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ZeroG Wireless to Demonstrate Embedded Wi-Fi Product Interoperability With Wi-Fi PAN Technology at ESC

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 March 2009, 12:30 CDT

Demonstrations with Microchip Technology and other industry leading microcontroller vendors and hands on technical training round out the Embedded Systems Conference line-up

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- ZeroG Wireless, Inc., an innovator in low-power embedded Wi-Fi design, today announced plans to demonstrate interoperability between ZeroG's ZG2100M "Wi-Fi I/O" and a new wireless PAN (personal area networking) technology, at the Embedded Systems Conference, March 30 - April 2. The wireless PAN, Intel(R) My WiFi technology, essentially enables a laptop to serve as an access point for Wi-Fi Certified(TM) consumer electronic devices such as photo frames, cameras and printers. In addition, ZeroG will host a hands on "Adding Wi-Fi/Internet Connectivity to Anything" seminar, free to anyone with an exhibition pass on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 2:00 pm in Room "L".

"Consumers are looking for easier ways to wirelessly connect things," said Tim Colleran VP Marketing of ZeroG Wireless. "Wi-Fi Pan technology is exciting because it will simplify connectivity and dramatically increase the availability of wireless access." A Microchip Technology Inc. based Internet radio connecting through the Wi-Fi PAN via a ZeroG wireless ZG2100 Wi-Fi I/O module will be on display at the ZeroG booth (#541).

"Intel(R) My WiFi Technology provides a portable, personal access point and ZeroG Wireless has been able to demonstrate connecting interesting and innovative Wi-Fi device concepts that go beyond those currently in the market," said Scott Doenecke, Intel Product Manager. "We look forward to seeing what products and business models their customers create and deploy in conjunction with Intel My WiFi Technology."

During the ZeroG seminar in Room "L" on March 31st at 2:00 pm, materials presented and discussed will include:

• State-of-the-art wireless connectivity options
• Low-cost/Low-power Wi-Fi from ZeroG
• Hands-on demonstration of integration ZeroG Wi-Fi I/O technology with a PIC microcontroller
• Application discussion - what can benefit from connectivity?

Additionally, ZeroG will display at its booth a broad spectrum of customer and example designs during the show. One such design, a Wi-Fi enabled thermostat, allows home users and utility company technicians to the thermostat via a Wi-Fi connection in order to configure, control, and retrieve real-time data. The thermostat supports a variety of green initiatives such as demand-response and time-of-use charging. Also on display will be a Wi-Fi managed power strip, a Wi-Fi configured sprinkler, and a Wi-Fi controlled mobile web-cam from Wowwee.

ZeroG's technology is uniquely designed to integrate quickly into products from a variety of microcontroller vendors. At ESC ZeroG will highlight some of the microcontroller vendor interoperability, including the following.

Microchip Technology

ZeroG will demonstrate development kits based on the standard Microchip PICtail(TM) and PICtail Plus daughter-board connectors, which allow a designer to easily plug Wi-Fi connectivity into a variety of Microchip development kits. These development kits allow easy development on the 8-bit PIC18, 16-bit PIC24 and 32-bit PIC32 microcontrollers, as well as the dsPIC(R) digital signal controller families. All of these development kits will be available for immediate purchase.

STMicroelectronics

ZeroG will be demonstrating a jointly developed proof of concept with the STMicroelectronics STM32 microcontroller. The design will demonstrate web-based interaction between the kit and an access point.

Freescale Semiconductor

ZeroG will demonstrate a jointly developed proof of concept with Freescale's M52259EVB evaluation board based on the MCF52259 ColdFire(R) microcontroller. This demonstration is designed to add Wi-Fi to the Freescale MQX(TM) software stack and will serve a Web page to a PC showing two-way communication with the evaluation board.

Atmel

ZeroG will be demonstrating a system featuring the Atmel 8-bit AVR microcontroller. The system features Atmel's capacitive sensing key and slider technology demonstrating a simple lighting control application.

About the "Internet of Things"

The "Internet of Things" is a network in which the Internet reaches out into the real world of physical objects. The phrase describes the technologies and research disciplines that make this network possible. With nearly every powered device capable of connecting to the Internet, the potential for commercial and personal use is unbounded. New products and new business models will flourish. ZeroG Wireless refers to this dramatic shift in communication, to "person to machine" and "machine to machine," as the 4th Age of Wireless(TM) - the Internet of Things.

About ZeroG Wireless, Inc.

ZeroG Wireless is a fabless semiconductor company focused on creating a world of connected devices, the "Internet of Things." With ZeroG low-power Wi-Fi chips, there is no limit to the type of device that can now leverage the massive and rapidly growing Wi-Fi infrastructure. The Company's products are designed from the ground up to enable simple, low-cost connectivity for nearly any system, regardless of architecture. The result: faster time to market and significantly lower overall system cost.

Privately held, ZeroG Wireless is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. Investors are Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, and Miven. Additional information may be found at http://www.zerogwireless.com/

SOURCE ZeroG Wireless, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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