New ZigBee EM260 low Power co-processor from Ember

  

June 6, 2006 - ZigBee leader Ember today announced the availability of its EM260 ZigBee co-processor.

Features of the EM260 ZigBee co-processor Include:

ZigBee Co-Processor EM260 System Diagram

• IEEE 802.15.4 2.4GHz spectrum radio (unlicensed)
• Basband protocol support
• Ultra Low Power 16-bit XAP2 Core
• SPI slavemode connection
• Support for AES- 128 encryption encryption
•  Deep Sleep Current: 1uA max (with sleep timer running)
• RX Current:  26 mA
• TX Current :  27 mA
• Crystal Frequency 24MHz
• Operating Temperature Range -40° to +85° C
• Voltage (internal reg)  2.1 to 3.6V
• Package   6mm x 6mm, 40 pin QFN

The EM260 is the world’s first ZigBee co-processor. Engineers can choose host microcontrollers from companies such as STMicroelectronics, Atmel, Texas Instruments, Renesas, Freescale, Intel, Microchip, Samsung, Toshiba and others to work with the EM260, leaving the host microcontroller free to handle non-Zigbee related embedded system tasks.

All ZigBee processing is handled by the EM260 co-processor, allowing for a low-effort ZigBee integration into existing designs.

The New EM260 ZigBee co-processor also comes with a new, open-source interface dubbed EZSP. EZSP is an SPI based high speed interface designed to make it easy for embedded systems engineers to network the EM260 with virutally any microcontroller on the market.

"The EM260 with EZSP is a unique solution that effectively shields engineers from the complexities of wireless embedded networking," noted Bob LeFort, Ember’s CEO. "It’s ideal for customers that have standardized on a particular microcontroller, and wish to tap into the booming ZigBee wireless market quickly without having to rewrite and port their application code to a new platform."

According to Ember, the EM260 delivers twice the wireless range of present competitive ZigBee radios. The EM260 also integrates with EmberZNet(tm), Ember’s enhanced ZigBee networking stack.

Development Tools
Also available is the new InSight(tm) EM260 Development Kit, a complete toolkit including hardware, ZigBee networking stack, EZSP serial interface, and development and debugging software all delivered in a single, integrated development environment.

Pricing and availability
The InSight EM260 Development Kit with EZSP is available immediately in two versions: a "Jumpstart" kit priced at $2,500, and a full kit at $10,000.

About ZigBee: Networked Wireless Control
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.

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.