IoT

Making an IoT System? Here are 5 Protocols to Consider

IoT protocols suggested by TE Connectivity: WIFI, Bluetooth, ZIGBEE, LORAWAN and NB-IoT.

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Trouble with the IoT connectivity alphabet soup? Here are 5 protocols to consider. (Image courtesy of TE Connectivity.)

Trouble with the IoT connectivity alphabet soup? Here are 5 protocols to consider. (Image courtesy of TE Connectivity.)

Designing an IoT application isn’t an easy task. You have to make the dang product, determine features that will be enhanced by an online experience and, of course, deal with that mountain of data.

But few aspects of IoT design are as murky as determining the optimal protocol to connect that smart device to the internet in the first place.

Let’s face it, the IoT’s list of connection protocols reads like a bowl of alphabet soup. Finding the one that is right for your application, while ensuring the connection will be timeless and compatible with partnereddevices can feel like playing darts with a blindfold.

Thankfully, TE Connectivity has created an infographic which gives the summary of 5 IoT communication protocols including: WIFI, Bluetooth Low Energy, ZIGBEE, LORAWAN and Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT). The infographic explains the typical application for each protocol, data rates, power consumption, cost, security and range.

Naturally, this is all very high level. An infographic won’t dig deep into the protocols to the point where you can identify the one that is best for your application. However, this infographic can help to quickly eliminate some protocols that do not fit your application.

Needless to say, you will still need to do some research into IoT connectivity protocols. As a result, here are some articles on engineering.com that might assist in this research:

Written by

Shawn Wasserman

For over 10 years, Shawn Wasserman has informed, inspired and engaged the engineering community through online content. As a senior writer at WTWH media, he produces branded content to help engineers streamline their operations via new tools, technologies and software. While a senior editor at Engineering.com, Shawn wrote stories about CAE, simulation, PLM, CAD, IoT, AI and more. During his time as the blog manager at Ansys, Shawn produced content featuring stories, tips, tricks and interesting use cases for CAE technologies. Shawn holds a master’s degree in Bioengineering from the University of Guelph and an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.