Intel Reveals Worlds Smallest Modem for the Internet of Things

Intel has revealed what it calls “the world’s smallest standalone wireless modem for connecting the Internet of things”. This could be any everyday thing that is connected to the web, like coffee machines or bread-makers that you can turn on with a mobile app. The Intel XMM 6255 3G modem is a chip that connects a device to a cellular network, which in turn can link billions of interconnected smart devices such as wearables, sensors, and industrial equipment and it is only a little larger than a penny.

It is expected that the number of Internet-connected devices is going to rise to number between 26 billion and 50 billion by the year 2020. Right now it is estimated that there are 80 things connecting to the Internet for the first time every second and that will rise to 250 every second in 2020 according to predictions. All those devices needs a lot of modems, so it isn’t hard to see how big this little thing is.

The entire XMM 6255 board is only 300 mm² and that includes the modem and a SMARTi UE2p transceiver component which operates on a tiny amount of electrical power. The smaller the chip and its components, the less electrical power is needed to run them. It is built to deal with low signal strength in a network, so it can work fine in places like a parking garage or home basement. Previous smart watches or sensors didn’t have enough space for proper 3G antennas. I’m sure it won’t be long until these new 3G modems will be in more things then we know about, from dairy farms to cell phones and everything in between.

We could even see t-shirts like the above image, for real and with multi player option against your friends. Why play on a device when you can be the device.

Thank you venturebeat for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Intel.