Wirepas, a provider of mesh software solutions, and Silicon Labs have joined forces to deliver a combined hardware and software solution that unleashes the potential of multiprotocol connectivity for mesh networks. Building on their growing relationship and success in the smart metering market, Wirepas and Silicon Labs have collaborated to create an industry first: a truly concurrent multiprotocol switching solution with one EFR32 Wireless Gecko radio, enabling many innovative use cases for connected lighting, smart energy and asset management applications.
Together, Wirepas and Silicon Labs are enabling their customers and partners to take advantage of the unique features of Wirepas Mesh software including network scalability, reliability and ease of implementation, along with the RF performance and multiprotocol connectivity of EFR32 SoCs. The combined solution leverages the Wirepas Mesh networking stack and Silicon Labs’ Bluetooth software, Micrium OS and RAIL radio interface layer software to manage concurrent Bluetooth and Wirepas Mesh connectivity on a single EFR32 SoC.
Bluetooth is an ideal protocol for controlling lighting systems and indoor navigation through easy-to-use smartphone apps to enhance user satisfaction. Using smartphones, it also enables simple device provisioning without requiring custom hardware, thereby easing the installation and commissioning process. Wirepas Mesh software serves as the backbone for large-scale IoT networks while Bluetooth provides a ubiquitous, point-to-point user interface. The protocol combination also meets the growing demand in the retail, commercial and hospitality markets for connected lighting solutions.
Wirepas Mesh delivers more than 20 times the throughput of traditional mesh solutions while retaining the ability for routing devices to run for multiple years on commodity batteries, all configurable at runtime. With Wirepas Mesh, there is no vertical lock-in to the application layer, and industry-standard IPv6 software can be used if required. The unique performance of Wirepas Mesh is based on its fully decentralized architecture, which sets it apart from other technologies and enables unprecedented scale, density, reliability and a shift in the cost paradigm for mesh connectivity.
The combined Wirepas Mesh and Silicon Labs EFR32 Bluetooth multiprotocol solution is available for lead customers during calendar Q2 2018, with general availability planned for later in the year. General availability of standalone Wirepas Mesh software on EFR32 Wireless Gecko SoCs is planned in Q2 2018.
To learn more about joint Wirepas/Silicon Labs solutions and to see Wirepas mesh networking demos, visit the Wirepas Booth #112 in the IoT Pavilion at Lightfair International, May 8-10.
