Wi-Fi has become ubiquitous in the home, allowing a new category of devices to connect directly to the Internet or to a laptop through the emerging Wi-Fi PANs. Overcoming the range limitations of Bluetooth and the gateway requirements of other technologies, such as ZigBee, Wi-Fi can now be considered for applications such as home energy management and health monitoring, and for laptop PAN peripherals, such as mice, wireless speakers, and high-fidelity headphones.
Available now, G2 offers three ways to quickly and affordably embed ultra-low-power Epsilon Wi-Fi technology into battery-powered CE devices:
- G2C543 SoC—The G2 Wi-Fi and networking SoC includes a 32-bit CPU, operating system, network stack, crypto accelerators, power management subsystem, real-time clock, and a versatile sensor interface, allowing it to serve as a networking slave or a stand-alone host.
- Complete G2M5437 module—Drastically reduce design times with this low-power, low-cost Epsilon module, which includes a power amplifier and antenna, G2C543 SoC, 8 Mb flash memory and comes pre-certified for FCC and CE regulations and is tested for Wi-Fi Alliance WMM and WMM Power Save modes.
- Icon Development Kit—Affordably and quickly add Wi-Fi to an applications processor-based design with the G2-IDK, which includes a small board, with standard interfaces (UART, SPI, SDIO) and an Epsilon module pre-loaded with the Icon application. Icon enables a G2 module to become a Wi-Fi networking interface for mains- and battery-powered devices. The platform is especially suited for use with 8- or 16-bit host applications processors that do not have the ability to connect to other Wi-Fi chips, or for use with 32-bit host processors that do not have enough additional bandwidth to run a network stack.
"G2 is a demonstrated leader in ultra-low-power Wi-Fi," said Geoff Smith, G2 founder and CEO.
"With our second-generation silicon and module, it is now faster and easier to deploy a new class of consumer-priced, Internet-enabled wireless devices like Internet radios, cameras, toys, health monitoring devices, home automation/energy management devices, and media center remote controls."
More G2C543 Facts
- It is self-contained, incorporating the 802.11 b/g protocol, security, and TCP/IP stack, providing Wi-Fi capability on a single chip.
- It only draws 4 µA in standby mode and can wake up and transmit a packet in less than 11 msec. This allows the G2C543 to provide low-latency Wi-Fi solutions, driven from alkaline batteries with extended battery life.
- For simple devices, no other microprocessor is required as the application can reside on the G2C543. For applications already running on a microcontroller, even an 8-bit micro, the G2C543 offloads all Wi-Fi communications, allowing for fastest time to market.
- This SoC is a derivative of G2 Microsystems' award-winning G2C547 integrated circuit, which earned a "Best Electronic Design 2008" award from Electronic Design magazine.
Availability
Epsilon Family products are available in volume now. The G2C543 SoC is housed in a 72-pin QFN package and is priced at $4.80 in volumes of 1 million units. The G2M5437 module is sampling now and is priced at $13 in 10K unit volumes, and the Icon Development Kits are value-priced at $129 each.
Action
To learn more about the G2C543, contact [email protected] or visit the company's Web site.
About G2 Microsystems
G2 Microsystems helps connect products, people, and data through intelligent Wi-Fi integrated circuits that make it easy to Internet-enable anything. Its ultra-low-power Wi-Fi systems-on-a-chip are embedded in a range of battery-powered or microcontroller-based devices, including consumer electronics, real-time locating systems, and wireless sensors. Backed by top industry investors, the privately held firm is headquartered in Campbell, CA, and has R&D facilities in Sydney, Australia.