Jun 22 2009
Freescale : Zigbee RF4CE now in Golden Unit Status
The Zigbee Alliance has recently approved Freescale as the first “Golden Unit Status” provider of their RF4CE protocol products. The RF4CE standard is another communication protocol for the 802.15.4 MAC/PHY 2.4GHz radio that supports Zigbee and Zigbee Pro. The same base radio can be used and the multiple protocols for 2 way communication are possible to exist simultaneously. In order to have communication between these protocols, a proxy is needed.
The RF4CE standard is targeted for the Consumer Electronics applications as an RF alternative to IR, Bluetooth and WiFi solutions in TVs, Set-top box , media control, home computer and other function control consumer electronics applications. The system is frequency agile so it will not conflict with neighboring systems and can support two stacks at one time. For Smart Energy Applications, an IP stack is being developed.
The TV industry had been quick to adopt this technology, which is in production and has been shipping to OEMs for some time. This quick adoption was brought on by providing a solution to the IR remote interference problems that are generated by LCD TVs. The technology also has a very low power footprint. Traditional RF remote solutions utilize 2 AA batteries with a 1 year functional life. The RF4CE solution uses 2 AAA batteries with a 2 year functional life (four times lower than an IR remote) while still providing 400M line-on-site communication. This communication range is significantly larger than Bluetooth and IR technology.
At this time the Freescale solutions are being provided to OEMs of TVs, Set-top Boxes, Blu-Ray devices and are being designed into a new generation of smart white goods. These current products are supplemented by a platform solution that includes and ARM32 bit core, the RF and necessary passives to make the system functional. This is being made available as both a demonstration and development platform.
Freescale estimates that in 2009, there will be four million shipments of 802.15.4 based RF transceivers for consumer electronics. By 2012, They expects there to be more than 160 million products shipped per year using the ZigBee RF4CE technology.
PC