Broadcom Internet of Things Platform Powers Haier’s New Smart Appliances

World’s Leading Appliance Manufacturer Leverages WICED Platform for Anytime, Anywhere Control of Home Appliances.
Broadcom Corporation, a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced that Haier has chosen Broadcom’s Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded (WICED™) platform to power its latest smart appliances. Featured at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, Haier’s latest “Smart Living” appliances provide simple and seamless connectivity with a broad selection of mobile devices, allowing consumers to manage and control home appliances from anywhere in the world.
Lily Li, Haier Smart Home Technology General Manager, said:
“Haier is fully embracing the shift from traditional products to internet connected appliances by investing aggressively in our networking technology portfolio.”
“Our goal is to deliver an intuitive, standardized interface across all Haier products. With that goal in mind, Haier is constantly innovating and looking to collaborate with industry leaders. Our collaboration with Broadcom showcases our ability to employ the newest technology to enrich user experience for our customers.”
The air conditioner, wine cooler, refrigerator, water heater and washing machine displayed at CES are part of Haier’s “Smart Living” solutions. With Smart Living appliances, users are able to retrieve information and remotely control their appliances either from home or on the go, allowing customers to do more, worry less, and save time. The Haier “Smart Living” system includes home appliance controls, lighting and curtain controls, multimedia entertainment, security alarm monitoring and other outstanding features that together make for a full wireless-controlled network home appliance system.
Selective Haier’s smart appliances are built on Broadcom’s WICED™ platform. The WICED platform provides original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with a simplified implementation of wireless connectivity, including WiFi and Bluetooth (BT), enabling an array of consumer devices for the rapidly expanding Internet of Things (IoT) market.
“The explosion of connected devices throughout the industry is driving broad adoption of our WICED platform,” said Brian Bedrosian, Broadcom Senior Director, Wireless Connectivity. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Haier in their effort to provide the most advanced yet intuitive products to consumers.”
Availability
Haier’s smart appliances demonstrated at CES are now available to consumers. Broadcom’s WICED platform is immediately available to companies large and small. Visit www.broadcom.com/wiced to learn more.
The post Broadcom Internet of Things Platform Powers Haier’s New Smart Appliances appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

The installed base of cellular M2M devices in the retail industry to reach 33.3 million by 2018

The number of cellular M2M connections in the retail industry reached 18.4 million worldwide in 2013, according to a new research report from Berg Insight.
Cellular M2M technology enables devices such as POS terminals, ATMs and ticketing machines to be used at new locations where fixed line connectivity is unavailable or impractical. The technology has a more transformational effect on markets such as vending and parking, where machine operators need to reorganize their operations in order to benefit from the availability of real-time information. Berg Insight forecasts that the number of cellular M2M connections in the global retail industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6 percent during the next five years to reach 33.3 million connections in 2018. Shipments of cellular M2M devices for retail applications will at the same time increase at a CAGR of 6.5 percent from 6.6 million units in 2013 to 9.1 million units in 2018.
POS terminals constitute the largest device segment and accounted for almost 90 percent of all cellular M2M connections in the retail industry at the end of 2013. The market for wirelessly connected POS terminals is however relatively mature, and most of the market growth is driven by the increasing use of electronic payments in emerging markets. In contrast to this, the adoption of cellular connectivity is still in a very early stage in the vending machine market. Only 7.4 percent of the 6 million vending machines in North America are connected and similarly just 2.9 percent of the 3.8 million vending machines in Europe are connected.
Lars Kurkinen, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight, says:
“Vending is the largest untapped market for wireless M2M in the retail industry.”
He adds that the North American market has recently entered a strong growth phase and is forecasted to reach 1.14 million connected vending machines by 2018. Europe is expected to enter a similar growth phase during 2014–2015, which will drive the number of connected vending machines to 0.4 million units by 2018.
“Every vending machine will eventually be connected, but costs for the wireless M2M hardware and subscriptions still need to come down significantly before this vision becomes reality”, Mr Kurkinen concludes.

