Embedded Insiders Rethinking IoT Innovation: From Industrial Legacy Systems to Next-Gen Wi-Fi
Jan 8, 2026
Sviram Thrikudam, SVP of Wireless Products at Infineon, leads Wi‑Fi 7 IoT silicon and low‑power transceivers. Felix Galindo, Principal Engineer at Digi, specializes in industrial wireless, LoRaWAN, and legacy IoT challenges. They discuss aging industrial connectivity and upgrade headaches. They explore protocol choices, coexistence of multiple radios, Wi‑Fi 7 benefits for reliability and power, and planning for long‑lived IoT deployments.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Legacy Wireless Is Breaking
- Many industrial sites still run 15–30 year old proprietary wireless stacks that lack modern interoperability and security.
- These legacy systems are reaching breaking points as AI, edge processing, and higher data demands grow.
Avoid Patchwork Retrofits
- Avoid large-scale retrofits as the primary strategy because they leave weak links and security holes.
- Plan for replacement when legacy radios lack flash/RAM or vendor support rather than attempt brittle patches.
Hardware Limits Prevent Security Updates
- Older radios often cannot accept modern security updates due to constrained flash, RAM, and vendor end-of-life.
- That hardware constraint makes many legacy devices unpatchable and vulnerable long-term.