Low Data Info At A High Data Rate

Zigbee-based point-of-sale terminal

Innoviti launched a Zigbee-based point-of-sale terminal under its own brand name at the beginning of 2007. This is unique among many of the Indian companies that generally act as ODMs.

From the company's press release:

"Payezee™ is a wireless accessory for point-of-sale (PoS) terminals for the pay-at-table and other short-range wireless markets. payezee™ is currently being sold in Asia through PoS OEMs.

payezee™ pro is a new enhanced version of payezee™ based on ZigBee technology. payezee™ pro uses ZigBee’s ability to allow for quick addition and removal of devices in a mesh network to reduce the power consumption in standby to about 1/10

th

of that in other short-range technologies. It further reduces operating mode power consumption to about 50% of other technologies. In addition, Innoviti has developed a custom network layer that effectively uses the low data rate requirement of a payment transaction to trade-off bandwidth vs. range and provide for an increased range in payezee™."

ZigBee modules survive encased in ice: News from Digi International

Digi's XBee ZigBee modules were used to monitor the temperature of a ice skating rink in Heerenveen. The project was implemented by PTC Remote Management and Service, who created a battery-based wireless mesh system that is embedded in -20 C ice in order to monitor the temperature of the rink and adjust the temperature to maximize speed skater race times.

Ingen Announces New Medical Technology, OxyAlert(TM)

Link: Ingen Announces New Medical Technology, OxyAlert(TM).

At the beginning of October, Ingen Technologies, a publicly traded medical device manufacturer, announced its new wireless-enabled OxyAlert(TM) product. OxyAlert(TM) relays the status of an oxygen delivery system to a remote receiver via a wireless microchip referred to as "ZigBy". This product enables freedom of movement for patients and caregivers from the oxygen delivery system, while monitoring the amount of oxygen delivered.

According to a recent article in ZDnet, the product is based on IEEE 802.15.4 chips from Jennic, but that we could find no other evidence of this.

Privaris Announces Gate Access Solution Enabling ''Fast Lane'': using 802.15.4

Privaris announced a new application of 802.15.4: security gate access control. The Privaris plusID 90 transmits credential data via 802.15.4 from a person or vehicle carrying the identity verification fob. The data is received by the Privaris Long Range Transceiver, which decrypts the credential information and passes it to an external control system to open the gate. The range for this device is specified as up to 300 feet, enabling vehicles to pass through a gate a speeds up to 20 mph.

for more information, read the company's press release:  Privaris Announces Gate Access Solution Enabling ''Fast Lane''.

2007 NEW SOUTHERN HOME SHOWCASES INSTEON LIGHTING CONTROL

Link: 2007 NEW SOUTHERN HOME SHOWCASES INSTEON LIGHTING CONTROL.

INSTEON wireless home control technology has been selected to control the lighting features of the 10,200-square-foot 2007 New Southern Home, a highlight of the 29th annual Southeast Building Conference (SEBC), July 12–14 at the Orange County Convention Center. The 2007 New Southern Home is a showcase home featuring the design, luxury and technology which will set the pace for new home standards and the lifestyle of the South. Featuring the latest and most innovative products available in the marketplace, the 2007 New Southern Home is built for the South’s extreme weather and incorporates “green” technology that will cut energy costs now and for the future.

Banner introduces SureCross wireless sensor network

Link: Banner introduces SureCross wireless sensor network.

Banner Engineering Corp. introduces SureCross Wireless Network, the first wireless platform built from the ground up for industry - featuring proprietary Radio Frequency (RF) design, advanced power management features and robust communications integrity. SureCross is designed and built by Banner, and it is optimized for a wide range of challenging sensing and control applications with superior reliability, security and deterministic response capabilities.

The most basic SureCross network consists of a Gateway system controller and one or more remotely located Nodes that bring monitoring and control capabilities to connected I/O. Nodes are easily deployed throughout a facility, gathering information to be concentrated at the Gateway. Each Gateway can simultaneously support up to 15 Nodes and each Node can accommodate up to 12 I/O points, depending on configuration. Rugged, self-contained Banner SureCross Gateways and Nodes accommodate both digital and analog I/O in a single platform. List price for a Gateway and Node pair is $1438, with additional Nodes starting as low as $450.

Digi Unites Wireless Technologies to Pioneer "Drop-in Networking"

Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII) last month introduced the ConnectPort X product family, a line of IP gateways that provide seamless connectivity of ZigBee, Wi-Fi, cellular and Ethernet traffic to centralized applications and databases. The ConnectPort X family is augmented by new families of XBee™ adapters and wall routers that provide end-device connectivity and network extension. These new products signify the introduction of a broader category of Drop-in Networking solutions requested by Digi customers.

openPR.com - EnOcean expands and strengthens Management Team

Link: openPR.com - EnOcean expands and strengthens Management Team.

EnOcean, the leading provider of the award-winning, patented, energy-harvesting wireless sensors today announced the appointment of Graham Martin as Vice President Strategic Alliances. Graham is responsible for integrating technology and market strategy for the rapidly growing EnOcean Alliance community. Graham Martin brings 25 years experience as an executive and visionary in the wireless semiconductor and electronics industry. He joins EnOcean from Chipcon, a Norwegian low power RF IC company recently purchased by Texas Instruments, where he was responsible for Business Development and the promotion of standards and Alliances such as IEEE 802.15.4 & ZigBee. In addition, Graham served as President of stack provider Figure8Wireless in San Diego and as Vice Chairman & Board Director of the ZigBee Alliance.

S e n s a t e x

Link: S e n s a t e x.

Sensatex Announces SmartShirt Field Trials

"Sensatex, Inc. announced today that it would shortly begin field trials of its patented SmartShirt System™. The SmartShirt System is a seamless shirt designed to monitor an individual’s heart rate, respiration and movement wirelessly and remotely. The field tests are the final step before the product will be commercially available.

Based on patents licensed from Georgia Tech University and additional patents filed by Sensatex, the SmartShirt collects physiological signals from the wearer’s body which are converted to digital signals using a small personal controller and sent wirelessly to a base station through either Bluetooth® or ZigBee™ wireless technology."

Health Data Management

Link: Health Data Management.

Another standard for tracking applications In 2005, Vassar Brothers Medical Center began deploying technology to manage various types of wireless signals over a single infrastructure. When the implementation was complete last summer, executives at Health Quest-the I.T. parent company of the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based provider organization-wanted to test asset tracking software over the network. However, instead of selecting a system that uses active RFID or RFID-over-Wi-Fi technology, they chose to pilot one that runs over the 802.15.4 ZigBee, wireless network standard. The application-called Spot, from Richardson, Texas-based InnerWireless Inc.-operates on signals transmitted over unlicensed bands in the radio frequency spectrum instead of those reserved for RFID or Wi-Fi applications. The vendor's tracking application is the only system running on the 802.15.4 signal standard at Vassar Brothers. The provider organization runs hardware, including voice communication badges from Vocera Communications, Cupertino, Calif., and various clinical applications over 802.11b Wi-Fi signals managed by its Horizon wireless utility from InnerWireless. Vassar Brothers decided to pilot the 802.15.4 technology because it already had invested in network architecture that could support the types of wireless signals it uses, says Nick Christiano, vice president and CIO at Health Quest. "The system fit wit