ANTDKT3 uses Nordic Semiconductor nRF24AP1 and nRF24L01 2.4GHz transceivers running the ANT wireless sensor network protocol to offer the easiest-to-use wireless sensor networking Development Kit available
Oslo, Norway and Cochrane, Canada - September 10, 2007 - Nordic Semiconductor ASA (OSE: NOD) and ANT today launch the ANTDKT3 wireless sensor network Development Kit. By using the kit, engineers avoid the design complexity traditionally associated with wireless sensor networking and are able to build a functioning 2.4GHz wireless sensor network within minutes to test their specific applications.
The ANTDT3 allows the user to:
- Evaluate ANT as the practical solution for wireless sensor networks;
- Design wireless network control and sensor nodes based on ANT chips, chip sets and modules;
- Develop PC applications connecting to ANT products.
Key to the Development Kit's ease-of-use is the inclusion of a number of modules, interface boards and software applications that are optimized for wireless sensor networking. Modules include RF drop-in modules based on Nordic nRF24AP1, ANT's AT3 RF drop-in sensor development modules based on Nordic's nRF24L01 and ANT SensRcore", plus various interface boards allowing ANT to be evaluated in embedded and PC environments. Also included is an ANT monitoring and control PC application (ANTware) and SensRcore configuration PC application (SensRware"). In conjunction with the ANTDKT3, these software applications considerably ease wireless sensor node and network set-up and configuration by using a PC based GUI that requires no specialist programming knowledge.
The ANTDKT3 Development Kit comes complete with a range of example applications, including a relay device, auto-shared channel - slave, LED control and frequency hopping (master and slave). Users also have access to application notes on topics such as device pairing, burst transfers and SensRcore mode example use. Direct technical support is provided for registered customers.
"This is an impressive Development Kit," says Thomas Embla Bonnerud, Nordic Semiconductor's Product Manager for Standard Components. "It allows designers to build and fully evaluate functioning 2.4GHz wireless sensor networks based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF24AP1 transceivers and ANT wireless networking protocol straight out of the box within minutes. This has been made possible by cutting through all the traditional complexity and development work that typically has to be done to set up a fully functional wireless sensor network."
"This Development Kit sets the benchmark standard for ease-of-use and end-user focus to which Nordic Semiconductor aims to aspire in all of its development kit and reference design solutions - the ANTDKT3 really is that good," adds Bonnerud.
"The ANTDKT3 reinforces ANT's policy of ease-of-implementation and high efficiency as a wireless sensor networking protocol," says ANT's Director, Brian Macdonald. "To realize the huge potential of wireless sensor networking, design engineers need to be able to build complex networks easily without years of specialist programming experience. With the ANTDKT3, network construction is that simple. And the ANT protocol allows nodes to be added in an ad hoc manner - avoiding the need to reconfigure the whole network. We call this whole approach 'Practical Wireless Networking'."
The ANTDKT3 supersedes all previous nRF24AP1 development kits.
About ANTTM and SensRcoreTM
ANT is a highly resource optimized 2.4GHz wireless protocol designed for ultra-low power operation. The protocol is a proven silicon solution commercially available in module and chip form and successfully used in over a million devices in the field.
ANT is inexpensive and operates with ultra-low power consumption making it ideally suited to the demands of wireless sensor networks. ANT transceivers are powered by coin cell-type batteries exhibiting years of battery life compared to just a few months or less for competing 'low power' technologies in similar applications with similar usage patterns1.
Supported by a silicon radio operating in the 2.4GHz frequency band ANT is designed for maximum flexibility, scalability and ease-of-use, and features fully integrated network and channel management for Practical Wireless Networking.
ANT uses bi-directional 2.4GHz ISM band RF communications and adaptive isochronous (TDMA-like) channels supporting multiple frequencies and high-density networking. The protocol is able to support multiple data transfer modes with a raw date rate of 1 Mbit/s and a burst data rate of up to 20 kbit/s.
Using ANT, a designer can set-up the radio to spend most of its time in an ultra-low power sleep mode (consuming just microamps), wake up quickly, transmit for the shortest possible time and then rapidly return to sleep mode. Typical duty cycles (the ratio of transmit/receive time to sleep time) for WSNs are much less than one percent, resulting in average power consumption in the microamp range when employing ANT.
ANT is ideal for point-to-point, star and tree networks with a capability of up to 65,000 nodes talking to one master over a time slot shared single channel. In addition, ANT is easily capable of having a practical mesh network built on top of it when this greater network complexity is required.
SensRcore allows WSN designers to configure and program reliable and robust wireless sensor devices from standard components via simple commands through the chip or module's serial interface.
To allow maximum design flexibility, each SensRcore I/O pin is individually configurable. This includes the ability to select multiple reference voltages for analogue inputs that enables analogue-to-digital conversion with 10-bit precision for currently available SensRcore solutions.
In operation, SensRcore configures the sensor at start-up with a flash memory stored sensor profile and the relevant ANT sensor communication protocol. ANT chips and modules equipped with SensRcore do not require an application host MCU, eliminating the need for complex firmware development. This shortens design cycles and cuts system cost, power consumption and size.