Download report brochure: Retail Applications and Wireless M2M
The post The installed base of cellular M2M devices in the retail industry to reach 33.3 million by 2018 appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

u-blox launches low-power version of 2G M2M module for Europe and Asia

SARA-G340 dual-band GSM/GPRS modem includes internet protocols and GNSS interfaces.
Swiss u-blox, a global leader in wireless and positioning modules and integrated circuits, addresses cost-sensitive M2M applications with the SARA-G340, a full-featured dual-band (900/1800 MHz) GSM/GPRS module in a popular compact LGA module form factor.
The SARA-G340 is perfect for industrial M2M applications such as metering, eCall, security, payment terminals, asset tracking and fleet management systems deployed in Europe and Asia.
The new SARA-G340 voice/data module is the ninth variant of the company’s popular SARA modem series consisting of the SARA-G3 GSM/GPRS and SARA-U2 UMTS/HSPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE module families. The SARA series includes full-featured and cost-optimized versions to cover a wide range of application requirements. Best-in-class power consumption is a primary feature of the SARA-G3 module series, with a standby current of less than 0.9 mA.
Thomas Nigg, VP Product Marketing at u-blox, said:
“In Europe and Asia, GSM/GPRS is a key and popular technology for connected M2M devices. We optimized the SARA-G340 for these applications, enabling our customers to quickly integrate “smart” M2M connectivity into their products.”
“At the same time, our module compatibility philosophy gives customers a smooth path to the creation of an HSPA version of their products via our SARA-U2 series, the industry’s smallest 3G module.”
SARA-G340 provides mobile connectivity in an ultra-small 16 x 26 mm LGA form factor. All 9 SARA cellular GSM and UMTS modules provide seamless pin compatibility with each other. They also provide easy migration to TOBY LTE modules to support future-proof 4G designs.
All SARA modules are supported by comprehensive support tools and unrivalled u-blox quality, also for automotive use.
The SARA-G340 provides a perfect solution to a wide range of M2M applications requiring GSM/GPRS, voice and/or data, internet suite (embedded TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTTP and FTP), and in-band modem support for eCall and ERA GLONASS vehicle emergency call applications. Extremely low power consumption makes it perfect for portable or battery and solar-powered Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication applications.
The SARA Land Grid Array (LGA) form factor enables extremely compact designs and supports A-GPS for accelerated positioning used in telematics devices, and u-blox’ unique CellLocate®hybrid positioning technology to facilitate advanced location-aware systems requiring indoor positioning.
RIL software for Android and Embedded Windows is available free of charge.
SARA-G340 GSM/GPRS module samples and evaluation kit EVK-G35 are available. Contact u-blox for more information.
The post u-blox launches low-power version of 2G M2M module for Europe and Asia appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

