Ember (company)
Encyclopedia
Ember is an American
company based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
. Ember has a radio development centre in Cambridge, England, and distributors worldwide. It develops ZigBee
wireless networking technology that enables companies involved in energy technologies to help make buildings and homes smarter, consume less energy, and operate more efficiently. The low-power wireless technology can be embedded into a wide variety of devices to be part of a self-organizing mesh network
. All Ember products conform to IEEE 802.15.4-2003 standards
.
with DFJ New England, Stata Venture Partners, and Bob Metcalfe. The company began by making mesh networking
software for other companies' microchips and has since evolved to manufacturing ZigBee
compliant chips itself. In 2003 Ember released its first chip, the EM2420 which was fully compliant with IEEE 802.15.4-2003 standards
. Since then, Ember has released the EM260 ZigBee network co-processor and the EM250, ZigBee system-on-chip (SoC), and EmberZNet ZigBee Software in 2005. In 2007, the EmberZNet PRO was launched to provide software that supports the ZigBee PRO Feature Set. The Smart Energy Suite and new versions of ZigBee Development Tools came out in 2008. In 2009 Ember released its third generation chips, the EM300 series. The company remains privately held and continues to secure funding from its primary investors.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Ember has a radio development centre in Cambridge, England, and distributors worldwide. It develops ZigBee
ZigBee
ZigBee is a specification for a suite of high level communication protocols using small, low-power digital radios based on an IEEE 802 standard for personal area networks. Applications include wireless light switches, electrical meters with in-home-displays, and other consumer and industrial...
wireless networking technology that enables companies involved in energy technologies to help make buildings and homes smarter, consume less energy, and operate more efficiently. The low-power wireless technology can be embedded into a wide variety of devices to be part of a self-organizing mesh network
Mesh networking
Mesh networking is a type of networking where each node must not only capture and disseminate its own data, but also serve as a relay for other nodes, that is, it must collaborate to propagate the data in the network....
. All Ember products conform to IEEE 802.15.4-2003 standards
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
.
History
Ember was founded in 2001 by Andrew Wheeler and Robert Poor. Both were students at MIT when they founded Ember with $3 million in seed funding led by Polaris Venture PartnersPolaris Venture Partners
Polaris Venture Partners is a venture capital firm specializing in seed and early stage investments particularly in companies engaged in the information technology and life sciences sectors....
with DFJ New England, Stata Venture Partners, and Bob Metcalfe. The company began by making mesh networking
Mesh networking
Mesh networking is a type of networking where each node must not only capture and disseminate its own data, but also serve as a relay for other nodes, that is, it must collaborate to propagate the data in the network....
software for other companies' microchips and has since evolved to manufacturing ZigBee
ZigBee
ZigBee is a specification for a suite of high level communication protocols using small, low-power digital radios based on an IEEE 802 standard for personal area networks. Applications include wireless light switches, electrical meters with in-home-displays, and other consumer and industrial...
compliant chips itself. In 2003 Ember released its first chip, the EM2420 which was fully compliant with IEEE 802.15.4-2003 standards
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
. Since then, Ember has released the EM260 ZigBee network co-processor and the EM250, ZigBee system-on-chip (SoC), and EmberZNet ZigBee Software in 2005. In 2007, the EmberZNet PRO was launched to provide software that supports the ZigBee PRO Feature Set. The Smart Energy Suite and new versions of ZigBee Development Tools came out in 2008. In 2009 Ember released its third generation chips, the EM300 series. The company remains privately held and continues to secure funding from its primary investors.
Chips
- EM351 integrates a programmable ARM Cortex M-3ARM architectureARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
processor, IEEE 802.15.4 RF transceiver, 128kB of Flash, 12 KB RAM, and the EmberZNet PRO network protocol stack which supports the ZigBee PRO Feature Set.
- EM357 incorporates the features of the EM351 but has 192 KB of Flash for applications that require more memory.
- EM250 SoC combines a radio transceiver with a 16-bit XAP2XAP processorThe XAP processor is a RISC processor architecture developed by Cambridge Consultants Ltd since 1994. XAP processors are a family of 16-bit and 32-bit cores, all of which are intended for use in an application-specific integrated circuit or ASIC chip design...
microprocessorMicroprocessorA microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
. It has embedded mesh networking software, on-chip debugging, 128kB of FlashFlash memoryFlash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
and 5kB of RAMRam-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
. It was designed for applications that require long battery life, low external component count, and a reliable networking solution.