Many common sensor profiles are preloaded and available through external pin configurations, and SensRcore includes support for almost any direct analogue or digital sensor sampling application.
Input sampling can be either interrupt driven (counter mode), poll-based according to the ANT message period, or periodically generated by an internal timer (when simple analogue-to-digital filtering is to be applied). Multiple data sources can be associated with a single ANT channel that will transmit data on every message period. Each data type has its own pre-defined payload format.
SensRcore is suitable for a wide range of WSN applications and products - particularly those that will benefit from eliminating unnecessary complexity common to other approaches.
Application and product examples include: wireless intelligent sport instruments and sensors; and industrial and home automation sensing of parameters such as temperature, lighting and movement. (See www.thisisant.com.)
1. One hour of activity per day, two second message interval.
About the nRF24AP1TM
Based on the market leading nRF24xx RF core, the nRF24AP1 integrates an ultra-low power 2.4GHz transceiver for wireless communication with ANT's production-proven low power network protocol, ANT, to create a true single chip solution.
The nRF24AP1 is an ideal solution for customers looking for a simple-to-use 2.4GHz transceiver but do not want to spend time integrating a networking standard protocol into their system. The nRF24AP1 is a drop-in wireless communications solution that eliminates the need to purchase third party protocol stacks and acquires standards certification through expensive acceptance testing.
The entire radio, protocol, peripherals, inductors and filters, are integrated into a single chip. The only external components needed to make a complete system are a crystal, some RC components, and a low cost MCU controlling the application. The application MCU is interfaced to the nRF24AP1 via a UART, or SPI serial port. The device is supplied in 5 by 5 mm package.
The nRF24AP1 offers uni-directional and bi-directional support across 125 channels using TDMA for data security and immunity from interference. It operates from a 1.9 to 3.6 V supply, has a maximum transmission rate of 1 Mbit/s, 0 dBm output power and ultra-low power consumption.
Prime applications include sensor networks, industrial automation, home automation and sports monitoring.
About Dynastream Innovations Inc.
The company behind ANT is Dynastream Innovations Inc. Dynastream was established in 1998 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Garmin International Inc. in December 2006. Dynastream is based in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, and is a world-leader in the research and development of inertial and wireless technology.
Dynastream was first recognized for its patented motion analysis technology that has been incorporated in industry leading products by Nike Inc., Polar Electro Oy, Suunto Oy and Ossur Hf.
Dynastream believes that ANT's integration into low-power processors, inertial sensors and wireless communication devices will enable everyday physical objects to compute and communicate information. This will spawn a new generation of consumer, commercial, industrial and medical products.
About Nordic Semiconductor ASA
Nordic Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra low power short-range wireless communication. Nordic is a public company listed on the Norwegian stock exchange.
Nordic provides RF silicon solutions including:
- Highly integrated RF silicon
- Sophisticated and flexible development tools
- Application specific communication software
- Complete reference designs
The company's innovative range of wireless solutions includes:
- The nRF24L01TM ultra-low cost and power 2.4GHz transceiver with MultiCeiver technology supporting up to six simultaneous wireless devices;
- The nRF24LU1TM a single chip 2.4GHz transceiver with full-speed USB, microcontroller and flash memory enabling ultra compact USB dongles for wireless peripherals;
- The nRF2401ATM and nRF2402TM compact, lowest cost, lowest current consumption and low voltage supply 2.4GHz RF transceivers;
- The nRF24AP1TM ultra-low power 2.4GHz transceiver for wireless communication with Dynastream Innovation's production-proven low-power network protocol, ANT";
- The nRF24E1TM and nRF24E2TM low cost transceivers paired with the industry standard 8051 MCU core, and leading peripherals to create the world's first complete low cost SoCs for global 2.4GHz operation;
- The nRF24Z1TM single chip system for CD quality audio streaming of up to 16-bit, 48-kHz audio;
- The nRF905TM single-chip multiband radio transceiver for the 433, 868 or 915MHz ISM band;
- The nRF9E5TM low-cost, single-chip system with fully integrated RF transceiver for the 433, 868 or 915MHz ISM band;
- The nRF2401ATM and nRF2402TM compact, lowest cost, lowest current consumption and low voltage supply 2.4-GHz RF transceivers.
Nordic Semiconductor's nRF24xx range of 2.4 GHz-transceiver and transmitter devices are aimed at applications such as PC peripherals, keyboards/mice, game controllers, intelligent sports equipment and wireless audio (for example, mp3 and portable CD player headphones and PC speakers). The latest nRF24L01 family, for instance, is targeted at ultra-low cost and power applications such as wireless desktops and intelligent (for example, wristwatch-based) sports equipment.
Nordic's products are all manufactured in ultra modern semiconductor process technologies through strong relationships with world-best manufacturing facilities. Sales are primarily made through a carefully selected worldwide distribution network. The company has offices in Trondheim and Oslo, Norway, the US (west coast), Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, and is listed on the Norwegian Stock Exchange (OSX: NOD). All operations are managed according to the ISO 9001:2000-approved quality assurance system.
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