an award-winning ZigBee technology provider, today announced that it has successfully obtained ZigBee 2006 certification for its family of ZigBit 802.15.4/ZigBee OEM modules that are based on a chipset from Atmel® Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML). MeshNetics’ ZigBeeNet becomes the first ZigBee-certified stack for the Atmel AVR® Z-Link® hardware platform, consisting of an ATmega1281 AVR Flash microcontroller and an AT86RF230 RF transceiver. The robust testing process performed by a ZigBee qualified testing lab, ensures the interoperability with other ZigBee compliant products.
ZigBee modules help OEMs bring ZigBee 2006-compliant products to market faster by eliminating costly and time-consuming RF development. Areas of application include building automation, HVAC, automated meter reading, predictive maintenance, transportation, and asset tracking. The MeshNetics ZigBit modules feature best-in-class sensitivity, long range and low power consumption while occupying less than a half square inch of space. The ZigBit modules are the first to utilize Atmel’s new AT86RF230 radio. Thanks to its 104 dBm performance, its range is almost 3 times that of its competitors.
“Achieving ZigBee certification comes as an important milestone to MeshNetics, as we are seeing an increased adoption of ZigBee technology in the market and interoperability becoming a pivotal factor,” said Mr. Vasiliy Suvorov, CEO of MeshNetics. “Now we are able to offer OEMs not only a combination of best-of-breed hardware and software, but also a guarantee of the future interoperability of their products. We worked on this certification in partnership with Atmel, a world leader in advanced semiconductors, and we look forward to continuing to serve the rapidly growing ZigBee market together.”
“The ZigBee-certified platform represents an important building block in the fast developing ZigBee market,” said Magnus Pedersen, Atmel’s Director of Product Marketing AVR RF. “With the ZigBee certification process in place, we are pleased to see MeshNetics being the first company to qualify on the AVR Z-Link platform.”
Availability
MeshNetics’ ZigBit modules are available with two antenna options: dual-chip antenna and balanced RF output for use with PCB antenna. All ZigBit modules come bundled with networking stack firmware that enables the module-based wireless sensor devices to form self-healing, self-organizing mesh networks. Using MeshNetics firmware, developers can fully manage ZigBee networks via either C API or a set of AT-commands. ZigBit evaluation kits and development kits present easy-to-use tools for the module testing and application development, and include evaluation boards, software, accessories, documentation and technical support over e-mail.
MeshNetics will offer hands-on training sessions using the ZigBee 2006 certified platform during the ZigBee Developers’ Conference in San Jose, CA on April 3 - 5, 2007. For more information please see www.meshnetics.com.