Thinfilm Acquires Kovio Technology, Opens Silicon Valley NFC Innovation Center

Thinfilm to deliver NFC-readable sensor labels in 2014; Sensing, memory, and RF communication, all in a single label for < $1.
Thin Film Electronics ASA (“Thinfilm”), leader in commercializing printed electronics, announced today that it has completed acquisition of Kovio technology, intellectual property, and manufacturing assets, and has opened the Thinfilm NFC Innovation Center in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Davor Sutija, Thinfilm CEO, explains:
“Adding NFC to our printed electronic memory and sensor platform will allow the seamless exchange of information between Thinfilm’s Smart Labels and NFC-enabled phones and tablets.”
“Kovio technology is the only industry-supported NFC interface in printed electronics. We’re launching the Thinfilm NFC Innovation Center with a strong NFC team, significantly expanded intellectual property, and pilot manufacturing.”
“The acquisition of Kovio technology is an astute strategic move by Thinfilm. Kovio has impressive capability, NFC products and IP that will accelerate Thinfilm’s product roadmap, in addition to giving Thinfilm a substantial presence in Silicon Valley,” says Raghu Das, CEO, IDTechEx.
Internet of Things-redefining a megatrend
Gartner cites “Internet of Things” as one of the top 10 strategic trends of this decade. Analysts and companies alike are predicting markets in the trillions of dollars by 2020-Gartner $1.9 trillion, IDC $8.9 trillion, Cisco $19 trillion. Industry giants such as Intel, IBM, Cisco, Qualcomm and NXP are placing major bets on IoT, and the San Jose Mercury News calls IoT a technological transformation “as profound as the Industrial Revolution,” in which “Silicon Valley companies that make the circuits are expected to profit enormously.”
Yet most applications of IoT focus on fixed infrastructure, where the sensor is a static node at the edge of the network and data is routed to a central server.
Low-cost, disposable sensor labels-able to autonomously collect information to later be read by NFC phones and tablets-offer a fundamentally different approach. With over 400 million NFC-enabled smart phones already deployed, a number projected to grow to 1 billion by 2015, linking ubiquitous sensors on Thinfilm Smart Labels with the mobile platform creates a fluid and agile alternative to traditional data infrastructures. It is this agile network that will truly launch the Internet of Everything.
Thinfilm Sensor Labels
Thinfilm uses printing to manufacture simple integrated electronics at a fraction of the cost of conventional electronics, in highly scalable processes compatible with high-volume, low-cost markets. Thinfilm has integrated sensing, data storage, and display in a label format. Addition of a printed NFC interface will allow Thinfilm’s Sensor Labels to link sensor data to apps on mobile devices and/or cloud-based analytics.
Future applications could include:

Temperature exposure of perishable goods, such as food and pharmaceuticals can be verified without heavy infrastructure
Disposable medical tests can be distributed to remote clinics and homes, with results communicated to medical records through the mobile device
Humidity can be detected in the walls of new construction, to monitor for leaks in pipes
Soldiers and pilots can be tested for ‘readiness’ based on bio-markers, allowing check-in before active service
Smart appliances can re-order supplies when an indicator says the product quantity is getting low
Patients can be monitored with one-time use devices for blood-oxygen levels, pulse readings, and other vital signs, and data gathered with the tap of a phone
Integration of Kovio technology accelerates time-to-market for NFC labels, and expands both Thinfilm’s manufacturing capacity and intellectual property portfolio.

Unique marriage of technologies creates significant barriers to entry
“Printed transistor circuits are an important capability to enable truly smart devices but there are few companies in the world that have the know-how to produce these. Kovio is one of them,” remarks Das.
Christer Karlsson, Thinfilm CTO explains:
“The team here in San Jose can produce NFC Barcodes with well over 1500 active transistors, at pilot scale. Marrying the organic transistors we’ve been developing with the poly-silicon devices developed at Kovio establishes a formidable barrier-to-entry for future competitors.”
The Kovio NFC Barcode(TM) is the only NFC interface in printed electronics and is supported commercially by Google Android and numerous NFC controllers being deployed in phones around the world. Thinfilm expects to demonstrate NFC-readable sensor labels by year-end.
Thinfilm NFC Innovation Center

“We are particularly excited to have more than 20 of the former Kovio team members joining to open the NFC Innovation Center. This core team will build out the Innovation Center’s competence in design, process development and manufacturing,” adds Karlsson. “The site at Zanker Road, San Jose, is deep in the heart of Silicon Valley, steps from the silicon industry’s giants, an ideal location to recruit additional talent into Thinfilm and build the ecosystem.”
Included in the acquisition:

Over 200 international patents and patents pending covering electronic inks, NFC and RF applications and protocols, process technologies, devices and circuits
Installed pilot manufacturing capacity of 100s of millions of units per year
60,000 square foot manufacturing and development site
Kovio product lines in NFC and Electronic Article Surveillance
Encore software platform to support cloud-based data exchange

