Amazon is a company that always seeks to bring innovations and new technologies to its community. For this reason we were now surprised with a new connection protocol that allows us to have a great coverage more frequently.
The main idea of this innovation is to solve those loose ends that cannot be reached by the technologies that we already know as the Wi-Fi . This is one of the most current news, and is considered the technological revolution .
If you are interested in knowing more about this technology, how it works and its qualities that make it unique, we invite you to read below, because in this post we leave everything you need for you to be aware of this innovation.
Index:
What is Amazon Sidewalk and what is this new technology for?
Last time, at a hardware event in Seattle , Amazon launched a big announcement, and it was that Sidewalk, a completely new protocol, was coming under the broadband and long distance connection developed in order to more efficiently connect all devices inside or outside our home.
Amazon argues that with this innovation seeks to solve the problems that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi fail to solve, and this is the one that consumes less compared to 5G that is very complex and has a high cost.
“We came up with something we call Amazon Sidewalk,” said Amazon device chief Dave Limp.
This is a new network of low bandwidth totally free with a spectrum of 900 megahertz per existing air , mentioned that according to the studies, it is the most suitable to track things and always keep them updated.
Although, being something new yet, there are some details that can be improved. But Amazon says it’s totally useful for connecting devices up to a mile away, always depending on the location of the base station and the devices .
Amazon for now announced that it will publish the protocol, and will allow time for different manufacturers to integrate to this connection and connect between the different devices.
From the little that is known, we can say that it is the evolution for the connection that will allow us to move forward in this era in which we live.
What are the main features of the Amazon wireless networking protocol?
Amazon claims that devices called Internet of Things can do many things more efficiently if they have a better wireless connection. This makes life easier for us, when we place sensors in places where we need to constantly check the status or situation.
All that is better understood by knowing some of its characteristics:
Frequency band used
Its function is to extend coverage , with a frequency band of 900MHz. Your signal will dim very little and is able to transfer its frequency above the walls , causing a rebound until you reach the destination.
Another very important aspect, as we already mentioned, is the low energy it consumes , since IoT devices will not have to use much energy to achieve a stable connection, so it would not matter if the devices have small rechargeable batteries.
Among Amazon’s plans is to publish this great network protocol, which will undoubtedly serve to increase its connection range between different devices.
Speed and coverage
IoT devices have great speed, that is, they do not need it. Since in itself an IoT device only receives and sends a package of instructions , such as turning the light on or off, checking for moisture somewhere, or other basic activities.
It is a protocol more than everything for those devices that require more activities , where it can be included until the firmware update automatically. In itself, more than speed, this protocol offers greater coverage .
Amazon Sidewalk Mesh
This feature is very interesting because with this new Amazon protocol , a mesh network is sought. In other words, a network where all those around can connect to each other , this with the aim of increasing the wireless coverage that the connected IoT devices will provide us.
Amazon has managed to verify that the important thing for good communication is not the speed but the signal or coverage , so he shows that, with a coverage of several access points up to 500 meters , will allow us to have a better experience .
Mesh guarantees us that the more houses or more points there are, the better coverage we will have between the IoT devices .
Amazon Sidewalk vs WiFi Which is better and how are they different?
As we know, Amazon seeks to implement a technology that reaches greater coverage in terms of coverage, while Wi-Fi offers more than anything else is faster. But to give more detail read below.
Security
Amazon seeks to implement a better security system when communicating and transmitting data, so that they are not altered. For this reason its frequency in some sites is higher than that of Wi-Fi. On the other hand, Wi-Fi offers a secure connection but not enough, because leaves many gaps where it exposes us to threats , so the Sidewalk is better compared.
Reach
As we have already mentioned enough, and we will continue to do so, Sidewalk efficiently covers this great problem that Wi-Fi has failed to do. Amazon’s opinion is that a device with greater coverage and greater reach has better communication and the rest is linked along with it. Recall also that Amazon has designed this technology for IoT devices.
Speed
For now, the main objective of Amazon is not fast communication or fast data transmission, because as we already mentioned its objective is to provide a greater scope for connection and communication between devices, and that is logically There is no good speed when your coverage is not enough .
What other protocols for loT devices other than Amazon Sidewalk exist?
There are different protocols that can also fulfill the same functions or similar features of Amazon Sidewalk. Such qualities are: great coverage and low power consumption in the different connected devices; also that thanks to the coverage it offers you can request many more activities at the same time.
Zigbee
This is a wireless communication protocol that is based under the standard 802.15.4 encryption of wireless networks, whose goal is to achieve secure communication with wide wireless coverage and a bit of energy consumption low, because it is specifically focused on IoT devices.
Another important feature of this protocol is that it also incorporates mesh network technologies, known as Mesh. It even provides easy integration, as it allows us to manufacture connection nodes with very little electronics.
Zigbee allows us to connect to a maximum of 65535 nodes, which are distributed in smaller networks. This typology can be in star and even in tree.
This type of low frequency band technology , in order to improve coverage, normally uses a frequency in Europe of 868 MHz and 915 MHz in the US, although sometimes You can use 2.4GHz. It is a free protocol all over the world, where you do not need specific developers to be used.
Zigbee offers a maximum coverage of 100 meters, with a data rate of 250Kbps, being enough to do basic tasks on IoT devices, and even update the firmwares of the equipment. If we use an 868 MHz band in Europe, the round speed would be 20Kbps.
Within Zigbee technology there are other sub-devices, where the coordinator is in charge of controlling the network as such, as well as the paths so that the devices can connect to them; The router is the one that interconnects with the devices that are separated by the network topology. In other words, it is responsible for routing traffic, thus preventing a collapse in the networks.
The last sub-device is the final device, known as IoT, which is responsible for wirelessly connecting the routers directly to the coordinator, this being the basis of everything.
LoRa
This is a wireless communication protocol that uses a frequency of 800 and 900 MHz, in order to expand coverage, a quality that improves communication. The coverage can reach up to a distance of 5 km in an urban area, being these areas where interference is supposed to be greater, and in remote places with a range of up to 15 km >.
If compared with Zigbee, it uses less energy, with a round speed of 0.3 to 22 Kbps with a modulation LoRA, but can be increased up to 100 Kbps using GFSK. The network topology of LoRA is very similar to that of Zigbee since they connect directly to IoT devices.
But using this protocol brings with it some disadvantages , such as speed, network size (it is limited) and is not the most ideal for real-time applications that require minimal latency. Of course, provides great efficiency to avoid interference .
DECT
This is one of the best known protocols , because it is the most standard allowing the digital wireless connection correctly. Today most of the wireless phones we buy have this technology, because it is the most suitable to connect to the base, send and receive information.
This standard has with a frequency of 1900 MHz in Europe , with a speed of approximately 32 Kbps and a range of up to 300 meters. One of the most important manufacturers such as AVM FRITZ , has been using this technology on its wireless routers (Wi-Fi) for many years now, with functions beyond simply connecting wireless phones.
NB-IoT
NB-IoT is one of the most commonly used 3GPP networks for the Internet of Things , this technology being dependent on the 2G, 3G, 4G networks or 5G, promoting greater wireless coverage to the devices, and it is the 3GPP response of protocols such as Zigbee and LoRA as we have shown previously.
This type of technology mainly focuses on coverage for interior spaces, with a low price. Extends to the maximum the autonomy of the batteries of the devices, in other words it does not need a high energy consumption.
LTE-M
LTE-M is a protocol very similar to the previous one, being one of its advantages the great speed of download and upload, reaching up to 1Mbps. It is widely used in M2M communications, a sector where it enjoys great popularity. But the difference is the cost, which is much higher than the NB-IoT .