Universal Multi-Rat Tester For Mmtc Applications
Radovan Juráň, Radek Možný · 2021
While the IoT has made significant progress along the lines of supporting its individual applications, there are many massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC) scenarios in which the performance offered by any single Radio Access Technology (RAT) available today might be insufficient.To address these use cases, we introduce the concept of multi-RAT tester, which implies the availability and utilization of several RATs within a single IoT device.We begin by offering insights into which use cases could be beneficial and what the key challenges for mMTC implementation are.We continue by discussing the potential technical solutions and employing our own prototype of a multi-RAT device capable of using different Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) communication technologies.It is assumed that use of multiple radios simultaneously will lead to overall improvement of communication parameters by leveraging the synergy between RATs.The novel vision enabled by the multi-RAT concept in this work could be impactful across multiple fields and calls for crosscommunity research efforts in order to adequately design, implement, and deploy future multi-RAT mMTC solutions.