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Draft:Universal Communication Module

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Universal Communication Module (UCM) is optional electronic device which main function is to provide communication abilities to a main connected device. Such devices are widely used in Internet of Things (IoT) in home and industrial applications. In general, they support wireless standards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE, Sigfox, etc. as “northbound” communication path with Cloud service or on-premises server and RS-485, RS-232, CAN, Ethernet as “southbound” interface with device. In automotive industry UCM can be also called as TCU.

Most of the modern universal communication modules are software defined which allows them to support wide range of connected devices without changing hardware electronics part. The integrations are developed with low-code languages such as Lua, TypeScript or no-code such as Nodered. The other important feature of software is Over the Air (OTA) software updates for security and new functions.

Form-factor wise there are many different options. Some technology providers are providing electronics boards with separate software which tend to be integrated with devices during manufacturing phase.[1], others provide modules as stand-alone devices which can be connected with any device during installation or upgrade phase of device[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Production-Ready Devices for Connected Products".
  2. ^ "Universal Communication Modules (UCM) | Enapter Handbook".