Renesas Electronics and its alliance partner And Technology Research have announced a complete Zigbee Pro module-based design kit that includes the Smart Energy1.1 profile.
Based on Renesas’ M16C/6B single chip Zigbee silicon, the design kit is tuned to provide optimum RF performance in demanding situations and has been tested for interoperability at Zigbee Smart Energy interoperability events. It includes Testzed modules that can be used in product prototyping and are pre-programmed with the Renesas Zigbee Pro stack as well as the Smart Energy 1.1 profile (other profiles are available on request). The modules are controlled via Hyperterminal commands.
“The And TR modules and design kits are not only designed specifically for the markets at which they are targeted, but are also backed up by a strong design services company able to provide dedicated support and guidance for end customers trying to get to grips with the challenges of communications and networking,” said Andy Harding, senior manager of smart energy segment marketing at Renesas Electronics.
“Whilst the European Union and individual governments target ambitious roll outs of smart metering across the EU, And TR has the expertise to turn this goal into reality and is already actively supporting a number of our customers in technology trials.”
The Testzed module is designed to interoperate with the bundled PC Testzed software and can function as either a Zigbee coordinator or router, depending on how it is initialised. The software gives users visibility of network communications and enables direct testing of the Zigbee profile and their developed application through the reading and writing to the individual attributes of the profile’s clusters. As a result, scenarios can be quickly set up and tested.
“And TR is delighted to be working with Renesas in this market,” said Steven Kear, programmes director at And TR. “They are already a market leader and remain focussed on supplying semiconductor based solutions specifically targeted for use in the smart grid and building/home automation markets.
“Renesas puts a lot of emphasis on quality and supply which makes them a privilege to work with. Our relationship goes back many years and this gives customers the confidence they require to work with suppliers of components for major infrastructure projects like the smart grid.”
The M16C/6B includes a 16bit CPU with an IEEE802.15.4 compliant 2.4GHz transceiver, up to 256kbyte of on-chip flash coupled with 20kbyte ram and 8kbyte of data flash, in addition to peripherals such as a four-channel DMA, multiple timers (including watchdog), three channels of serial IO and eight-channel 10bit ADC.
