LSR has introduced two new solutions that help companies design and certify wirelessly-connected products quickly and successfully. These two Broadcom-enabled solutions speed time to market, while also minimizing design risks, simplifying implementation and achieving certification for the widest range of international standards. The two new solutions are:
- The Sterling-LWB certified Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, and Bluetooth® Smart multi-standard module, which enables companies to easily add wireless capabilities to electronic products typically running Linux.
- A new Serial-to-WiFi API for the TiWi-C-W certified Wi-Fi module with integrated TCP/IP stack enables companies to easily add Wi-Fi capabilities to low cost products for the quickly emerging Internet of Things (IoT) market.
The new LSR Wi-Fi development solutions utilize Broadcom's broadly deployed silicon technology and WICED™ software platform. The Sterling-LWB utilizes Broadcom's powerful BCM4343W chipset for Linux-based applications. The Serial-to-WiFi API is designed for IoT applications utilizing LSR's TiWi-C-W Wi-Fi module with integrated TCP/IP stack, powered by Broadcom's BCM4390 chipset.
Sterling-LWB Certified Multi-Standard Module
The Sterling-LWB module provides users with more options, more certifications and a greater variety of antenna choices, which altogether provides greater flexibility to meet the challenging requirements of many wireless designs. This new certified module is a 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WLAN, Bluetooth®, and Bluetooth® Smart multi-standard module that builds upon the performance of the BCM4343W with broader capabilities to accelerate and simplify wireless development.
The Sterling-LWB will be offered in three different configurations to best meet the needs of a specific application, each boasting an industrial temperature rating of -40° to +85° C. It is available in a small footprint system-in-package (SiP) version that measures 10 x 10 mm, ideal for designs where space is a premium. Sterling-LWB will also be available in two additional configurations, offering the choice of either an on-module chip antenna or an on-module U.FL connector for an external antenna. These convenient options can significantly reduce design time and risk by simplifying the antenna implementation, while also providing convenient packaging and larger pin-outs for simpler integration and manufacturing assembly. The advanced chip antenna integrated with the Sterling-LWB offers greater resistance to de-tuning when compared to traditional chip or trace antennas. The Sterling-LWB will plan to support an unmatched breadth of certifications, spanning the US, Canada, EU, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Certifications will cover a chip, dipole, FlexPIFA™, and FlexNotch™ antennas, and LSR's on-site certification services enable customers to add additional antennas to the certification at a fraction of the time and cost. Direct driver support for both Linux and Android operating systems by LSR's US-based engineering team will be available, along with a Bluetooth SIG qualified driver. LSR's Design Services division is available for additional support and integration for a broad variety of Linux platforms, and a reference design for non-Linux WICED based solutions will be made available as well.
Serial-to-WiFi API for TiWi-C-W Embedded Wi-Fi Module
The Serial-to-WiFi API solution provides users with a far faster method of integrating connectivity for IoT products, utilizing a human-readable approach that minimizes the learning curve associated with traditional serial command set methods. This API is used in conjunction with LSR's TiWi-C-W™ certified module, which provides an embedded Wi-Fi solution that enables serial-based control from a simple, low-cost host processor, making it ideal for many price-sensitive, emerging IoT applications.
This Serial-to-WiFi API makes it simple to establish socket-based Wi-Fi communications through intuitive serial commands from your existing design's microcontroller (MCU). More than just a simple network processor, Serial-to-WiFi provides a connection management layer within the TiWi-C-W module that actively manages the Wi-Fi and socket interfaces. A design’s microcontroller doesn't need to run a TCP/IP stack or any other network management software; it can simply send a 'Socket Open' command and begin.
Product samples and development boards with an SD card form factor are planned to be available in the 1st quarter of 2016. Pricing for the Sterling-LWB begins at just $9.99 USD/Device in 10K quantities.
