Understanding IoT System on Chip (SoC) and Its Types

Introduction

IoT System on Chip (SoC) integrates multiple components, such as processors, memory, and communication interfaces, onto a single chip. This compact design ensures efficient performance for IoT devices. This article explores the features, types, and applications of IoT SoCs, showcasing their importance in modern IoT systems. Let’s explore an SoC designed by Redpine Signals. This IoT SoC supports WLAN, Bluetooth, and Zigbee systems on a single chip and also supports 2.4 and 5GHz radio frequencies.

As we know, IoT is the technology that facilitates communication between “things,” and between “things” and people, using the internet and IP-enabled protocols. As we’ve seen in the IoT tutorials, any IoT-compliant system will have two major parts: the front end and the back end. The front end provides connectivity with the physical world and consists of sensors, while the back end consists of processing and network connectivity interfaces.

Typical IoT System on Chips support more than one RAT (Radio Access Technology). They will usually include the following modules:

• Transmit and receive switch.
• RF part, mainly consisting of Transmitter, receiver, oscillator and amplifiers.
• Memories i.e. Program memory, data memory to store the code and data.
• Physical layer (baseband processing) either on FPGA or on a processor based on complexity and latency requirement.
• MAC layer and upper protocol stacks (TCP/IP etc.) running on processor.
• ADC and DAC to provide interface between digital baseband and analog RF portions.
• Various interfaces such as SDIO, USB, SPI etc to provide interface with the host.
• Other peripherals such as UART, I²C, GPIO, WDT etc. to use the IoT SoC for various connections.

As IoT System on Chips support multiple wireless protocols and RF hardware to support multiple frequency bands, the following factors need to be carefully analyzed and optimized:

• Power consumption
• Data throughput
• Device size
• Performance in terms of latency and other factors

Figure depicts one such IoT System on Chip model no. RS9113, which has been designed and developed by Redpine Signals. It supports WLAN (802.11n), Bluetooth version 4.0, and Zigbee (802.15.4-2006) in the same chip. Hence, the IoT device can be connected with any of the said wireless technology based networks.

This IoT SoC (system on chip in IoT) can be used for numerous applications as mentioned below:

• Mobile
• M2M Communication
• Real-time location finding tags
• Thermostats
• Smart meters
• Wireless sensor devices
• Serial to WiFi converter
• Voice Over WiFi compliant phones
• Home automation
• Health care devices and equipment

Refer to the following links to learn more about IoT sensors, components, the cellular concept of IoT, and considerations to be taken while using IoT-compliant devices.

Conclusion

IoT SoCs are transforming the way IoT devices are designed by offering compact, efficient, and scalable solutions. Understanding their types and applications is crucial for leveraging their full potential in IoT deployments.