wireless functionality, the verification at the RF components level, rather than at the finished product level, is no longer sufficient to ensure IoT device quality.

Why do we need to verify the product performance after embedding the modules and antennas?
Wireless technology is complex, which is why it is necessary to confirm the performance of the finished products, as it might not satisfy the communication standards and regulations even if a wireless communications module itself does. As key factors for CPE/FWA devices, confirming the peak throughput performance and thermal status is very important.

Is the outdoor connectivity verified?
IoT also supports the ability to remotely control equipment or collecting real-time data. But IoT device vendors need to consider that their devices always have the possibility of increased performance quality risks in outdoor environments due to the presence of various types of RF signals. These RF signals may include signals that interfere with communication, which is why it is necessary to consider the suitable wireless communications performance for actual usage while still in the lab.
Is the delay in response time within the acceptable range?
Remote control sometimes requires fast response time to guarantee accurate and sometimes critical operations. The delay of data packet transmission may create an unduly stressful work environment which may increase the risk of accidents.

Is the connectivity with production equipment verified?
Smart factories, one of the hot topics in “Industry 5.0”, require simultaneous and massive connections to many pieces of production machinery, sensors, and various types of equipment and devices for gathering real-time data. For example, when using wireless LAN, the increased simultaneous access may deteriorate the ease of connection due to external noise and large packets being retransmitted at signal. This raises the necessity to consider the most appropriate wireless communications standard for the actual site.

Is the throughput sufficient?
XR technology can improve performance in several use-case, such as entertainment and remote assist. XR products need to provide stable connection with high-definition, high-frame rate video transmission to deliver the improved performance. If an XR product’s communications quality deteriorates on occasion, the end user may not receive the expected entertainment quality, causing disappointment with the product and possible loss of future sales for the company.
Have we verified the connection stability?
For the VR devices, sudden movements can increase latency, so it is necessary to confirm whether the connection remains stable.

Have we secured low power consumption?
Low power consumption is best for products with low data traffic and infrequent communications. Confirming the actual power consumption under the real use conditions is also recommended to ensure quality by keeping the battery life longer. The IoT device vendors select the suitable wireless technology and take care to design their products with the low power consumption needs in mind. That’s why most IoT products are designed to realize minimized data transmission period. If an IoT product has some issues and starts to frequently retransmit data, this may become critical a issue that shortens battery life.