Chip Emerges As First ZigBee SoC

Unveiled as the industry's first ZigBee system on a chip (SoC), the EM250 integrates a programmable microprocessor, RF radio, network protocol stack, and memory into a single chip that is smaller than a shirt button —7 mm on a side. The chip operates at 2.4 GHz and enables a ZigBee-compliant network node with location awareness. It employs EmberZNet 2.0, the latest release of the company's networking stack, which adds support for application profiles in home controls as well as user-defined network applications. The stack also features a transport layer for reliable communication between nodes and to provide distributed bindings. In terms of design support, the WorkBench development kit provides a suite of tools for developing and debugging embedded applications. It pairs an integrated development environment with distributed network debugging and visualization tools. EMBER CORP., Boston, MA. (617) 951-0200.