How Mesh Networks Can Create Smoother Connections

New Tech Tuesdays

Join journalist Tommy Cummings for a weekly look at all things interesting, new, and noteworthy for design engineers.

Published May 31, 2022

Wireless mesh networks can create a smoother experience when it comes to connectivity. Mesh networks are a group of internet hubs that all work together to relay and maintain connections for users.

Especially in a household or office setting, mesh networking certainly beats the alternative: WiFi^® gateways that were prone to weak coverage.

Mesh networks are ideal for better coverage in hard-to-cover areas such as hallways and near walls for outdoor coverage. That comes in handy when several walls separate the home office from the main router.

In a mesh network, if one point fails to deliver data—as an example, your WiFi signal drops—communication is simply rerouted through another point. Dead or slow spots are eliminated, and the stations piggyback on one another so users have a continuous link no matter where they are in the home.

The concept of mesh networks first appeared in the 1980s in military experiments. But because of cost, a scarcity of radio spectrum, and other limitations, mesh didn't emerge until around 2015 when some startups and a few established hardware companies began offering the expensive mesh nodes.

Mesh networks have several advantages.

Most of them include a user-friendly smartphone app so that we don't need to call a large company to manage our systems. Mesh networks cover smart speakers, televisions, watches, and even bathroom scales, no matter which rooms they're in, with less chance of internet interruption.

Designers, and most users, can customize networks to any size imaginable. Each hub is a single piece in the entire network, so if expansion is needed, just expand. A mesh network also works on many nodes in one network and can dynamically configure itself. The networks' nodes are constantly discovering path changes, relaying them to other nodes, and doing the rerouting for optimum performance and coverage.

In this week's New Tech Tuesdays, we'll look at new products from Silicon Labs, Telink, and Nordic Semiconductor that can be configured into mesh networking projects.

Multiprotocol Wireless SoCs, IOT Solutions, Dev Kit

Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Mighty Gecko Series 2 Multiprotocol Wireless SoCs are designed to increase processing capability, improve radio frequency performance, and lower active current. The device offers an 80MHz ARM Cortex-M33 core with a dedicated security core that provides faster encryption, secure boot loading, and debug access control. The EFR32MG21 is applicable in Internet of Things Multi-Protocol devices, lighting, connected home systems, gateways and digital assistants, and building automation and security.

Telink TLSR825x Series Multi-Protocol IoT Solutions can be used in single-chip ultra-low-power (ULP) solutions for IoT and Human Interface Devices at the ISM 2.4GHz band. They're also applicable in wearable devices, smart lighting, smart home devices, advanced remote controls, and wireless toys. The TLSR825x supports BLUETOOTH® LE 5.0 with a 2X data rate, and 4X long-range (LR). They also provide 8X advertising packet extension (AE), and up to 8 antennas for indoor positioning.

Nordic Semiconductor nRF5340 Development Kit develops the nRF5340 SoC, which combines a high-performance application processor with a fully programmable, ultra-low-power network processor. The kit supports development with an extensive range of wireless protocols.

Tuesday's Takeaway

In comparison to early versions and the single, standalone gateway setup, mesh networking has an array of advantages. Mesh networks solve coverage issues with many household devices and dynamically configure themselves for optimum coverage and performance. Those are advantages that are hard to beat.