ZigBee Evaluation Kit targets home network designers.
Press Release Summary:
ZigBee® Pro Evaluation Kit simplifies design/development/prototyping for designers of home area networks. It combines IEEE 802.15.4 radio that consumes 17.3 mA transmit and 15.8 mA receive with 16-bit 78K0R/KE3 MCU with 17 DMIPS performance and 256 KB Flash memory, 1.1 µA stop mode current, and real-time counter with calendar function. Debug board, with USB and RS232 interfaces, and 3 preprogrammed ZigBee Pro nodes are included. Kit also incorporates all required evaluation software.
Original Press Release:
NEC Electronics America Introduces New ZigBee® Pro Evaluation Kit for Smart Energy and Home Area Networking Applications
Kit Pairs 16-bit MCU with 802.15.4 Radio to Simplify Design, Debugging and Prototyping Visit NEC Electronics America at Embedded Systems Conference Boston, Booth #701
SANTA CLARA, Calif., September 21, 2009 - NEC Electronics America, Inc. today introduced a new ZigBee® Pro evaluation kit to ease design, development and prototyping for designers working with home area networks (HAN), such as ZigBee Pro Smart Energy networks, and applications for the wireless sensor networking market. The new ZigBee Pro evaluation kit pairs a low-power IEEE 802.15.4 radio with an NEC Electronics' low-power 16-bit 78K0R/KE3 microcontroller (MCU) with 17DMIPS performance and 256KB flash memory, enough memory to meet the increasing software demands of the smart energy market.
"As more home appliances are connected to intelligently manage and reduce energy consumption, we're seeing an increased demand for software like the ZigBee Pro Stack, and HAN designers are looking to semiconductor companies for additional support," said Bob Pinteric, general manager, Multipurpose Microcontroller Strategic Business Unit, NEC Electronics America. "The new ZigBee Pro evaluation kit provides the hardware and software required to meet these growing design demands and support home area networking development."
The ZigBee Pro evaluation kit includes three pre-programmed ZigBee Pro nodes - each comprising a module board with NEC Electronics' 78K0R/KE3 MCU and 802.15.4 radio, a debug board with USB and RS232 interfaces, and a breadboard area for prototyping.
NEC Electronics designed the low-power MCU/radio module for easy "plug and play" function with other systems running protocols such as powerline communications. This modular design eases prototyping and development work. The radio current consumption is 17.3 milliamps (mA) transmit and 15.8mA receive, while the 16-bit 78K0R MCU features a very low 1.1 microAmp (µA) Stop Mode current. Moreover the MCU has a real-time counter with an advanced calendar function that performs time stamping and extends device battery operating life by enabling low-power system Sleep modes before wake-up is required.
The kit will provide all of the required evaluation software, including NEC Electronics' software development environment and ZigBee Pro Software Stack, as well as additional network software tools for quick ZigBee Pro network configuration. NEC Electronics' ZigBee Pro software is compliant with the ZigBee Pro standard.
More information about NEC Electronics' ZigBee solutions can be found at www.am.necel.com/micro/technology/index.html.
Pricing and Availability
The ZigBee Pro Evaluation Kit is scheduled to be available November 2009, with a distribution suggested resale of $250. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)
About NEC Electronics America, Inc.
NEC Electronics America, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a leading provider of semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the broadband and communications markets; system solutions for the mobile, PC, automotive and digital consumer markets; and multi-market solutions for a wide range of consumer applications. NEC Electronics America offers local manufacturing in Roseville, California, and the global manufacturing capabilities of its parent company. In the Americas, NEC Electronics America markets and sells industrial-type active-matrix LCD modules from NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd., a global leader in innovative display technologies. More information about the products offered by NEC Electronics America can be found at www.am.necel.com.
