Ember today announced that it has begun shipping samples of its fourth-generation standards-based embedded wireless mesh networking semiconductors and software.
Ember’s much awaited EM250 ZigBee system-on-a-chip (SoC) – which includes a low-power 16-bit processor, 128 kilobytes of flash memory, digital signal processor, 2.4GHz CMOS radio and enhanced ZigBee networking software – performed exceptionally well in initial tests – sending packets more than twice as far as competitors.
Two selected Ember customers are involved in alpha testing the EM250, with another dozen customers to begin beta testing in December. The current rate of progress should make the EM250 generally available by year end, with ramping volumes through the first quarter of 2006.
Ember’s ZigBee/802.15.4 SoC chip was designed in Ember’s RF semiconductor development center in Cambridge, England, which it acquired from Cambridge Consultants last year.
Ember previously partnered with Atmel to develop embedded mesh networking chips. EmberNet software ran first on Atmel microcontrollers, which are now by far number one in ZigBee application deployments. Subsequently, Ember also partnered with Chipcon to co-design the EM2420 2.4GHz radio chip, manufactured by TSMC, which is now by far the number one radio in ZigBee application shipments.
“Of the million-plus 2420 chips shipped to date, more than three-quarters are for customers of the Ember platform,” noted Ember Chairman Dr. Robert M. Metcalfe. “Now, the next generation EM250 chips are here and working exceptionally well in initial tests, delivering an RF range twice that of our competitors. The rapid development and high performance of Ember’s EM250 vindicates Ember’s decision last year to acquire the advanced 802.15.4 technology and team from Cambridge Consultants. Since that acquisition, Ember’s Cambridge RF team has moved and grown. Ember recently recruited an elite RF system architect to augment the team, and is now planning to add an additional 20 engineers, to help develop next-generation radios.”
Ember is currently approaching all the major microcontroller vendors offering to partner with them in ZigBee-enabling their microcontrollers with Ember semiconductors and software. Atmel and more recently Texas Instruments (TI) are working with Ember, but Ember is seeking deeper partnerships with Atmel, TI, and the many other micro-controller suppliers who now ship more than eight billion microcontrollers per year. Ember is planning to announce some of these partnerships at or before the ZigBee Open House in Hong Kong on Dec. 8.
About ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works
The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance is a rapidly growing, non-profit industry consortium of leading semiconductor manufacturers, technology providers, OEMs, and end-users worldwide. Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at www.zigbee.org.
About Ember Corporation
Ember enables communication among embedded microcontrollers with standards-based wireless mesh networking semiconductors and software. Ember helps its customers to automate home appliances, lower energy consumption in buildings, keep borders and infrastructure secure, and control industrial processes, just to name four of the many diverse applications being developed by Ember’s more than 100 customers. Spun out of MIT in 2001, Ember is headquartered in Boston and has its radio development center in Cambridge, England and distributors worldwide. Ember is a lead member of the ZigBee Alliance, and its platform is the National Technical Systems’ (NTS) “Golden Suite” for 802.15.4/ZigBee interoperability testing. For more information, please visit www.ember.com.
