Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1442787
11 Parallel trends toward greater automation and more powerful analysis methods have combined to fuel the desire for better, timelier information in industrial, transportation, health, and many other segments. An explosion of smart sensor, processor, and associated technologies driving expectations toward more precise Internet of Things (IoT) applications is enabling these trends. This is fed by multiple streams of data representing accurate measurements of every event, state, and condition arising from that automation or contributing to those analysis methods. In working to meet these expectations, IoT device designers face significant challenges in finding balance among often-conflicting requirements for minimal cost and maximum performance—all delivered in compact IoT devices expected to operate for years on a single battery. Adding to that design burden is the sheer scale and complexity of emerging precision IoT applications, bringing with it challenges rarely found in traditional applications of embedded systems. In scaling these systems, developers face multiple challenges beyond the fundamental need to reduce design power, cost, and complexity. As an IoT network expands to hundreds or thousands of individual IoT devices, the logistics of installation and maintenance can quickly become untenable. Few organizations looking to deploy large-scale IoT applications are willing to accept additional costs for stringing power and signal cable, and in many facilities, hundreds or thousands of new cables may simply be impractical or even impossible. In many cases, the most desirable sensor data requires device placement in locations that are difficult to reach with even the most aggressive cable runs. IoT developers routinely build battery-powered wireless designs that can MEMS and MCUs in Precision IoT Devices By Stephen Evanczuk for Mouser Electronics Parallel trends toward greater automation and more powerful analysis methods have combined to fuel desire for better, timelier information in industrial, transportation, health, and many other segments. IoT