Unlocking the processing power of wireless modules

By Jacques Suire, Sierra Wireless

By taking advantage of the processing power of a wireless module, embedded designers can typically eliminate the system microcontroller and thus create an advanced, cellular-enabled system that is smaller, more efficient, and much cheaper to produce. This article gives guidelines for choosing a module that will act as both microcontroller and modem.

When looking to add cellular connectivity to an embedded system, many designers choose a wireless module like the one shown in figure 1, since the device contains all the analog and digital circuitry necessary for producing, transmitting, and decoding data over a cellular network. The developer can interact with the module using familiar interfaces like UART and USB, and does not have to be concerned with the complex analog aspects of cellular communications. Compared to a custom RF solution, a wireless module can shorten time to-market, be less expensive to debug and prototype, and be more cost-effective in mass production…

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