Each time we begin the Wireless Product Development Discussion, we always start with the same questions.  The answers will determine the type of hardware and software that is best suited to get the job done.

1. How far does the wireless link have to operate?  The farther the distance, the stronger the required radio.  Greater distances with many units in between may imply a mesh configuration would work best.
   
   
2. What kind of obstacles will there be in a typical installation environment?  If the transmitter and receiver are within line-of-site, you can get greater distance with less power.
   
   
3. How much data do you want to transmit?  How often?  Is a slight delay acceptable?  These questions help determine how much can be done to preserve battery life by allowing the devices to take advantage of sleep mode.  But programming sleep cycles, of course, makes the application more difficult to develop when you cannot assume an immediate response.
   
   
4. How long do you expect the batteries to last?  This question paired with your answer from question 3 will determine power requirements.
   
   
5. What are the  size and installation requirements?  Does the transmitter unit need to fit inside an enclosure that is already designed?  How important is a small enclosure?  The trade-off is that high power requirements require bigger batteries.
   
   
6. What are the reliability requirements?  Truth is, wireless communication is not guaranteed.  While it may work fine for monitoring inventory or maintenance sensors, they are terrible for monitoring mission critical events like a life support system!