Broadening the Thinfilm portfolio
As part of the acquisition, Thinfilm has also acquired Kovio’s technology for Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) loss prevention tags. These solutions were developed in partnership with industry leaders such as Tyco Solutions and NedAp and complement Thinfilm’s existing offerings in brand protection.
Thinfilm has also built a global team supporting the development of custom designs of integrated systems in ultra-low-cost electronics. According to Das, “Thinfilm is filling the need in the printed electronics industry by putting together complete solutions.” Thinfilm will continue to pursue strategic partnerships, such as those it has with the Bemis Company, Brady Corporation, and Hasbro to accelerate the introduction of printed electronic systems into a wide range of markets.
“Thinfilm is the only company that is moving the needle when it comes to delivering printed electronics,” said Randall Sherman, founder and president of New Venture Research.
Financial Terms
Thinfilm completed the acquisition of Kovio assets for a total of 2.7 USDm in cash and 1.0 USDm in equity, consisting of 1.0 million of Thinfilm shares, acquired by Kovio creditors at 5.92 NOK/share.
The post Thinfilm Acquires Kovio Technology, Opens Silicon Valley NFC Innovation Center appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

Worldsensing and SIGFOX Announce the World’s Largest Intelligent Parking deployment with Micronet, the SIGFOX Network Operator for Russia

The Intelligent Parking solution in Moscow, now in its second year of operation, has proven the success of the combination of Worldsensing’s Fastprk solution and cost-effective, low-energy consuming SIGFOX connectivity.
Fastprk, the intelligent parking solution from Worldsensing, combined with the unique SIGFOX cellular based connectivity offer, has proven its success and is now in its second year of operation in Moscow. The recent installation of 11,000 sensors, adding to the 4,000 sensors already deployed, equips the Russian capital with the world’s largest deployment of an Intelligent Parking solution.
This solution, in operation since November 2013, enables Moscow to reduce traffic in the city center. According to The Moscow Times, the Russian capital is the most congested city in the world, followed by Istanbul, Warsaw and Marseille.
The project is deployed, maintained and operated by Micronet, the SIGFOX Operator connecting Russia to the SIGFOX Global Network.
Moscow now benefits from Fastprk technology, which enables users to find a parking spot via a mobile app or through electronic street panels.
The solution also facilitates optimal management of urban parking areas by providing, for instance, information about the most frequented areas and times of the day. Furthermore, by reducing the time to find parking, traffic density is reduced and the user saves fuel and time, consequently reducing CO2 emissions, thus making the city greener, and a more pleasant place to live.
Ignasi Vilajosana, CEO of Worldsensing, says:
“With SIGFOX, FastPrk sensors no longer need any local network infrastructure, since they now connect directly to the FastPrk platform, thanks to out-of-the-box connectivity.”
According to Jaap Groot, SIGFOX VP Global Sales:
“Being chosen as the connectivity solution for this large scale project confirms our approach to smart cities’ needs for low power and plug&play connectivity.”
“We are confident that Micronet will roll out many more IoT projects on the SIGFOX network as our operator for Russia.”
The plan for the coming years is to continue to grow the number of sensors, providing continuity to this project, which is driving the city forward.
The post Worldsensing and SIGFOX Announce the World’s Largest Intelligent Parking deployment with Micronet, the SIGFOX Network Operator for Russia appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

