Ultra-low energy radio for wireless sensor networks, environmental monitoring, smart metering

Toumaz's TZ1053 Telran ultra-low energy wireless radio offers low-power continuous use radio in sub-1GHz ISM band.

March 30, 2011

Toumaz, a provider of ultra-low power wireless telemetry technologies for medical monitoring and internet-connected consumer devices, has announced the launch of TZ1053 Telran – an ultra-low energy (ULE) radio for wireless sensor networks, remote controls, green energy solutions, smart meters, and environmental monitoring. Built on Toumaz’s proprietary AMx Mixed Signal technology, the high-performance sub-1GHz radio SoC offers 1V operation using a single button cell battery and consumes less than 3mW continuous use power consumption.

Commenting on the Telran launch, Toumaz CEO Professor Chris Toumazou said: “With this important addition to our ‘Connected Consumer’ portfolio, we are harnessing our strengths in ultra-low energy wireless healthcare to create solutions for high-volume consumer markets. Telran is uniquely placed to support the development of a range of new ultra-low energy wireless applications, and we are very excited by the product opportunities that we will be enabling for our customers with today’s launch.”

The TZ1053 Telran uses AMx state-of-the-art ultra-low energy technology to deliver much longer life from low voltage battery-based systems for customers developing ultra-low energy applications – without compromising on performance. Designed with ease of use in mind, the Telran contains an enhanced 8051 running Toumaz’s Nanopower Sensor Protocol (NSP) allowing developers to program and control the Telran device easily with high level commands either over a standard interface eg UART or “over the air.” Target applications include the development of two-way communication remote controls for consumer electronic devices; wireless sensor networks based on Telran sensor nodes and base stations; environment monitoring and room temperature control; remote controls and toys/games; and smart metering, using Telran wireless sensor networks to connect multiple meters for the two-way transmission of status data and firmware upgrades.

Highlight features of the Telran IC include:

  • Fully integrated SoC comprising transceiver, baseband, embedded microprocessor and control logic
  • Ease of development – no compilers or specialist programming investment required
  • Simple over-the-air programming and reconfiguration
  • Quick and efficient customization using application profiles
  • Support for networking and communication modes including P2P (Point to Point), star network (up to 8 sensor nodes) and base station-to-base station communication
  • Data rate of 50 kbps with a range greater than 100m line of sight using a high gain antenna, or 20m from a PCB or chip antenna in a body-worn environment.
  • Ability to directly connect SPI/I2C sensors

www.toumaz.com

Toumaz

– Edited by Amanda McLeman, Control Engineering, www.controleng.com