Showing posts with label ZigBee. Show all posts

Monday, April 18, 2016

Qorvo buys GreenPeak Technologies to access the Internet of Things

One of the pioneers of the Internet of Things, Greenpeak Technologies, has been bought as part of the continuing consolidation in the semiconductor industry.

GreenPeak and its founder and CEO Cess Links, has been a vocal advocate of Zigbee for IoT applications in the home and enterprise.:

ZigBee transceiver adds Wi-Fi coexistence and deep packet inspection for Wake-on-LAN

http://www.electronics-eetimes.com/news/zigbee-adds-energy-harvesting-pro-profile

Qorvo is the result of the merger of RF MicroDevices and GaAs speciliast TriQuint in 2014, and bringing GreenPeak in gives ultra-low power, short range RF communication technology for IoT. The acquisition of Netherlands-based GreenPeak will allow Qorvo to expand its customer offering to include highly integrated RF solutions and systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) for the connected home and the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT).

“The acquisition of GreenPeak Technologies will complement Qorvo’s market-leading high power RF portfolio with innovative ultra-low power, short-range wireless personal area network (WPAN) SoCs, ZigBee and Bluetooth solutions. GreenPeak brings a world-class technical team and solutions to Qorvo, allowing us to increase our presence in the rapidly expanding IoT market,” said

James Klein, president of Qorvo’s Infrastructure and Defense Products (IDP) group.

Links will head up the IDP group within Qorvo. “Our team is excited to join Qorvo and continue our legacy of creating ultra-low power RF solutions for our customers. We believe Qorvo will be a great environment for the GreenPeak team to grow as part of a much larger company serving many more global customers,” he said.

GreenPeak Technologies adds longer range, robustness and best-in-class WiFi interference rejection with no latency in production-ready reference designs that will allow quick time to market for integration into smart home and IoT applications. In 2015, GreenPeak celebrated shipment of its 100 millionth ZigBee chip to the smart home market.

According to research firm Gartner, Smart Home networking and IoT markets addressed by 802.15.4, ZigBee and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology are estimated to grow to $2.3 billion by 2020; and related smart markets such as retail, agriculture, automotive, lifestyle and commercial lighting are expected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2020. Beyond smart home networking, demand is growing to connect a variety of devices including HVAC, energy, security, home health, and remote controls utilizing innovative ultra-low power wireless data communication SoCs.

www.qorvo.com

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Libelium gives portable Bluetooth access to Wireless Sensor Networks

Module provides medical and industrial users with access to wireless sensor data.

Enables the deployment of hybrid sensor networks that use both ZigBee and Bluetooth protocols.

By Nick Flaherty 13th May 2010

Libelium in Spain has developed a new Bluetooth module for its Waspmote wireless sensor network (WSN) platform that enables wireless sensor networks to be directly linked to portable devices such as smart phones, PDAs and laptop computers. This is particularly useful for medical applications and for industrial diagnostics and when combined with the Meshlium multi-protocol router, it supports the deployment of hybrid ZigBee- and Bluetooth-based wireless sensor networks.
The new Bluetooth module extends the Waspmote platform by offering a new choice for radio communication. The platform is extremely modular allowing the use of a wide range of modules for both wireless communication and sensors. Now WSN users can choose between a Bluetooth module and a range of ZigBee modules covering the main frequency bands (2.4GHz, 868MHz, 900MHz). Libelium CTO David Gascón says, “This module will be particularly useful for medical applications requiring the integration of biometric sensors and for sending sensor information to Bluetooth-equipped industrial systems”. He adds, “Users with existing Bluetooth-based infrastructure will be able to extend it to include Waspmote and its range of sensors”.
The new module exploits key features of the platform such as power management. The Waspmote internal microprocessor minimises energy consumption by switching the radio module on and off at the necessary intervals. The new module is able to send sensor data frames to smart phones that support Serial Port Profile. Security mode is implemented with PIN validation which can be preconfigured such as a “Network Key” and it allows the management of a Trusted Nodes list in order to create secured networks.
Waspmote users are also now able to build hybrid networks with both Bluetooth and ZigBee sub-networks if they use the Libelium Meshlium multi-protocol router to bridge between the sub-networks. With both Bluetooth and ZigBee using the 2.4GHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio band there is the possibility of interference. For this reason Waspmote enables Bluetooth and ZigBee communication to work in the same environment by using Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) which enables the Bluetooth radio to dynamically identify channels already in use and to avoid them.
Users are able to flexibly change a device between ZigBee and Bluetooth as all the modules use the same kind of socket on the Waspmote board. The platform has an open source API and programming environment; new libraries are available to support the Bluetooth module. David Gascón says “Waspmote’s architecture means that each additional module adds value to the platform”. Complete documentation and code examples can be found at http://www.libelium.com/waspmote.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Synapse and Silicon Labs Launch Wireless Module for Mesh Networks

