OMRON and ITX to Develop Symbian OS-compliant High-Speed Infrared Communications Protocol; Boosting Mobile Data Transfer Speeds by up to 10x
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Tokyo, Japan, Mar. 09, 2006 - - OMRON Software Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of OMRON Corporation (TSE: 6645, US: OMRNY), and ITX E-Globaledge Corporation ('ITX-EG'), a subsidiary of ITX Corporation (Hercules: 2725), have announced a joint project to integrate the high-speed wireless infrared communications protocol, 'IrSimple'(1), with the Symbian OS.
ITX-EG jointly developed IrSimple with NTT DoCoMo, Inc., Sharp Corp. and Waseda University in August 2005. The protocol has since been formally adopted as a global standard by IrDA (Infrared Data Association), an international industry organization that develops and standardizes specifications for infrared communications. Incorporating IrSimple into digital consumer electronics devices and home appliances is expected to lead to a significant expansion in applications for this new communications protocol. For example, users can take high-resolution photographs with a mobile phone or digital camera and then transmit them instantly to a flat-panel TV or printer with a simple "point and shoot" operation.
As a Symbian Competence Center, OMRON brings to the partnership a wealth of experience in developing software for the Symbian OS, much vaunted as the operating system of choice for next-generation mobile telephones.
As a result of this collaborative project, it will be possible to integrate IrSimple into Symbian OS-based mobile telephones, and so increase their infrared data transmission speed by up to approximately 10 times. By combining ITX-EG's high-speed data transmission core technology and OMRON's Symbian OS software development expertise, the two companies are aiming to optimize product quality, and accelerate the lead-time to market. Product launch is scheduled for May 2006.
The Symbian OS-compliant infrared communication protocol stack(2) will conform to the IrDA's infrared communication standards. ITX-EG's 'DeepCore'(3) protocol stack facilitates IrDA communication between various electronic devices, including mobile telephones, digital cameras, intelligent home appliances and amusement devices, and has established an international client base of top manufacturers over the last 10 years. Key features include its compactness, processing efficiency and high performance even in a low power consuming CPU environment.
In addition to continuing to develop mobile telephone-specific infrared communication solutions, ITX-EG plans to release a number of new products, both hard and soft, including a Windows OS-compliant infrared communication protocol stack, and FIR (Far Infrared) -compliant controller ICs.
For OMRON, this collaborative project will represent another achievement in the field of Symbian OS middleware development and implementation. OMRON aims to leverage these experiences in future business with international mobile telephone manufacturers and middleware vendors.
o IrSimple is a high-speed infrared wireless communications protocol that enables faster data transmission speeds (4 to 10 times faster than at present) by improving the efficiency of the current IrDA protocol embedded in mobile devices such as mobile telephones. The IrSimple protocol also maintains backward compatibility with the existing IrDA-enabled protocols.
o A protocol stack is a software subsystem in a network module that implements a specific protocol, such as TCP/IP.
o DeepCore is ITX-EG's proprietary brand of IrDA-certified infrared communications protocol. 'DeepCore3.0+' is the latest version of this protocol, and has been implemented in a wide range of devices, both consumer and industrial.
*All brand names and product names used in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
About OMRON
Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, OMRON Corporation is a global leader in the field of automation. Established in 1933 and headed by President Hisao Sakuta, OMRON has more than 25,000 employees in over 35 countries working to provide products and services to customers in a variety of fields including industrial automation, electronic components industries, and healthcare. The company is divided into five regions and head offices are in Japan (Kyoto), Asia Pacific (Singapore), China (Hong Kong), Europe (Amsterdam) and US (Chicago). The European organisation has its own development and manufacturing facilities, and provides local customer support in all European countries. For more information, visit OMRON's Web site at www.omron.com.
For further information, please visit the OMRON home page at: www.omron.com
About ITX Corporation
ITX E-Globaledge Corporation is a 100% owned subsidiary of ITX Corporation, a leading business creation company that uncovers and develops unique and innovative enterprises in four key business areas: Life Science, Networking Technologies, Mobile Communications and Business Innovations. For more information on ITX E-Globaledge Corporation, please visit http://www.e-globaledge.com/english/index.html
For more information on ITX Corporation, please visit itx-corp.co.jp/index_e.html
For further information, please visit the ITX Corporation home page at: www.itx-corp.co.jp
Contact
OMRON Corporation
Corporate Brand Communications Department
James Seddon (james_seddon@omron.co.jp)
Takayuki Nakamura (takayuki_nakamura@omron.co.jp)
Telephone: +81-3-3436-7202
Facsimile: +81-3-3436-7029
Source: OMRON
OMRON (TSE: 6645) (U.S.: OMRNY)
www.omron.com
ITX Corporation (TSE: 2725)
www.itx-corp.co.jp
