At the Intel Developer Forum this week in Tokyo, Japan, Staccato Communications unveiled a UWB development kit called Ripcord. This UWB Development Kit (SC3100D) comprises multiband OFDM alliance (MBOA) UWB hardware, software and a consumer product development platform. It incorporates the first complete single-chip all-CMOS MBOA-compliant PHY module, MBOA MAC, WiMedia Convergence Architecture (WiMCA), integrated 32-bit ARM9 RISC processor, and interfaces including SDIO 1.1, and USB 2.0 host and device. The DVK includes software and drivers for Wireless USB and also supports Wireless IP. The DVK is extensible to support possible future plug-ins such as Wireless 1394 and higher-speed Bluetooth. Staccato's implementation of the MBOA MAC provides rapid device discovery, fast-stream establishment, high quality of service (QoS) and efficient use of spare capacity by periodic traffic in a secure decentralized architecture, said the developer.

Staccato's silicon is implemented in Fujitsu's 0.11-micron (110 nm) generic CMOS process and then further integrated into a 10 mm x 10 mm LTCC module inclusive of all additional components to complete the system with the exception of the antenna. This form factor provides for low-cost and high-volume commercially viable products with minimal design-in effort and risk, according to Staccato. This integrated module integrates the crystal, filters, passive components, transmit/receive switch and matching circuits enabling from the onset a sub-$10 per node implementation for wireless USB and wireless IP connectivity at 480 Mbps speed.

RSS    Save to Del.icio.us  Digg This