Dialog to launch enterprise M2M self-service solution with Ericsson in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, Dialog, is set to implement the Ericsson Device Connection Platform, delivered as a service by Ericsson.
Highlights:
+ Dialog has chosen Ericsson to provide M2M connectivity delivered as a service.
+ Ericsson’s Device Connection Platform will give Dialog great flexibility in developing innovative M2M products and services for enterprises in Sri Lanka.
+ Dialog currently addresses M2M services across diverse vertical industries, including utilities, finance, telematics and transport.
+++
The solution will provide Dialog and its customers with everything they need to deploy, manage and monetize millions of machine-to-machine (M2M) connections. Dialog has been at the forefront of innovation in the telecommunications industry and is the first in Sri Lanka to launch an M2M platform.
Jeremy Huxtable, Group Chief Officer at Dialog Enterprise said:
“We want our customers to benefit from state-of-the-art functionalities to deploy, scale, and operate millions of M2M connections. M2M also allows for simplified and improved processes, and this brings us a step forward in capitalizing on existing assets to drive market leadership of M2M in Sri Lanka.”
The Ericsson Device Connection Platform will enable Dialog to increase revenue and cut both operational costs and time–to-market. The platform will allow Dialog’s enterprise customers to monitor devices anytime and anywhere, access information quickly and accurately, and integrate easily into existing systems over the complete device life cycle.
Ericsson will also use its local and global consulting and systems integration expertise to accelerate Dialog’s M2M go-to-market plans. Alongside this, the ecosystem created by the Ericsson Device Connection Platform will help generate business growth for the operator as well as its customers and partners.
In a world of 50 billion connected devices as envisaged by Ericsson, many devices will communicate with applications and control systems using mobile networks. Both enterprises and consumers will make use of numerous everyday devices that benefit from M2M connectivity at home, at work, on the move, in remote locations and elsewhere.
Todd Ashton, President of Ericsson Malaysia and Sri Lanka, said:
“Ericsson continues to be a committed business partner to Dialog and we are very pleased to work with them to bring our Networked Society vision to life in Sri Lanka. We see a world with 50 billion connected devices in the next few years, and our platform will allow Dialog and its customers to take advantage of these connections.”
“Dialog customers will benefit from continuous and sustainable, long-term competitive solutions based on Ericsson’s global service leadership and R&D capabilities, ensuring efficient and reliable connectivity for their devices.”
The post Dialog to launch enterprise M2M self-service solution with Ericsson in Sri Lanka appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

M2M/IoT Application Platforms will disrupt traditional M2M platform markets and speed market growth

2014 will see the various players in the M2M and IoT platforms space begin to play more to their strengths.
As a result, a more defined market structure will emerge and 2014 will be a year of productisation (and commoditisation) in the M2M and IoT platform space. But the result will be accelerated growth.
Machina Research, the world’s leading provider of strategic market intelligence on M2M and IoT, today published its latest report on the evolution of the software platforms that support M2M and IoT deployments. The report predicts a substantial shake-up in the current platforms hierarchy, with massive implications for many current players in the M2M world.
Over the last decade, a range of M2M platforms has emerged to assist with the development of M2M applications. Until recently, these M2M platforms have tended to focus on speeding the development of stovepipe M2M applications, rather than supporting an open application environment that allows application developers to easily configure applications that draw inputs from multiple M2M (and other) applications. Recently a new type of platform has emerged: the M2M/IoT Application Platform. Key movers in this space include Xively (which focuses squarely on the value-added IoT application space), Thingworx (which seeks to also support the stovepipe applications that underpin an IoT environment) and Bosch Software Innovations (which is bringing systems integration capabilities to the party).
Commenting on the findings, author Jim Morrish notes:
“These platforms represent, in some ways, an increasing focus on horizontal enabling components that can underpin a future Internet of Things (IoT), complemented by a flexible and powerful application development and management environment. But M2M/IoT Application Platforms are not a panacea for the travails of today’s M2M world.”
The key functionality of an M2M/IoT Application Platform is the capability to abstract across a range of inputs, and to control a range of external processes. However, it is clear that any potential provider of M2M/IoT Application Platform solutions must move significantly beyond this core capability in order to attract application developers and build the ecosystems necessary to gain critical mass. An M2M/IoT Application Platform provides the ‘glue’ that binds together application developers, M2M connected devices and a range of niche and specialised M2M platforms and wider enterprise IT systems. In the world of the M2M/IoT Application Platform, the application developer is king.
As Morrish summarises:
“M2M/IoT Application Platforms represent a new and disruptive force that is entering the traditional M2M platform space. These existing M2M platform types will be impacted in a variety of ways. Some will be greatly impacted.”
In general:
Application Support platforms: are likely to be hit hardest by the advent of the M2M/IoT Application Platform. Really, the best way forwards for Application Support platforms will be to secure deals with the likes of ThingWorx to leverage their M2M/IoT Application Platform capabilities.
Combined Connectivity Support and Service Enablement platforms: will need to focus more on Connectivity Support than Service Enablement, as M2M/IoT Application Platforms come to dominate markets for the latter.
Solution providers: should regard an M2M/IoT Application Platform capability as a driver of revenues in other areas of their business. Systems integrators are likely to offer M2M/IoT Application Platform services for free, so disrupting the market for others.
Device Management Platforms: will remain relatively unaffected by the advent of M2M/IoT Application Platforms.
To achieve success in this space Morrish identifies that:
“The application platform M2M/IoT Application Platforms must excel not only in terms of offering constantly evolving application development and management environments, but also in terms of supporting a kind of Semantic Web of Things.”
More about the report: “Competitive Dynamics in the M2M Platform Space”
The post M2M/IoT Application Platforms will disrupt traditional M2M platform markets and speed market growth appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

