Marvell demoed Wi-Fi range advanced Avastar wireless connectivity combos can now enable Dynamic Multi-Hop Relay (DMHR) Technology, as well as new family of IAP SoCs for low-power and cost-sensitive IoT applications, includes purpose-built SoC for IoT markets.
Marvell demoed Wi-Fi range advanced Avastar wireless connectivity combos can now enable Dynamic Multi-Hop Relay (DMHR) Technology, as well as new family of IAP SoCs for low-power and cost-sensitive IoT applications, includes purpose-built SoC for IoT markets.
DMHR, when integrated with Marvell’s advanced Avastar wireless connectivity devices 88W8887, 88W8997 and 88W8977, is designed to enable Wi-Fi devices to support a robust extended wireless coverage by intelligently linking and sharing data or audio/video in a daisy chain topology.
DMHR technology is expected to enhance the user experience in various indoor and outdoor environments where robust wireless connection helps ensure uninterrupted multimedia and cloud services, whether in infrastructure or peer-to-peer configurations. This capability combines a core Wi-Fi technology developed by Marvell and application stack, system-level intelligence and synchronization developed by Libre Wireless. Both Marvell and Libre Wireless will be demonstrating an Audio Relay network at Marvell’s Computex booth.
The key features of the technology include:
• Relay network of up to 15 devices, all connected with each other in a daisy-chain fashion
• Extends the range of traditional Wi-Fi network by 15x, from 40m to almost 600m in a typical home
• Each node can further connect up to 15 more devices, forming a cluster network of over 200 wirelessly connected devices – ideal for indoor as well as outdoor use
• The Dynamic Relay is a fully self-managed and self-recovering network, with the capability to monitor all devices joining and leaving the network, as well as identifying any dead-nodes
• Key Use Cases: Multi-room Audio/Video distribution, Walkie-talkie, Group sports, Access Point repeater, Wide area security and surveillance systems
• Targeted for Speakers, Soundbars, Headphones, IP Cameras, Mobile, and Portable Devices
Purpose-built as part of Marvell’s IoT Application Processor (IAP) family of products, the IAP220 System-on-Chip (SoC) enables the low-power and high-performance computing necessary for many IoT products, and features an ARM Cortex-A7 dual core processor.
With the IoT application software framework Kinoma, the IAP suite offers pre-integrated silicon and software to support rapid prototyping workflows for delivering applications on a wide range of IoT and consumer electronics products. Kinoma can integrate cloud services (such as Amazon Web Services, Amazon Alexa Voice Services, Microsoft Azure and IBM Bluemix), and IoT framework support (such as Google BrilloT and Apple HomeKit), for fast prototyping of devices that need to connect to the wider IoT ecosystem. The Kinoma JavaScript engine is powerful while remaining remarkably compact; the KinomaJS application framework is open source and well documented.
Developers can access a complete platform that includes the Marvell Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Connectivity Module, development boards based on both the IAP220 and IAP140 (a generic Linux® board, generic Linux board with the Kinoma IoT application development framework, and an Android board will be selectively available), and the Marvell Sensor Board. The new Marvell IAP220 SoC is currently sampling with global customers, and the IAP140 is in full production today.
Features of Marvell’s IoT Application Processor suite
• Marvell’s IAP220 SoC provides fully integrated multimedia support including 3D graphics engine, display controllers, digital video camera interface, and video encoder and decoder—making the SoC well suited to home automation products with a touchscreen and high-level OS, such as smart appliances and security systems.
• The IAP220’s integrated sensor hub enables rapid and low-power sensor input processing, making the SoC ideal for context-aware IoT devices in industrial automation and smart energy management. This has been accomplished with API support for customization and management of various sensors, management of all I/O independently from the processor and in a very modular fashion, and wake up of the CPU only when needed for sensor input.
• Designed for IoT products that operate for long periods of time on the same battery—such as smart watches, fitness bands and other Internet-connected wearable devices with small footprints—the IAP220 SoC is optimized with an ultra-low-power architecture that includes low voltage operation, multiple power domains and a small always-on region.