The management of workplace health and safety risks in the Covid-19 era has highlighted the importance of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for workers across industries including healthcare. Designers are now integrating technology, and often wireless solutions into equipment to create smart PPE. However, RF devices worn close to the body pose challenges, which Nick Wood, Sales & Marketing Director at RF circuit miniaturisation, system-in-package & antenna-in-package expert, Insight SiP reviews here…

Sophia Antipolis, France, [01 December 2020] – Insight SiP, a leading developer of ultra-miniature RF modules with embedded antennas, using System-in-Package and Antenna-in-Package technology, today announced it has signed an distribution agreement with Avnet Japan, a leading global technology solutions provider. In Japan, Avnet operates in nine major Japanese cities.

Bluetooth has existed for over 30 years. Zigbee nearly as long.  Other short-range radio technologies such as ANT+ and Thread are more recent. Poor interoperability in real world devices held back early Bluetooth adoption. The original vision of a general cable replacement technology was never realised due to excessive power consumption built into the standard. The need to frequently recharge devices undermined the utility of wireless connections and Bluetooth became an audio streaming technology. Zigbee found a niche in industrial applications and ANT+ in sports.  Evolution was slow until 10 years ago.

Karsten Steinhorst joins as Business Development Manager

Sophia Antipolis, France, 19 November 2020 - Insight SIP, the supplier of advanced miniature RF modules, is expanding its operations in the DACH region in line with its strong sales growth in the region . To support this growth, Insight SIP has appointed Karsten Steinhorst as Business Development Manager for the DACH region. Karsten brings a wealth of electronics component industry experience, having 25 years’ experience with wireless products, having previously worked at various companies including Telit and Stollmann. He will be based near Hamburg in northern Germany.

The explosion of the Internet of Things (IOT) has led to a proliferation of connected devices. These vary from small sensor devices, medical wearables, and connecting existing electronic industrial and consumer equipment. Many of these are connected ultimately to the internet and use one or more wireless channels.

This opens up many interesting possibilities to manage systems and assets more efficiently, but at the same time, such connections become a potential channel for malign attacks. Here we look at the core issues in securing such systems.

By Nick Wood, Sales & Marketing Director, Insight SiP – experts in RF circuit miniaturization, System-in-Package and Antenna-in-Package.

With Covid-19, there is greater awareness of the importance of PPE (personal protection equipment). Manufacturers raced to produce PPE in high volumes to protect frontline healthcare workers. A perfect storm of increased demand for workplace health and safety measures, for PPE to address them and the maturity of Industry 4.0 and IoT-based technologies has accelerated the development of “Smart PPE” solutions.

This module offers multi-protocol networking with Bluetooth 5.2 Long Range connectivity, BLE Direction-Finding and Bluetooth Mesh together with Zigbee and Thread capability. It also provides an extended operating temperature range up to 105^oC.

Sophia Antipolis, France – 07 October 2020 – Insight SIP is launching the 1907-HT RF module, which offers a huge range of capabilities in a tiny package. With its extended temperature range, it is ideal for Smart Lighting/Smart Building applications, and includes Bluetooth Mesh, Zigbee and Thread protocols to enable multimode networks.

In 2019, Insight SiP and its partner CYSEC, leading Swiss cybersecurity specialists, received an R&D grant from the Eurostars programme for their MEDIcal CYbersecure NEtwork project (“MEDICYNE”) proposal to develop an end-to-end secure communications solution for medical IoT devices. Our project was timely as the use of IoT-based connected devices in the healthcare sector has risen significantly. The arrival of Covid-19, pressure on healthcare budgets and increased demand for remote access healthcare solutions have injected a further sense of urgency into our project.

There are a number of alternative technologies available being promoted as lightweight Wide Area Networks (WANs). I use the term “lightweight WAN” to mean those using open spectrum, which in practice is the ISM bands around 400MHz, 900MHz and 2.4GHz (precise bands and rules vary by region across the world).

... with the aid of Insight SIP technology

Limbitless Solutions develops life-changing prosthetic limbs for children using 3-D printing and sophisticated electronics which include Insight SiP’s RF modules for wireless communication enabling children to adjust their prosthetics through an app. Wearing these bionic arms can make the children feel like superheroes.