NextG-Com Announces First LTE Protocol Stack to Target M2M and Special Applications

ALPS 520 is customizable LTE modem stack compliant to 3GPP Release 11.
NextG-Com, an expert in embedded software products and services for LTE, M2M and satellite communications, has announced today the launch of a LTE protocol stack designed to meet the needs of target niche and special markets such as machine-to machine (M2M) devices, LTE backhaul, relay nodes, routers and gateways.
ALPS 520 is the first Release 11 compliant LTE protocol stack product designed with modular architecture and well-defined interfaces targeted for these diverse markets and applications, which range from low memory and low cost M2M applications to high performance special applications, with or without mobility. ALPS 520 is fully tested against 3GPP conformance tests as well as non-3GPP test cases.
Denis Bidinost, CEO of NextG-Com, said:
“Most current LTE solutions do not provide the flexibility and differentiation needed by very diverse emerging industry requirements.”
“ALPS 520 and its future derivatives are designed to provide the highly customized connectivity solution that these markets demand.”
ALPS 520 has been tested against 3GPP standard conformance test cases and includes a host of tools – Trace, ASN.1, SE-RTOS™ – that help to accelerate product development and reduce third party licensing costs. This makes it ideally suited as a non-captive, independent and flexible solution for niche and special LTE markets including M2M.
ALPS 520 from NextG-Com also includes proven L1 adaptation layer APIs which can be easily customized based on the different MAC and Physical Layer architecture. These APIs makes ALPS 520 easily portable to different real-time operating systems (RTOS) on different platforms.
The post NextG-Com Announces First LTE Protocol Stack to Target M2M and Special Applications appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

ORBCOMM joins Rogers Supported Reseller Program

Expands market distribution channels for ORBCOMM’s M2M solutions in Canada.
ORBCOMM Inc., a global provider of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions, today announced that it has been approved as a Rogers Supported Reseller (RSR). The premier RSR program allows ORBCOMM to work cooperatively with Rogers to market ORBCOMM’s suite of M2M asset tracking and monitoring solutions using Rogers’ wireless communications network in the Canadian market.
Working with Rogers, the largest GSM cellular operator in Canada, will allow ORBCOMM to address customers with advanced, award-winning devices and end-to-end M2M solutions tailored to the transportation & distribution, heavy equipment and oil & gas industries. This alliance, which joins two industry leaders in the wireless space, enables ORBCOMM to expand its market presence in Canada, while helping Rogers facilitate the seamless deployment of proven M2M technology and ROI-driven telematics solutions for its customer base throughout Canada.
“We are proud to participate in Rogers Supported Reseller Program. This program broadens ORBCOMM’s market distribution channels for our high-performance M2M products and services in the Canadian market,” said Marc Eisenberg, Chief Executive Officer of ORBCOMM.
“With over 15 years of expertise in the M2M space and a broad portfolio of hardware and web reporting applications, we are well positioned to work with Rogers’ local sales and support teams to bring our M2M tracking and monitoring solutions to market.”
ORBCOMM and Rogers will begin joint marketing of ORBCOMM’s M2M solutions in Canada in the first quarter of 2014.
The post ORBCOMM joins Rogers Supported Reseller Program appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.

