Ember Certifies First 100 Developers to Create Wireless Zigbee Networks

BOSTON, Sept. 14, 2004 — Ember, a developer of ZigBee wireless semiconductor solutions, has graduated the first 100 Certified EmberNet™ Developers qualified to build monitoring and control applications on Ember’s wireless mesh networking platform. The 100 certified developers are part of a growing cadre putting new wireless mesh networking technology to work in markets such as building automation, home control and medical systems.

Ember offers a two-day developer training program, both in-house and on-site at customer locations, tailored to individual customers’ needs. Developers spend half a day in presentations. The balance of the time is hands-on training building sample applications on Ember’s Developer Kit. The Developer Kit is a set of wireless hardware and software tools that enable developers to rapidly create mesh networking applications based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE’s) 802.15.4 standard and Ember’s ZigBee ready EmberNet platform. The Ember platform enables companies to join anything from roads and bridges to industrial machinery into “Internets of things” that provide monitoring data and remote management functionality via low-cost, low-power radio networks.

Ember University enables developers to begin building wireless monitoring and control applications on the Ember platform immediately. Instruction goes beyond product tutorials to give engineers and application developers a head start in applying wireless mesh networking to real-world business problems: its promising application areas, pitfalls to avoid, and how to realize the technology’s full potential. Ember University is a key element in the Ember solution set, which includes training, a network of technology partners, and a full line of low-power integrated semiconductors that combine RF (radio frequency) baseband and microcontroller functionality.

"I can say with full sincerity that Ember University is one of the best and most useful training courses I have ever done," said Calvin Stanfield of Roke Manor Research, a UK-based developers of wireless sensor and communications networks.

Companies embed Ember networking intelligence in low-cost sensor modules that perform a wide range of tasks, including managing buildings’ energy consumption; tracking perishable cargo’s freshness; and monitoring the wear and tear on transportation infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Ember customer and technology partners include companies such as Honeywell, RAE Systems, Sensitech, Xsilogy, and Philips Lighting.

"Exposing engineers and software developers to wireless mesh networking technology through Ember University encourages these key technical people to hit the ground running in building low-cost, low-power wireless applications for their companies," said Ember CEO Jeff Grammer. "This technology isn’t a futuristic science project, it’s here and now and delivering value in several markets."

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 EmberNetþ 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.