The Key to the Age of 5G + IoT
5G + IoT
The 5G is expected to provide faster speeds, lowered latency, Network support for massive increases in data traffic and expansion of cell sites. A 5G platform will benefit tremendously on IoT industries.
OpenThread
OpenThread released by Google is an open-source implementation of Thread®. It aims to make the networking technology used in Google Nest products more broadly available to developers, in order to accelerate the development of products for the connected home.
With a narrow platform abstraction layer and a small memory footprint, OpenThread is highly portable. It supports both system-on-chip (SoC) and network co-processor (NCP) designs.
OpenThread is recommended if you’re looking for an open source low-power, ipv6-based mesh networking protocol to build upon for your home connectivity application protocol. Thread is easy to install, start up, and operate. All devices in a Thread network are authenticated and all communications are encrypted. It can self-heal mesh networking, with no single point of failure, and spread-spectrum techniques to provide immunity to interference. More, low-power Thread devices can sleep and operate on battery power for years. Most importantly, thread networks can scale up to hundreds of devices.
However, a Thread network requires a Border Router to connect to other networks. A Thread Border Router is a Thread Network’s gateway to the outside world and connects a Thread network to other IP-based networks, such as Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
OpenThread’s implementation of a Border Router is called OpenThread Border Router (OTBR). OTBR is a Thread Certified Component on the Raspberry Pi 3B with a Nordic nRF52840 NCP.
The Border Router is intended for development purposes, to enable developers to connect their Thread network to the Internet during the development phase. It also supports the Thread native commissioning procedure by using NFC to initiate the process. The Border Agent functionality is also supported, which allows for performing an external commissioning procedure.
The Thread NCP example demonstrates an OpenThread application that can serve as a low-power wireless Network Co-Processor (NCP) to communicate with Userspace WPAN Network Daemon (wpantund) on Unix-like operating systems.
Summary
At the age of 5G, the network communication will be changed to roaming of Edge Router from Wifi that is no longer with the limitation of domains. The device would automatically search for signals of the cell sites with roaming on. A portable NCP might be the key to the application of 5G IoT in our daily life. The remote control of Smart City in real-time might not be a fiction anymore. We will discuss more on NCP with the infrastructure of Hybrid Blockchain in the next article.
References
1. OpenThread. https://openthread.io/
2. Designing for the future: the 5G NR physical layer. (2017). https://www.ericsson.com/en/ericsson-technology-review/archive/2017/designing-for-the-future-the-5g-nr-physical-layer
3. Thread Border Router. http://dev.ti.com/tirex/content/simplelink_academy_cc26x2sdk_1_15_03_10/modules/thread_01_border_router/thread_01_border_router.html
4. nRF5 SDK for Thread and Zigbee v3.0.0. Nordic Semiconductor.
https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.nordic.infocenter.thread_zigbee.v3.0.0%2Fthread_border_router.html