Sub-GHz connectivity for smart meters, building automation and personal medical devices

Synapse Wireless and Silicon Laboratories have teamed up to develop a wireless mesh network solution that combines the SNAP network operating system with Silicon Labs' Si1000 wireless microcontroller (MCU). The combined software/hardware solution - the Synapse RF Engine module - makes it easy to deploy a scalable, ultra-low-power, small-footprint wireless mesh network for a wide range of applications including smart meters, wireless sensors, Zigbee networks, building automation, commercial lighting control, personal medical devices and RFID asset tracking systems.

The SNAP network operating system provides a high-performance wireless mesh network protocol that supports Internet-enabled, wireless machine-to-machine communications, and offers an embedded Python interpreter for easy application development. Providing the intelligence behind the Synapse RF Engine, SNAP runs on Silicon Labs' Si1000 wireless MCU, which combines an ultra-low-power processor core with a high-performance sub-GHz RF transceiver delivering high-bandwidth and extended-range wireless connectivity.

SNAP allows wireless applications to be developed quickly and easily using Python's English-like scripting language instead of complex embedded programming. The developer simply adds the application to SNAP, residing on the RF module, over-the-air. No embedded wireless programming experience is required to develop applications and deploy them to physical SNAP nodes. Instead of being burdened with the underlying complexities of a wireless mesh network, the developer can focus on getting the application to market quickly.

The intelligent SNAP network operating system enables nodes to join the mesh network instantly and the software's over-the-air programming and Python interpreter ensure easy, fast and flexible application development.

The Synapse RF Engine provides a turnkey hardware/software solution that developers can deploy immediately in their end products. It also offers an easy-to-use development platform for system engineers who want to migrate their wireless designs to high-volume applications using the Si1000 MCU running SNAP as embedded firmware.

"The collaboration between Silicon Labs and Synapse has resulted in a best-in-class, sub-GHz wireless networking solution that combines the industry's lowest power wireless MCU with the sophisticated networking and Internet connectivity capabilities of SNAP," said Wade Patterson, Synapse Founder, President and CEO. "The jointly developed wireless platform will streamline the development of cost-effective and energy-efficient mesh networks."

Developers using the Si1000-based Synapse RF Engine will have access to the full product and service offerings from Synapse. This includes custom design services for solving tough, engineering challenges in OEM product design; the Synapse Portal wireless application development environment for ease in network management and rapid application development; and SNAP Connect, for seamless integration to the Internet.

"The combination of the Si1000 wireless MCU and SNAP provides a comprehensive mesh networking solution for ISM band applications in the sub-GHz range," said Mark Thompson, vice president of embedded mixed-signal products at Silicon Labs. "Using this combined hardware/software solution, developers can get their wireless applications up and running quickly and easily while benefiting from the power-efficient, battery-saving capabilities of the Si1000 MCU and its exceptional wireless range and performance."

