Rosemont, IL—Millennial Net Inc. (Cambridge, MA) launched June 2 at Sensors Expo 2003 its i-Bean 5000, the latest version of its ultra-small, ultra-low-power, wireless sensor networking device.
Rosemont, IL— Millennial Net Inc. (Cambridge, MA) launched June 2 at Sensors Expo 2003 its i-Bean 5000, the latest version of its ultra-small, ultra-low-power, wireless sensor networking device. A dime-sized device with a 10-year-battery, i-Bean 5000 provides the same reliable wireless networking capabilities as its predecessor, but with greater power efficiency and at lower cost.
Using a portfolio of radio technologies, including micro-power narrowband solutions and wireless personal area network (WPAN) components, i-Bean-enabled sensors form self-organizing wireless networks. Millenial Net reports this allows communication between sensors or other control devices without requiring human administration and with very low power con-sumption.
‘i-Bean 5000 represents the culmination of critical technology breakthroughs in form factor and battery power,’ says Dr. Sokwoo Rhee, Millenial Net’s chief technology officer and co-founder. ‘Our calculations and tests indicate that i-Bean 5000, using the same low-cost, coin-sized batteries powering handheld calculators, will last more than 10 years in normal sampling mode.’
As a result, i-Beans allow OEMs and systems integrators to extend their product lines to offer tiny wireless sensors that can be placed in locations never before possible with existing technologies. The company reports that i-Beans are the market leader in low-power, low-data rate devices, and have immediate applicability in hundreds of industrial, medical, consumer and military applications.
‘Our customers look to us for superior technology, and our i-Bean 5000 delivers,’ adds Tod Riedel, Millennial Net’s president and co-founder. ‘By reducing the size of our i-Bean by more than 50% and more than doubling its battery life, we have opened more application opportunities for our sensor OEMs and systems integrators at a lower total cost of ownership.’
i-Beans are self-contained, miniature computers with a built-in power source, flash memory and peripheral devices, including a digital I/O interface, A/D converter and a radio frequency (RF) transceiver for two-way communication. i-Bean 5000 also contains a serial interface enabling easy connection to existing sensors with RS-232 interfaces. i-Beans can transmit and receive data at a range of more than 30 meters. The radius of an i-Bean network can be extended to hundreds of meters by using wireless, battery-powered (or ac-powered) routers.
i-Bean 5000 is available now in an Evaluation Kit for OEM prototyping. The kit includes five i-Bean 5000 transmitter/receivers, three i-Bean 5000 Routers and one i-Bean serial Gateway, along with accompanying software and documentation.
Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news [email protected]