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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Atmel and Redpine Team Up on Ultra-Low Power 802.11n Wi-Fi for AVR and ARM-Based Microcontrollers

Over 100,000 designers can easily add WiFi to embedded applications
By Nick Flaherty www.flaherty.co.uk

Atmel Corporation has teamed up with Redpine Signals to help its community of system engineers easily add 802.11n Wi-Fi to its AVR and ARM-based microcontrollers for a variety of embedded systems in building automation, metering, digital audio and medical applications.
Designers can add 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity using two solutions from Redpine Signals optimised for Atmel MCUs. The fully-certified Connect-io-n Wi-Fi modules with integrated TCP/IP stack are ideal for AVR XMEGA and AVR UC3 MCUs, and SAM3 ARM-based MCUs, while the high-performance n-Link module with host-managed TCP/IP stack are linked to SAM9 ARM-based MCUs. These all connect through the UART, SPI and SDIO interfaces and offer up to 65Mbps of physical bit rate and up to 45Mbps of data throughput on SDIO interfaces. Wi-Fi kits from Redpine include optimised drivers and code examples free of charge and customers can also download Linux drivers to use with the Atmel SAM9 ARM-based MCUs.
"Wi-Fi connectivity is fast making its way into embedded applications," said Oyvind Strom, senior director of wireless marketing at Atmel. "Our customers are looking for low-power Wi-Fi connectivity for their embedded applications to complement the emerging 802.11n infrastructure network. This is an ideal time to add Wi-Fi capability to our MCU families, and we are excited to collaborate with Redpine Signals to bring more Wi-Fi connectivity to market."
"Redpine has pioneered low-power 802.11n Wi-Fi technology for over 10 years and established itself as a preferred provider of Wi-Fi connectivity for emerging industrial, medical, residential and smart energy markets. By offering 11n Wi-Fi connectivity for the leading Atmel AVR and ARM-based microcontrollers, including the AVR XMEGA, AVR UC3 and SAM3 and SAM9 ARM-based families, we believe it is a 'win-win' for both companies," said Venkat Mattela, CEO at Redpine Signals. "Our mature, proven module design and manufacturing expertise, combined with our optimal silicon architecture, has enabled us to provide 802.11n single-stream solutions at a lower cost than legacy 802.11b and 802.11b/g solutions."

Pricing and Availability

To begin evaluation, customers may purchase an Atmel evaluation kit, such as the Xplained kit, and a Wi-Fi kit from Redpine Signals. The Atmel Xplained and EV kits are available from Atmel and its distribution partners with a suggested retail price starting at $29. The Redpine Signals Wi-Fi kits are available from Redpine Signals with a suggested retail price starting at $79.

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