Overview

Since its introduction in 1997, the adoption of Wi-Fi has been growing steadily. Over the years, Wi-Fi has become an integral part of our daily lives, with applications in households and workspaces, as well as in low power IoT devices.

Wi-Fi and its advances have fundamentally transformed the way we approach internet connectivity, providing instantaneous and seamless gigabit speeds. However, the requirements for enabling low power IoT devices are considerably different than those implemented for human-held devices. This led to the development of Wi-Fi 6, which brings remarkable enhancements over previous standards in areas such as multiple access and power saving, making it a game-changer not only for human-held devices, but especially for low power IoT devices as well.

In this lesson, we will introduce you to Wi-Fi technology, how it works, and some of its basic features. We will also touch upon the different players in the Wi-Fi ecosystem such as the IEEE and the Wi-Fi Alliance. Later, we will have a look at the features of Wi-Fi 6, explaining what makes it a key-enabler for low power IoT applications. Lastly, we will introduce Nordic Semiconductor’s Wi-Fi solution, the nRF70 Series, its main features and the development hardware available. In the exercise section, we will practice flashing a pre-compiled sample to your Nordic board and provisioning the device onto your local Wi-Fi network.

Objectives

• Gain an introductory understanding of the Wi-Fi technology.
• Briefly examine the basics of how Wi-Fi technology works, such as frequency bands, topologies, and commonly used terminology.
• Learn about the new features of Wi-Fi 6, such as Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Basic Service Set (BSS) coloring, beamforming, and Target Wake Time (TWT).
• Learn about the security features offered in Wi-Fi 6.
• Gain an understanding of Nordic’s Wi-Fi 6 offerings.
• Practice through a hands-on exercise how to provision your Nordic Wi-Fi 6 device via the nRF Wi-Fi Provisioner mobile app.