TOKYO and HSINCHU, Taiwan, Nov. 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- NEC Electronics
Corporation, Skyley Networks Inc., and Uniband Electronic Corporation
("UBEC") today introduced development kits, including both software and
hardware, that enable OEMs and system developers to quickly and easily
develop low power, wireless peer-to-peer mesh networks ideal for the rapidly
growing field of industrial and residential building management systems,
lighting controls, automated meters, sensors, and security systems. The kits
will be certified for compliance with the Enhanced ZigBee(TM) Standard, to be
unveiled by the ZigBee Alliance early next year.
The Software Development Kit (SDK), co-developed by NEC Electronics and
Skyley Networks, features an easy to use graphical user interface (GUI),
which allows effortless network development without the need for C
programming, and includes a network sniffer, network viewer, node setting
tool, and node monitor tool, for easy implementation of peer-to-peer mesh
networks based on years of networking expertise.
The hardware platform, consists of several evaluation boards based on All
Flash(TM) microcontrollers by NEC Electronics, which offers the flexibility
of flash-based programming and excellent power consumption levels, combined
with UBEC's UZ2400 transceiver device, which integrates a wireless RF
transceiver operating at 2.4 gigahertz, physical (PHY) layer baseband and
media access control (MAC) layer architecture.
After prototyping with the development kit, users can choose to develop
their systems using any of NEC Electronics' unparalleled family of flash-
based microcontrollers, including the 8-bit 78K0, the 16-bit K0R, and the 32-
bit V850ES microcontrollers. The company boasts a lineup of more than 200
devices, allowing customers to select the MCU that meets the precise needs
for the applications they want to develop.
"NEC Electronics offers customers a selection of more than 200 flash-
based microcontrollers to choose from, offering an unparalleled degree of
flexibility," said Shige Ishikawa, general manager, Multipurpose
Microcomputer Systems Division, NEC Electronics. "We are excited to be
working with Skyley Networks and UBEC, two recognized leaders in the ZigBee
arena, to bring such a wide range of possibilities to wireless system
developers."
"It is quite exciting to see the five year experience of ad-hoc, peer-to-
peer network in Skyley Networks can be shared with vast amount of network
solution providers on the globe," said Hidekazu Umeda, CEO of Skyley Networks.
"This collaboration took place at a perfect time for the ZigBee network
to commence the deployment in various sensor networks," said Chun-Yi Chai,
CEO of UBEC. "The superior RF features of the UZ2400 transceiver chip will
enable a wide range of applications envisioned by the ZigBee Alliance."
Exhibition at Embedded Technology 2006
A prototype of the ad-hoc peer-to-peer mesh network using the SDK and the
platform will be available for viewing at Embedded Technology 2006, held
November 15-17 at Pacifico Yokohama, in NEC Electronics' booth #B32 in
Exhibit Hall B.
Pricing and Availability
Evaluation boards for the 78K0 are available now, and additional boards
for 78K0R and V850ES will be added in early 2007, priced from US$150. The
software development kits will be available in early 2007, priced at US$980.
Pricing and availability are subject to change. NEC Electronics and Skyley
Networks anticipate sales of more than 1,000 licenses of the SDK by 2010.
About ZigBee
ZigBee is a wireless network technology that enables long lifetime with
low power consumption, using dry batteries. The technology is well-suited
for a wide range of building automation, industrial automation, medical and
residential control & monitoring applications.
About NEC Electronics
NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) specializes in semiconductor
products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the high-end
computing and broadband networking markets, system solutions for the mobile
handset, PC peripherals, automotive and digital consumer markets, and
platform solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC
Electronics Corporation has 24 subsidiaries worldwide including NEC
Electronics America, Inc. ( http://www.am.necel.com ) and NEC Electronics
(Europe) GmbH ( http://www.eu.necel.com ). For additional information about
NEC Electronics worldwide, visit http://www.necel.com .
NEC Electronics is a member of the ZigBee Alliance as a participant.
About Skyley Networks Inc.
Skyley Networks was established in 2001, and specialized in the "P2P"
(Peer-to-Peer) protocol network technologies. Skyley Networks rolled out its
proprietary P2P protocol, "DECENTRA", in 2002, and has accumulated an
enormous amount of experience in P2P applications over wireless LAN and
Bluetooth. Additional information about Skyley Networks can be found at
http://www.skyley.com .
Skyley Networks is a member of the ZigBee Alliance as an adopter.
About Uniband Electronic Corporation
UBEC is an international fabless semiconductor company specializing in
the design and manufacture of ICs for wireless applications. With its
headquarters in Hsin-Chu Taiwan and an office in Silicon Valley, U.S.A. UBEC
offers various RF solutions tailored to our customers' and partners' needs.
Our mission is to develop high quality products with competitive price-and-
performance ratio and time-to-market advantages for our customers.
Being "customer-oriented" has always been the spirit of UBEC's people and at
UBEC customer always comes first. For more information, visit the UBEC
website at http://www.ubec.com.tw .
UBEC is a member of the ZigBee Alliance as a participant.
ZigBee is a trademark of the ZigBee Alliance.