- EM260 Co-Processor combines a radio transceiver with a flash-based microprocessor. The interface allows application development with any microcontrollerMicrocontrollerA microcontroller is a small computer on a single integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of NOR flash or OTP ROM is also often included on chip, as well as a typically small amount of RAM...
and tool-chain. Like the EM250 it was designed for applications that require long battery life, low external component count, and a reliable networking solution.
- EM2420 was the first chip Ember created. It has since become obsolete and has been replaced by second and third generation Ember chips.
Software
- EmberZNet PRO is a ZigBee protocol software package that runs the mesh networking applications. It provides networking for applications such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), home automationHome automationHome automation is the residential extension of "building automation". It is automation of the home, housework or household activity. Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC , appliances, and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and...
Networks (HANs), and building automationBuilding automationBuilding automation describes the functionality provided by the control system of a building. A building automation system is an example of a distributed control system...
systems. It is compliant with all the Ember chips.
Development Tools
- InSight Development Kits provide the hardware and software tools needed for application development.
- InSight Desktop allows for the programming and debugging of applications. It combines a packet sniffer, network analysis features, API tracing, and a virtual UART.
- InSight Adapter is used for network and microprocessor debugging and for programming chips.
- InSight USB Link is a FLASH programming device that connects to any PCPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
via USB and to Ember’s Radio Control Module (RCM). It contains the hardware and software tools that read and write applications and program FLASH memory on the chips.
- AppBuilder makes network customization possible. It generates a template application that allows developers to tailor the EmberZNet PRO software to their specifications and complete the application, readying it for hardware integration and testing. It also allows configuration of the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and generates source code application with places for the developer to insert their own OEM-specific code.
- xIDE is a tool-chain that supports applications being written for the EM250. It has a C-language compiler, assembler, source-level debugger, and graphical editing environment.
Applications
- Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)/Advanced Meter Reading (AMRAMR-Companies:* AMR , a UK manufacturer of high-end audio systems* AMR Corporation, parent company of American Airlines* American Medical Response, a private ambulance operator* Arcata and Mad River Railroad...
): provides two way meter communications, allowing commands to be sent toward the home for multiple purposes, including “time-of-use” pricing information, demand-response actions, or remote service disconnects. During periods of peak demand, utilities use these networks to throttle high-load devices in participating homes. Utilities may also institute time-of-use pricing schemes, where the home area network (HAN) is used to communicate the current price of energy to the consumer.
- Home Automation: allows household devices such as light switches and fixtures; thermostats and sensors; music, video and speaker systems; security controllers and appliances to network with one another to wirelessly automate the home.
- Hospitality: allows for wireless networking of the devices in the room without the need for a retrofit. The doors and the devices in the rooms can also be remotely monitored from a central location.
- Building Automation: provides building owners and property managers with HVAC, lighting, access and refrigeration control to monitor energy usage in real time to create more energy efficient environments.
- Asset Management: allows for remote monitoring and tracking of assets and cold chain. It also provides container security in shipping.
- Industrial Automation: wirelessly networks and automates industrial processes and allows for temperature, pressure and level sensing as well as providing temperature and flow control.
- Defense: provides both battlefield and shipboard monitoring.
See also
- ZigBeeZigBeeZigBee is a specification for a suite of high level communication protocols using small, low-power digital radios based on an IEEE 802 standard for personal area networks. Applications include wireless light switches, electrical meters with in-home-displays, and other consumer and industrial...
- ZigBee specification
- IEEE 802.15.4-2003
- mesh networkingMesh networkingMesh networking is a type of networking where each node must not only capture and disseminate its own data, but also serve as a relay for other nodes, that is, it must collaborate to propagate the data in the network....
- home automationHome automationHome automation is the residential extension of "building automation". It is automation of the home, housework or household activity. Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC , appliances, and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and...
- building automationBuilding automationBuilding automation describes the functionality provided by the control system of a building. A building automation system is an example of a distributed control system...