A new technology improves the energy consumption of wireless networks in industry

Wireless networks are essential for transferring data between devices. Various types exist (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, etc.) and each one suffers different limitations in energy consumption, capacity or the distance they cover. A new technology created by the UOC research group Wireless Networks (WiNe) makes it possible to save energy and improve efficiency in its use of communication frequencies. This low-cost solution can be applied to any mobile infrastructure and, most importantly, is suitable for the large-scale communications systems used in environments such as smart cities, industry, etc.

The new technology, called Smartclocks, improves the transfer of data because it accurately synchronizes the clocks of the devices in the network and allows efficient and collision-free data emission. Consequently, appliances used in smart cities, such as house alarms, electronic water meters and sensors in public works, among others, can send data to the cloud in real time and minimize the congestion they produce in the network.

Smartclocks, an initiative being promoted by the researchers Xavier Vilajosana (director of the group), Borja Martínez, Ferran Adelantado and Pere Tuset, works very well in the LPWAN networks (Low-Power Wide-Area Networks) that exist in different types of industries and infrastructures. These networks have a lower transfer capacity than other networks such as Wi-Fi. However, over a wide range, they have a limited bandwidth, and therefore a greater need to optimize data transfer to the maximum.

LPWAN networks, according to a report by Beecham Research (2015), are seen as useful allies of the Internet of Things (IoT) and form part of the 5G infrastructure that will connect society in the coming years. The study predicts that these networks will represent 26% of total IoT connectivity by 2020, with close to 345 million connections.

The invention is currently being patented by the European Patent Office (EPO).