IoT chipmaker Silicon Labs has just unveiled a new hardware and software solution package to enable smart home manufacturers integrate the latest Z-Wave connectivity standard into their products.
IoT chipmaker Silicon Labs has just unveiled a new hardware and software solution package to enable smart home manufacturers integrate the latest Z-Wave connectivity standard into their products.
Z-Wave has been a leading wireless communication protocol applied in the field of IoT, and the latest Z-Wave 700 version features lower power consumption, longer transmission range, enhanced security and better performance.
Silicon Labs, which acquired the Z-Wave technology in April 2018, said its new Wireless Gecko solution uses an ARM processor “with large on-chip memory to enable greater intelligence at the edge.”
“Smart sensors add a whole new dimension to smart home, making it context aware, thanks to AI and edge computing. Now, sensors can be designed to detect details like motion, moisture, temperature, flow, noise and ambient light,” Silicon Labs says, adding that Z-Wave 700 is designed to meet this growing smart sensor demand.
“With the worldwide smart home market expected to grow to 1.3 billion devices shipped annually by 2022, much of that adoption and growth will be driven by sensors that enable AI and edge computing applications, which can deliver smart experiences in new verticals such as security, aging-in-place, energy, voice control and insurance,” said Adam Wright, Consumer IoT Senior Analyst at IDC.
“Advances in wireless technology, such as Z-Wave 700, are driving the battery-powered sensor trend and making these devices easier to install and deploy,” Wright added.
The energy-efficient Z-Wave 700 platform delivers 10-year coin-cell battery life, enabling more wireless sensor applications. In addition, Z-Wave 700 allows for better radio frequency performance, to enable transmission across multiple stories in a building or to the edge of a property.
The Z-Wave 700 standard also features backward compatibility so that all devices running on the Z-Wave protocol made by various manufacturers will be able to talk with one another. Also, new products and services based on Z-Wave 700 are secured with Z-Wave's S2 encryption and SmartStart to allow for easy setup.
Silicon Labs says its Gecko solution will help developers create new classes of smaller, smarter products at a lower cost and faster time-to-market.
Z-Wave 700 is shipping pre-orders now to 150 beta customers within the Z-Wave Alliance, and production quantities are planned to be available at the end of the first quarter in 2019.