Despite the lack of standards, proponents of both the camps, UWB Forum and MBOA Alliance, are moving ahead with their respective technologies. Toward that end, combining a multiband OFDM alliance (MBOA) ultra-wideband (UWB) hardware, software and consumer product development platform, Staccato Communications has unveiled a UWB development kit SC3100D. The 10 cm x 15 cm (4 inches x 6 inches) Ripcord DVK was unveiled at this week’s Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Tokyo, Japan. In addition, partners Fujitsu Ltd. and Staccato have jointly developed an unprecedented wireless USB-enabled digital still camera (DSC) development platform using the Ripcord UWB development kit. This system was the first demonstration to show wireless USB connectivity to DSCs. It was also demonstrated at this week’s IDF in Tokyo.

Recently, Freescale Semiconductor Inc. demonstrated its UWB solution on a Samsung cell phone at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France. In this demonstration, the Samsung camera phone is used to take a picture, which is transferred to a laptop using the Freescale UWB technology.

The Ripcord DVK incorporates a 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.

Staccato's silicon is implemented in the Fujitsu 0.11-micron 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 minimal risk, said Staccato. According to the developer, this integrated solution enables a sub-$10 per node implementation for Wireless USB and Wireless IP connectivity at 480 Mbps.

"This is truly a significant milestone," said Rick Kornfeld, president and CEO, Staccato Communications. "By integrating the UWB RF and high-speed digital baseband into a very small, single-chip all-CMOS solution, we are enabling a true high-volume consumer product. This finally demonstrates real commercial viability for UWB and dramatically improves time-to-market for our customers."

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