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8 Experts on Overcoming Challenges of RF Solution Design 29 off in industrial environments, so the antenna must be inside the enclosure, which creates problems if, for example, the enclosure is entirely made of metal. Some wireless modules are now available with innovative features to tackle these challenges, which can greatly simplify antenna design, reduce costs and improve performance. Other factors also contribute to the difficulty and costs of a design. Software development is one, and although you can consider it a fixed, one-time investment in the design process, you have to plan for continuous development and software security updates. Depending on whether the device has its own operating system, you may need to create device driver code. There are great opportunities in optimizing power consumption and implementing power management at the hardware and software levels. The radio-frequency (RF) section is where most energy is drawn in an IoT device. Many microcontrollers and integrated circuits consume relatively very little energy, which is great for small devices, but the RF section remains a big challenge, and there is a lot of room for improvement. Several factors influence power usage, including temperature, antenna, how frequently you synchronize data, how much data you send, and signal strength. In some cases, innovative algorithms and artificial intelligence as cloud services can make real-time adjustments to a device's data transmission strategy, based on its location and RF connectivity parameters, which can result in dramatic power savings. Having the right tools, knowledge and a reliable electronics component supplier is the key to success to building the best in-class IoT device. Using the latest integrated circuit wireless modules rather than designing a custom RF section on the printed circuit board is essential for managing design costs. Coming up with your own design is a huge investment that makes sense only if you have a special requirement and a large budget. A wireless module makes things easier: you buy the modem chip and design minimal RF circuitry that connects the antenna. Some chips come ''A wireless module makes things easier: you buy the modem chip and design some minimal RF circuitry that connects to the antenna. Some chips come with great documentation and guidelines, which speeds that part of the design process and reduces design risks"