Market Leader in Mesh Networking Delivers Breakthrough Technology
with Thread Protocol Stack and Powerful Development Tools
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Silicon
Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leading provider of microcontroller, wireless
connectivity, analog and sensor solutions for the Internet
of Things (IoT), today introduced its highly anticipated Thread
networking solution, delivering a software stack built upon years of
mesh networking expertise and the industry's most advanced mesh
networking software development tools. Silicon Labs' Thread solution
offers developers the fastest path to developing Thread-compliant
products for the IoT including thermostats, wireless sensor networks,
smoke/carbon monoxide detectors, connected lighting devices, control
panels, wireless access points and gateways.
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Thread technology fills a critical gap in the IoT ecosystem by providing
the industry's first standards-based, low-power mesh networking solution
based on Internet Protocol (IP), enabling reliable, secure and scalable
Internet connectivity for battery-powered devices in the connected home.
As a founding member of the Thread Group and the chair of the Group's
technical committee, Silicon Labs has been instrumental in defining and
developing the Thread specification introduced today.
"Thread is poised to become one of the leading mesh networking
technologies for the connected home, with many device manufacturers
aligning with Thread technology this year and planning to roll out
Thread-enabled products in 2016," said Mareca Hatler, director of
research at ON
World Inc. "As a primary architect of both ZigBee and Thread
software and an industry leader in standards-based mesh networking,
Silicon Labs is positioned to play a prominent role in advancing Thread
technology throughout the connected home ecosystem."
Silicon Labs is working closely with leading manufacturers of
Thread-enabled connected home products, and the company's Thread stack
is powering mesh networking deployments at key customers today. Silicon
Labs offers the industry's broadest portfolio of mesh networking SoCs
and a common development platform for both ZigBee
and Thread solutions. The combination of Silicon Labs' Thread stack, EM35xx
wireless SoC platform, and hardware and software tools provides
developers with a seamless migration path from ZigBee to Thread via
over-the-air (OTA) upgrades. Silicon Labs' hardware and software roadmap
will enable multi-protocol, multi-band 2.4 GHz and sub-GHz wireless
connectivity for the IoT.
"As the market leader in mesh networking, Silicon Labs offers more than
a decade of experience in developing, certifying and shipping
standards-based mesh networking solutions," said Skip Ashton, vice
president of software engineering at Silicon Labs and vice president of
technology for the Thread Group. "We have a deep understanding of not
only mesh networking technology, but also the certification process. In
cooperation with our customers and ecosystem partners, we have
successfully certified thousands of mesh networking products and
software implementations using our industry-leading EM35xx wireless
SoCs."
"We welcome the introduction of the Thread specification and Silicon
Labs' Thread protocol and development tools, bringing leading-edge
wireless mesh networking technology to the connected home market," said
Kwikset's Keith Brandon, vice president of sales and marketing. "Silicon
Labs' standards-based Thread solution enables us to simplify and
accelerate the development of Thread-connected lock products that can
communicate seamlessly with other connected home devices while
protecting consumers with banking-class security features."
Silicon Labs' Thread solution offers a simple, secure and scalable way
to wirelessly interconnect hundreds of connected home devices and to
seamlessly bridge those devices to the Internet. Thread software
provides a self-healing, IPv6-based mesh network capable of scaling to
250+ nodes with no single point of failure. The protocol provides
extensive support for "sleepy" end nodes to enable years of low-energy
operation using a single battery as well as simplified commissioning.
Users can easily add nodes to a network using a smartphone or browser.
Silicon Labs' Thread stack uses banking-class, end-to-end security to
join nodes to the network and proven AES-128 cryptography to secure all
networking transactions.
"We are pleased to be working with Silicon Labs as we develop products
leveraging Thread technology to enhance and secure wireless
communication within the home," said Tim Myers, director of intrusion
product management, Tyco Security.
Simplifying Thread Development
Silicon Labs offers a comprehensive suite of development and debugging
tools to accelerate the introduction of Thread-compliant products.
Silicon Labs' AppBuilder tool simplifies and accelerates the development
of IP-based mesh networking applications. AppBuilder enables developers
to easily configure mesh networking applications for Thread protocol
using Silicon Labs' application framework, which isolates application
code with a set of easy-to-use call backs and plugins, making the
customer's software portable and reusable across supported wireless SoCs
in Silicon Labs' portfolio. Silicon Labs also offers a powerful Desktop
Network Analyzer tool that, unlike traditional wireless sniffers,
provides complete visibility of all wireless networking activity by
using the unique packet trace port available in Silicon Labs' mesh
networking SoCs.
Pricing and Availability
Silicon Labs' Thread software stack and sample application are available
at no charge to customers with registered EM35x-DEV development kits.
EM35x-DEV kits provide a common platform for both ZigBee and Thread
development, allowing customers to address multiple markets. Thread
modules are available now from Silicon Labs' ecosystem partners
including California Eastern Labs (CEL) and Telegesis. Silicon Labs' new
RD-004-0201 Thread border router reference design is planned for release
at the end of July. The initial software release for the border router
will showcase end-to-end IPv6 connectivity and include application
sample code to accelerate development. For more information about
Silicon Labs' Thread software stack, hardware platforms and development
tools, visit www.silabs.com/thread.
Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) is a leading provider of silicon, software
and system solutions for the Internet of Things, Internet
infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer and automotive markets.
We solve the electronics industry's toughest problems, providing
customers with significant advantages in performance, energy savings,
connectivity and design simplicity. Backed by our world-class
engineering teams with unsurpassed software and mixed-signal design
expertise, Silicon Labs empowers developers with the tools and
technologies they need to advance quickly and easily from initial idea
to final product. www.silabs.com
Cautionary Language
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on
Silicon Labs' current expectations. These forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that could
impact Silicon Labs' financial results and cause actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, please
refer to Silicon Labs' filings with the SEC. Silicon Labs disclaims any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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Silicon Labs
Dale Weisman, +1-512-532-5871
dale.weisman@silabs.com
Source: Silicon Labs
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