Silicon Labs to Unveil Ultra-Low-Energy Solutions for the Internet of Things at Embedded World

Low-Power MCUs, Wireless SoCs, Sensors, ZigBee® Solutions and Simplicity Studio Tools Enable All Things to Be Smart, Connected and Energy Friendly.
Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, will showcase an array of semiconductor, software and systems solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) at Embedded World 2014 in Nuremburg, Germany, Feb. 25 – 27 at Booth 4A-118. Targeting connected device applications for the IoT, the mixed-signal technology leader will demonstrate its latest energy-friendly ARM® based microcontrollers (MCUs), ZigBee® and sub-GHz wireless connectivity solutions, high-accuracy sensors and its next-generation embedded development platform.
“The embedded industry recognizes that 2014 will be the year of the Internet of Things,” said Geir Førre, senior vice president and general manager of Silicon Labs’ microcontroller products.
“The next wave of connected devices will require energy-friendly MCUs that extend battery life to months and years, wireless solutions for both mesh networking and point-to-point connectivity, and a profusion of low-cost, highly accurate sensors that deliver invaluable data to help make our lives easier, safer, healthier and more enjoyable.”
“These silicon solutions exist today, and Silicon Labs is eager to share them with developers at Embedded World.”
Silicon Labs’ demonstrations will highlight the energy efficiency and performance of its flagship embedded products, as well as the ease of use of its energy-aware development tools:

The Internet of Things at your doorstep: Discover how EFM32™ Zero Gecko MCUs – the world’s lowest energy 32-bit MCUs – can be combined with small-footprint, accurate and easy-to-use sensors to create innovative smart home, smart energy and security applications for the IoT that can sense temperature, relative humidity, ambient light, intrusion and gestures, all within the extreme power constraints required for long battery life.
Embedded development has never been simpler: The Simplicity Studio™ development platform provides a unified, comprehensive ecosystem and portal for developers using Silicon Labs’ 32-bit EFM32 Gecko MCUs and 8-bit MCUs. Simplify your design effort with Simplicity Studio’s IDE, hardware configurator, build tools and real-time power analyzer, supported by one-click access to demos, software examples, data sheets, application notes, technical support and community forums.
The world’s most energy-friendly MCUs: Discover the right energy-saving EFM32 Gecko MCU solution for your next embedded application. Silicon Labs’ 32-bit portfolio includes more than 240 orderable EFM32 Gecko products based on ARM® Cortex®-M0+, M3 and floating-point-enabled M4 processors. No other MCU vendor can match the energy efficiency of Gecko MCUs for battery-powered IoT and wearable computing applications.
Ember® ZigBee® solutions for the IoT: Connect with the leading ZigBee platform for 2.4 GHz wireless sensor networks. The combination of Silicon Labs’ Ember ZigBee wireless SoCs, EmberZNet PRO mesh networking protocol stack and powerful development tools enables developers to create IoT applications that interconnect hundreds and even thousands of devices in a single mesh network.
Power-efficient wireless MCUs for the IoT: Si106x/8x s wireless MCUs provide an energy-friendly, single-chip “MCU + transceiver” solution to address the power and space constraints of battery-operated, wirelessly connected devices. Our wireless MCUs offer a choice of cost-effective EZRadio® and high-performance EZRadioPRO® transceiver options. The smallest sub-GHz wireless MCUs available, these 5 mm x 6 mm QFN devices offer best-in-class RF sensitivity and output power.
Plug-and-play wireless receiver solution: Silicon Labs’ Si4356 EZRadio receiver provides an easy-to-use sub-GHz wireless solution for remote controls, RKE, sensor networks, security and smart homes. The Si4356 receiver combines ultra-low power (50 nA standby current) with excellent sensitivity to enable superior battery life. This small-footprint (3 mm x 3 mm) standalone receiver is easy to configure and comes with tested, ready-to-use antennas.

Continuing its tradition of showcasing development tools at Embedded World, Silicon Labs will have EFM32 Zero Gecko MCU starter kits and sensor boards available to give away to qualified developers visiting Booth 4A-118.
The post Silicon Labs to Unveil Ultra-Low-Energy Solutions for the Internet of Things at Embedded World appeared first on M2M World News | Machine to Machine News.