Jennic announces partner program to drive adoption of IEEE802.15.4/ZigBee solutions

Sheffield, UK, 23 May 2005: Jennic has today announced its partner program to help the company meet the diversity of requirements of the low power wireless sensor market. Customer applications range from remote building management, automatic meter reading and asset tagging to supply chain management and hence, the delivery of semiconductor solutions based on the IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee standards requires different skills and domain-specific knowledge. Jennic's new partner program will address this variety of needs and drive adoption of the technology.

The partner program is designed to help OEMs reduce time to market and the cost of entry to the wireless sensor market. Commenting on the need for such a program, Jim Lindop, CEO and founder of Jennic, said, "With many analysts talking about growing adoption rates of distributed wireless sensing across a wide range of applications, we need to ensure that manufacturers have access to the hardware and software technology, as well as design and test capability. In addition, the requirements of different geographic areas must be addressed."

He added, "In contrast to the one-stop shop approach, our partner program brings together a matrix of sector specialists to build the most suitable solutions for specific needs in each region. As part of this program we are announcing the first of our agreements - with ZigBee network protocol stack providers, design houses, and network test tool providers. We will be adding more as we build up our partnerships network."

The initial members of the partner program include ZigBee protocol stack provider Luxoft Labs; product design and development consultancies Pera and Scientific Generics; and wireless sensor network test equipment provider Daintree Networks.

Luxoft Labs, one of East Europe's largest design outsourcing companies, helps their customers and partners to create complete sensing and control solutions for machine-to-machine, building and industrial automation applications by providing enabling software, hardware designs and customization services. Luxoft Labs' ZigBee stack implementation is based on the TinyOS operating system optimized for low power and resource constrained devices.

Scientific Generics is a leading international product design and development consultancy based in Cambridge, who are experts in developing products that fundamentally change the competitive landscape. Specific experience includes the development of integrated wireless solutions and the application of wireless sensor technology in the areas of tracking and location systems, metering systems and seismic monitoring systems.

Pera is one of the most successful innovation companies in Europe for leveraging European funding to help industry innovate, achieving step changes in productivity and cost reduction. By developing market leading products and novel manufacturing processes, particularly in the area of wireless applications development, it helps UK and European sectors move further ahead of their global competition. With over 50 years of manufacturing expertise Pera is recognised by industry and government alike as one of Europe's most effective business support organisations.

Daintree Networks is a leading provider of test equipment for this sector, and its sensor network analyzer is a powerful visualization and analysis tool for the development and deployment of 802.15.4 and ZigBee based products. Supporting direct connection to the JS24Z121-EK single chip evaluation system, the analyzer works seamlessly with Jennic's development platform enabling developers to have ready access to a comprehensive analysis and test tool set.

Jennic is a fabless semiconductor company leading the wireless connectivity revolution into new applications. Its expertise in systems and software combined with world class RF and digital chip design provides low cost, highly integrated silicon solutions for the low power short range wireless data market with a focus on the IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee standards. The company's products include state-of-the-art low power wireless microcontrollers, transceivers and low cost development platforms. Headquartered in Sheffield, UK, and employing over 60 people, Jennic is privately held and has a track record of successful silicon chip development for wireless applications over the last nine years.

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