New Tools Make it Easy to Develop Cost-Effective, Low-Power Star and Mesh Wireless Products Based on Microchip's Free, Proprietary MiWi Protocol Stacks
Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, today announced its expanded MiWi Development Environment (DE), which is a complete ecosystem for designing star and mesh wireless networking products. The MiWi DE is comprised of Microchip’s free, proprietary MiWi P2P, MiWi and MiWi PRO star and mesh networking protocol stacks; the 8-bit Wireless Development Kit (WDK) and ZENA Wireless Adapters (2.4 GHz, 868 MHz and 915 MHz); and the multi-purpose Wireless Development Studio (WDS) with cross-platform support for the Linux, Mac OS and Windows operating systems. The MiWi DE is ideal for the development of ISM-band wireless networking applications for the home and industrial automation, wireless sensor monitoring and control, and smart energy markets.
Low-power wireless connectivity is becoming increasingly popular in many embedded microcontroller applications, and Microchip’s new additions to the MiWi DE combine to make it easy for designers to add wireless connectivity. The new MiWi PRO mesh-networking protocol is ideal for design engineers needing to create medium to large wireless systems. It supports up to 64 hops and 8,000 nodes in an integrated mesh-network topology. The Wireless Development Studio allows the quick, easy development of wireless applications based on the MiWi protocols. It features a MiWi protocol sniffer for monitoring, debugging and gathering information, and a configurator with a graphical user interface that enables the simple customization and configuration of wireless networks.
Microchip’s two new hardware tools simplify wireless application development. The ZENA Wireless Adapters meet customer demand for a portable, multi-function development tool. When paired with the Wireless Development Studio, the ZENA Wireless Adapters can be used for sniffing, probing and testing; or, they can be configured as a node on the network. The 8-bit Wireless Development Kit provides eXtreme Low Power PIC microcontroller users with an easy-to-use platform for developing, evaluating and testing low-power, cost-effective embedded wireless connectivity. It features a pair of wireless PICtail daughter boards, two battery-friendly 8-bit XLP PIC MCU development boards and the ability to add additional nodes to create a larger wireless network.
“Microchip’s new MiWi DE gives our customers the tools they need to quickly and easily add low-power embedded wireless connectivity to their applications,” said Steve Caldwell, director of Microchip’s Wireless Products Division. “This single, seamless development environment supports three interchangeable protocol stacks with three interchangeable wireless PICtail daughter boards, reducing risk and enabling faster time to market with a flexible, cost-effective solution for our customers.”
Packaging, Pricing and Availability
The new MiWi PRO protocol stack – as part of the expanded MiWi DE – and Wireless Development Studio is available today via free download. The 8-bit Wireless Development Kit – 2.4 GHz MRF24J40 (part # DM182015-1) is available today for $299. The ZENA Wireless Adapter – 2.4 GHz MRF24J40 (part # AC182015-1) is available today for $49. ZENA adapters for 868 MHz and 915 MHz wireless applications are expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2011.
