BOSTON, Nov 17, 2003 — Ember Corporation today released the first widely available, low-cost 2.4GHz /250Kbps RF solution that complies with the new IEEE 802.15.4 standard. The 802.15.4 standard makes wireless communication possible in demanding environments, such as building and industrial automation, asset management and national defense. Ember’s EM2420 is the only wireless solution to combine a chip with an embedded networking software stack, making it the foundation of a new generation of wireless applications. Ember will be demonstrating the EM2420 at the Nov. 19 ZigBee Alliance Open House in San Jose, CA.
Developed jointly with Oslo, Norway-based semiconductor design and manufacturing company Chipcon, the EM2420 is the first product to give companies all the essential elements for developing 802.15.4 compliant wireless applications in an integrated package. The 802.15.4 radio standard is designed to support low-cost, low power, interoperable wireless networking applications for remotely monitoring and controlling anything from a child’s toy to a sprawling manufacturing facility to the wear and tear on a bridge.
The EM2420 was developed with embedded engineers in mind, implementing all the time-critical functions in hardware and designed to interface to any low-cost microcontroller. This allows designers and manufacturers to build economical but high performance systems.
Advance Transformer Company, a division of Philips Electronics and a leader in the digital ballast arena, is looking to technology like the EM2420 to help drive new initiatives in the lighting industry.
Advance Transformer is spearheading the next generation of wireless digital lighting control and is working closely with technology partners like Ember to make its vision a reality. Wireless networks built on the EM2420 are orders of magnitude cheaper to deploy and maintain than hard-wired networks. Corporations can use EM2420-enabled wireless applications for controlling building systems such as lighting, HVAC, and security as part of the integrated building envelope.
“We hope to accelerate the adoption of wireless digital lighting control throughout the commercial, industrial, and institutional building markets we currently serve,“ said Andrew Wale, vice president of business development for Advance Transformer. “With a drive towards more sustainable buildings, wireless lighting control utilizing the type of technology offered by products like the EM2420, when integrated into our digital ballasts, provides a key building block in enabling the economic, environmental, and social benefits that sustainability offers building owners.”
In addition to enabling lighting, temperature and security applications, the EM2420 can also support applications for remotely controlling industrial devices in facilities such as factories and wastewater treatment plants; monitoring physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges; and mobile applications such as temperature and humidity monitoring for preventing fresh food spoilage.
“It has been a real pleasure co-developing product with Ember,” said Geir Forre, CEO of Chipcon, “Several of the chip’s important features were included because of Ember’s unique knowledge of the new IEEE 802.15.4 standard.” Chipcon will market the same chip as the CC2420 without embedded networking software.
Standard compliance, low power and long life
Ember offers companies in every industry a ready-to-go platform for building wireless applications. Using the embedded networking intelligence of EmberNet and the Ember Studio suite of application development tools, the EM2420 RF solution enables companies to concentrate on developing applications in their areas of expertise rather than integrating tools or switching to new ones. Its compliance with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, and support for emerging applications like ZigBee, makes the EM2420 highly resistant to interference, which so far has limited wireless applications’ use in vehicles, office buildings and industrial facilities.
The EM2420 RF solution combines a transceiver with embedded networking software that can run on very low-cost, low-power microprocessors. It operates on 16 channels in the 2.4GHz worldwide ISM band, with hardware-based AES 128-bit encryption to ensure secure communications. Among the EM2420’s key features are:
the EmberNet networking protocol stack, which provides sending and receiving over low bitrate wireless networks; EmberNet is a resilient mesh networking protocol that creates robust self-organizing, self-healing networks that are easy to deploy.
power-down mode to extend battery life to more than five years;
IEEE 802.15.4-compliant and ZigBee ready; and
support for the EM2420 from the EmberNet application programming interface (API) libraries for easy access to routing, discovery and service management functions.
“Advance Transformer is a leader in their field,” said Ember CEO Jeff Grammer. “The EM2420 gives them the opportunity to put that leadership to use for their customers in a completely new way. Few companies would go through the expense and disruption of hard-wiring all their facilities for centralized control because hard-wired networks do not adapt well to the inevitable changes. Wireless applications based on the EM2420 accommodate change. Users simply add or re-position the wireless devices and the network re-builds itself. Companies can’t ignore the potential savings and environmental impact of managing billions of square feet of office space as easily as they adjust their living room thermostat.” Evaluation and development kits are available over the Web at www.ember.com.
About Advance Transformer Company
Advance Transformer Co., a leading ballast manufacturer based in Rosemont, Illinois, manufactures a full line of magnetic fluorescent, HID, electronic fluorescent, and electronic HID lamp ballasts, as well as a broad family of drivers for LED light sources. For more information on Advance’s complete product line, visit Advance’s website at www.advancetransformer.com or call Advance at (800) 372-3331. Advance is a division of Philips Electronics North America.
About Ember Corporation
Ember removes the barriers to embedded networking. Ember’s self-organizing, self-healing, wireless mesh technology is uncompromisingly robust, easy to use and flexible. The EmberNet networking platform gives forward-thinking companies the means to create products that do more by communicating better.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Ember Corporation is a privately held company with investments from Polaris Venture Partners, GrandBanks Capital, Dr. Robert Metcalfe, DFJ New England, Stata Venture Partners, RRE Ventures and DFJ ePlanet and is focused on enhancing sensing and control products through wireless connectivity. More information is available at www.ember.com.
