Silicon Labs Expands Wireless Portfolio with Ember ZigBee solutions

Industry experts predict that the number of connected devices for the IoT will surpass 15 billion nodes by 2015 and reach 50 billion nodes by 2020. By adding Ember ZigBee solutions to its portfolio of sub-GHz wireless ICs, wireless microcontrollers (MCUs), and 8- and 32-bit mixed-signal MCUs, Silicon Labs is uniquely positioned to provide the wireless connectivity and low-power processing platforms for many of the connected devices that enable the IoT.

The Ember ZigBee platform is the most integrated, comprehensive and feature-rich ZigBee solution available for 2.4 GHz wireless networks, delivering unmatched wireless performance, low power consumption and code density in a compact package. The most widely used ZigBee platform for mesh networking applications, EM35x devices can be deployed as SoCs for cost-sensitive, low-power sensor networks and other simple connected devices or configured as NCPs for complex applications running on high-performance applications processors. The EM35x devices integrate a 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 transceiver with an +8 dBm power amplifier, ARM Cortex-M3 core, up to 192 kB flash memory and 12 kB RAM. The Ember ZigBee devices offer superior message latency and data throughput and at least 25 percent longer battery life than any other ZigBee solution.

EM35x devices are tightly integrated with the field-proven EmberZNet PRO mesh networking protocol stack, which sets the bar for ZigBee stack reliability. Deployed in more wireless networking products than any other ZigBee stack, EmberZNet PRO software provides enhancements for robustness, scalability and ease-of-use even in larger networks and more challenging environments. The software stack is complemented by the proven Ember Desktop environment, which reduces design time by providing sophisticated visualization and debugging tools and application templates for the ZigBee Smart Energy, Home Automation and Light Link profiles.

The Ember ZigBee platform complements Silicon Labs’ portfolio of EZRadio® and EZRadioPRO® sub-GHz transceivers and Si10xx wireless MCUs, which provide high-performance, low-power solutions for point-to-point and star networking applications that require extended wireless range, high bandwidth and long battery life.

“Silicon Labs now provides a broad-range of wireless solutions offering world-class integration, exceptional performance, low power consumption, standards-based software and ease of use,” said Bob LeFort, general manager of Silicon Labs’ Ember ZigBee solutions. “Combined with an innovative portfolio of ultra-low-power MCUs, sensor and energy harvesting products, Silicon Labs is well positioned to be the leading silicon supplier for the smart energy, connected home, and other remote monitoring and control applications enabling the Internet of Things.”

About the ZigBee Standard

ZigBee offers green and global wireless standards connecting the widest range of devices to work together intelligently and help you control your world. The ZigBee Alliance is an open, non-profit association of more than 400 members driving development of innovative, reliable and easy-to-use ZigBee standards. The Alliance promotes worldwide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in consumer, commercial and industrial areas. Silicon Labs continues to advance the evolution of ZigBee technology through leadership roles in the ZigBee Alliance. Silicon Labs executives and engineers chair several ZigBee Alliance committees dedicated to driving next-generation features for the ZigBee standard. Silicon Labs is also helping to lead the development of ZigBee IP, the only open standard for 6LoWPAN. For more information, visit www.ZigBee.org.

Pricing and Availability

The EM35x series devices, development kits, and other programming and debugging tools are available now through Silicon Labs’ worldwide sales channels. The EM351 is priced at $4.76 and the EM357 is priced at $5.07, both in 10,000-unit quantities (USD).