Smart home and smart building applications have become a popular application at present, and these systems need to be wirelessly connected in order to transfer the application data and the instructions issued by users. In order to improve the efficiency of the wireless communication of the system, external antennas must be used to improve the distance and stability of signal transmission. This article will show you the development of smart home and smart building applications, as well as Molex's external antenna solutions.
Smart applications need wireless network communication technology
At present, popular smart home and smart building applications all need to rely on wireless communication technology to connect various devices and systems. In the future, it will be necessary to create a people-centric home and office environment through seamless connection between people and buildings. Future buildings will integrate artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and ambient technologies, while smart home designers and buildings will connect corresponding new data nodes to bring people an enhanced occupant experience, utilizing the power of connection to optimize these new technologies and their product functions.
However, these smart systems usually need to use wireless communication for connections. The antenna plays an important role in transmitting and receiving signals. There are many kinds of antennas. Besides built-in antennas, external antennas have better signal transmission distance and stability, so they are also adopted by many smart devices.
At present, many smart home and building device manufacturers are increasingly turning to combined antenna solutions to meet the requirements of spectrum coverage and cost-efficiency control. These smart home and building devices include room lighting devices controlled by human body sensing or voice, and smart security cameras (stream live footage of all parts of the building are transmitted to mobile phones through applications), and other home surveillance cameras, touch panels with sensors, video doorbells, etc. With the increase of such devices, the signal antennas and applications used to connect these devices will become particularly important.
Business challenges in implementing intelligent technology
With the help of smart building technology, designers and developers can manage energy more efficiently and economically, while ensuring that the residents of the building are happy, safe, and comfortable, which depends on whether the surrounding environment can intelligently respond to and meet people's needs and realize “ambient computing” and “ambient intelligence” for functions and services of smart buildings that rely on underlying antenna solutions that support a variety of broadband wireless protocols with reliability and operational flexibility. The current situation is that in order to adapt to the new technology, users will eventually have to upgrade the stand-alone antennas used in the current devices, especially when adjustment and integration needs must be taken into account, which is relatively expensive.
The so-called ambient computing is composed of technologies embedded in the home environment, which integrates software and hardware, user experience, human-machine interaction, and the ability to learn instructions. The integration is completed by computers or internet-enabled devices. In the process of interaction between users and their surrounding environment, the devices will respond to these interactions without direct commands from users.
Moreover, ambient intelligence refers to the adoption of embedded, networked, context-aware, personalized, adaptive, and anticipatory systems and technologies in the environment. Ambient intelligence originates from the ubiquitous concepts of computing, profiling, context awareness, and human-centric human-computer interaction design, which can promote smart devices to work together and help people complete their required tasks and activities at home or in an office space.
Antenna solutions that integrate complete Wi-Fi subsystems with Bluetooth
Molex, with years of experience in connectors, also offers a variety of external antenna solutions that provide flexible wireless connections for future home and digital workspaces after transformation. These connection solutions are designed to support network connectivity and data services in smart buildings and can be used for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, global navigation satellite systems, and industrial, scientific, and medical/dedicated short range communications (ISM/DSRC), as well as multiple input multiple output (MIMO) devices and LoRA, cellular base stations (LTE/5G), and other applications.
Molex's 215868 series On-metal, dual-band, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth external antenna is a popular choice for wireless system integrators and many manufacturers such as smart home appliances and security/surveillance camera manufacturers. By integrating two complete Wi-Fi subsystems (2.4-GHz Wi-Fi and 5-GHz 802.11 ac Wi-Fi) with Bluetooth connectivity into one solution, the antenna enables two unique data streams to achieve maximum data throughput at the same time, maximizing the effect of two complementary technologies.
This On-metal, dual-band, Wi-Fi /Bluetooth external antenna is designed with a compact size that can save space. It is equipped with metal surface mount parts, which can be directly mounted onto the metal surface without affecting the RF performance of the antenna. The antenna can be easily mounted to any position of the device immediately through an adhesive or screws on the back of the antenna, and the connector and cable length can be adjusted by means of an ultra-miniature coaxial connector.
The applications of this antenna include security and surveillance in connected/smart home applications, home automation, home streaming media, entertainment, smart appliances, energy and utilities, etc. It can be applied for wireless solutions, smart home/factory/city and IT infrastructure in the field of IoT, for infrastructure in the field of telecommunications/networks, and for networking in commercial vehicles, with a wide range of applications.
A multi-Hub 5-in-1 Combo antenna is ideal for advanced applications
Besides, developers usually want to give full play to the powerful functions of 5G MIMO, Wi-Fi MIMO, and GPS connections, so the 216589 series multi-Hub Combo external antenna is highly recommended. This antenna includes 2×5G, 2 x Wi-Fi, and 1 x GPS antennas at the same time. The protection rating is IP67. It is available in a low-profile design and easy to install. It is suitable for wireless communication within and between automobiles and smart home buildings.
The multi-Hub 5-in-1 Combo antenna (5G MIMO/Wi-Fi MIMO/GPS) has built-in functional support including cellular base stations (LTE, 5G), MIMO*2, Wi-Fi (tri-band)*2 and GPS, making it an ideal choice for advanced applications. The antenna is directly mounted on the metal surface through the metal surface mount, and the radio frequency performance will not be affected. The back of the antenna is provided with an adhesive, which can quickly and easily paste the antenna at any position on the outer surface of the device. With the help of the SMA connector at the end of the cable, it is convenient for adjustment of the cable length and connection with the FAKRA connector.
This antenna has a wide range of applications, mainly including connected /smart home/building/factory, IoT and IT infrastructure and advanced applications of IoT. They can also be used in telecommunication network infrastructures, smart vehicles, networking, T-box communication modules in commercial vehicles, as well as special vehicles, and meet industry standards such as IP67 and RoHS.
Conclusion
With the introduction of various smart application devices on the market, we have gradually moved towards the ideal world of "Internet of Everything". However, to maintain the stability of network communication, we must rely on the assistance of external antennas. Combo external antenna solutions introduced by Molex can select the corresponding antenna according to the network communication protocol that needs to be supported, which will greatly improve the distance and stability of the connection of smart devices and is worthy of adoption by related products.
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