Dialog Semiconductor plc, a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC, solid-state lighting and Bluetooth® Smart wireless technology, has announced the company’s further expansion into the Smart Home and Human Interface Device (HID) market with a design win that will feature in a number of OEM wireless Remote Control Units (RCUs) for Smart TVs and set-top boxes from SMK Corporation. This further strengthens Dialog’s position in high-volume connected home devices, having recently deployed its Bluetooth Smart Technology in wireless PC peripherals.
The market for Bluetooth Smart applications is growing at a rapid pace as the technology delivers on its promise of ultra-low power wireless connectivity, making it the ideal solution for next-generation Smart TV controls. This trend is further accentuated by the push of Bluetooth Smart into the endlessly expanding Internet of Things.
Manufacturers of remote controls and consumer electronics accessories, SMK Corporation, has based its latest product designs on Dialog’s DA14580 Bluetooth Smart System-on-Chip (SoC), lowest-power and most integrated Bluetooth Smart solution. Their new remote control model has been selected by a tier one set-top box manufacturer, while a modified product will be offered as a generic product in SMK’s RF (radio frequency) RCU lineup.
The DA14580 chip’s outstanding features have allowed OEMs to design remote controls that significantly reduce the product bill of materials (BOM) thanks to a single-layer FR1 PCB, a reduced number of external components, and the elimination of the need for a 32kHz crystal oscillator – all of which adds up to a significantly lower production cost. In addition, energy efficiency is improved to the point where a single CR2032 battery now allows up to 5 years of continuous operation.
“Dialog strives to bring state-of-the-art connectivity solutions such as the highly efficient, low power DA14580 SmartBond to a wider market, providing OEMs with the benefit of minimised development cost and drastically reduced time-to-market,” said Sean McGrath, senior vice president and general manager, Connectivity, Automotive & Industrial Business Group at Dialog. “With the continuing success of the SmartBond DA14580, we have shown that we are ideally positioned to take advantage of the tremendous growth of Bluetooth Smart applications for the HID market, which helps to validate the company’s diversification strategy.”
“Through our partnership with Dialog, SMK is positioned to offer the Digital Television market remote control solutions utilising the most advanced wireless technologies in the industry,” added Patrick Delanoeije, vice president, SMK Europe. “Enabled by these technologies, SMK remotes offer exciting new user interface options including Voice Command, Gesture-Sensing and Pointing-Enabled models, many of which will be demonstrated at IBC2014 in Amsterdam this week.”
“SMK produces 70 million remote controls annually,” continued Mr. Delanoeije. “Supported by eight ISO factories, thirty sales offices and dedicated R&D sites across Europe, North and South America as well as Asia, SMK is uniquely positioned to supply solutions that reduce development time and costs, while enriching subscriber engagement with new digital television products and services.”
Dialog’s SmartBond is recognised for its ease of use due to a highly integrated solution requiring fewer external components than any other Bluetooth Smart solution available today while enabling fully hosted applications without an external microcontroller. With support for the latest Bluetooth 4.1 specification, designers are empowered to develop pioneering applications targeting an accelerating range of markets including HID, Wellness & Fitness Wearables, Medical, Proximity and Smart Home. With world-leading low power consumption, SmartBond is also perfectly positioned to enable the billions of battery-powered Internet of Things devices, without the need for compromise in product design.