Synapse SNAP Network Operating System
Synapse's SNAP network operating system is an Internet-enabled, IEEE 802.15.4-based, instant-on, multi-hop, mesh network, software solution designed to cost-effectively run efficiently over a range of popular microprocessors and microcontrollers. SNAP has a very small memory footprint of only 45 kB, thereby leaving more space for user applications. SNAP can support up to 16 million nodes in a single network. Since these are peer-to-peer mesh networks, there is no single point of failure: any node can talk directly to any other node that is in range, and any node can talk indirectly to any other node via intermediate nodes - SNAP networks are self-healing. Users can interactively develop applications using a high-level English-like language called Python. No embedded programming experience is required. Synapse currently has more than 900 registered SNAP users.

Silicon Labs Si1000 Wireless MCU
The Si1000 wireless MCU, a member of the Si10xx family, combines a 25 MHz 8051 core, EZRadioPRO® sub-GHz RF transceiver, 64 kB of flash and a 10-bit ADC - all in a compact 5 mm x 7 mm package. As the industry's only sub-GHz 8-bit wireless MCUs, the Si10xx family offers market-leading RF performance with the highest output power and sensitivity and lowest power wake-up transition. The Si10xx family's integrated power and low-noise amplifiers enable an RF link budget of greater than 140 dB without active external elements, resulting in extended range, higher bandwidth and lower power consumption. The industry's most power-efficient wireless MCU solution, the Si10xx family provides the lowest current in common modes of operation. The wireless MCUs offer the lowest active-mode current consumption (160 microamps per MHz). In sleep mode, they consume only 315 nanoamps using the internal low frequency RTC. In deep-sleep mode, they can operate on as little as 25 nA with full RAM retention.

Pricing and Availability
The Si1000 MCU-based Synapse RF Engine module is available today from Synapse and MSRP priced at USD$29 for 1-unit quantities with volume discounts available. The Synapse SNAP evaluation download for the Si1000 MCU is also available from Synapse.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Long range module runs Bluetooth over 1.2km

ConnectBlue has developed a long range Bluetooth module that provides an exceptionally long range of 1.2km, high throughput and the Extended Data Mode protocol which makes individual data channel communication possible for each unit in the 7-slave multi-point network.
The new OEM Serial Port Adapter 433 achieves its exceptional range of over 1200 meters through high receiver sensitivity and output power. In order to provide the highest throughput possible, the module supports Bluetooth Specification v2.1+EDR and is prepared for Bluetooth v3.0 via firmware upgrade.
“Our customers are found in demanding industrial applications and in these tough conditions, it is particularly important with wireless connections that are reliable,” said Rolf Nilsson, President of connectBlue. “Expanding the range to 1200 meters puts extra demands on a wireless solution and we have therefore focused on expanded testing in order to deliver a robust and ready-to-use experience for the customer.”
The customer can be up and running in no time since the Bluetooth stack is embedded in the module and no additional driver or stack is required in the host. Further, the OEM Serial Port Adapter 433 is fully Bluetooth qualified and radio type approved for Europe, US and Canada, and has the connectBlue standard interface for compatibility over product generations and across wireless technologies Bluetooth, Wireless LAN and IEEE 802.15.4 / ZigBee. The Bluetooth module is also compliant with EMC, Safety and Medical standards.
Key features of the OEM Serial Port Adapter 433 Bluetooth module include high speed UART logic level and RS232 (SPIand I2C on request), analog and digital I/Os, easy configuration by AT commands, connectBlue Low Emission Mode™, Wireless Multidrop™ with up to 7 channels, Extended Data Mode for individually controlled multipoint data channels, repeater mode, and a choice of internal or external antenna. The module supports the Bluetooth profiles Serial Port Profile (SPP), Personal Area Networking Profile (PAN), Generic Access Profile (GAP), Dial-up networking Profile (DUN GW, DUN DT), File Transfer Profile (FTP) and Object push Profile (OPP).

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