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NEC Electronics, Skyley Networks, and
UBEC Introduce Development Kits
for ZigBee™ Wireless Peer-to-Peer Mesh Networking
TOKYO and Hsinchu, Taiwan, November
6, 2006 - 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™ 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™ 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 to 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. (www.am.necel.com)
and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH (www.eu.necel.com).
For additional information about NEC Electronics worldwide,
visit 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 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 www.ubec.com.tw .
UBEC is a member of the ZigBee Alliance as a participant.
# # #
ZigBee is a trademark of the ZigBee Alliance.
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