Moteiv launches Tmote Mini wireless sensor network node (mote)

Submitted by nestorb on Thu, 2007-05-24 23:52.

May 8, 2007 – SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., The Tmote Mini wireless sensor network node, or "mote," supports the Zigbee specification and is packaged in an industry-standard miniSDIO form factor. The ultra-compact form factor allows for immediate integration of the Tmote Mini “mote core” into devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and other mobile products.

Product Overview
Tmote Mini combines a Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontroller with a TI/Chipcon CC2420 low-power radio, forming the "mote core" for use in WSN applications. The Tmote Mini line is offered in two configurations: the standard module has 0 dBm (1mW) output power at 2.4 GHz, and an enhanced module with +20 dBm (100mW) output power at 2.4 GHz. (Both versions are IEEE 802.15.4 compliant).

Functionally equivalent to Moteiv’s Tmote Sky module, Tmote Mini allows existing applications to be seamlessly migrated from the Tmote Sky development platform to the Tmote Mini deployment platform for use in production environments. Tmote Mini measures 20 mm x 25.4 mm and is less than 2mm thick, allowing it to be readily integrated into a variety of products (the Mini Plus is slightly longer at 32mm, while still compatible with the miniSDIO specification.)


Demand for instant access to physical data is becoming essential to people’s everyday lives and the need for easy to use wireless sensor network (WSN) technology is greater than ever. WSNs are currently being deployed into a wide array of applications in the agriculture/environmental, healthcare, defense, transportation, supply-chain logistics, and industrial automation markets. Tmote Mini fosters this growth by dramatically expanding the number of platforms that can be WSN-enabled quickly and easily.

"One of the largest WSN headaches is gaining access to sensor data in the field and then making sense of it by accessing backend and middleware sensor services,” said Mareca Hatler, Director of Research and Senior Market Analyst with On World. “Solutions are starting to emerge such as mobile gateways and mobile WSN development systems to address this growing opportunity."

"We are pleased to announce this latest addition to Moteiv’s product family. Tmote Mini allows our customers to design wireless network solutions with greater in-field capability than ever before,” said Rick Schell, Chief Executive Officer of Moteiv Corporation. "This product was developed as a direct result of customer feedback and their demand to create applications that rely less on tethered IT infrastructure and more on mobile devices such as cell phones. Tmote Mini’s widely known industry-standard miniSDIO form factor not only enables this critical mobile functionality, it also eases integration, reduces cost, and speeds time-to-market in deployments worldwide.”

Availability
Moteiv's ultra-compact Tmote Mini and Tmote Mini Plus are currently available to customers as individual units in volume or complete with the development kit priced at $1,995.00 (USD).

About Moteiv
Founded in 2003, Moteiv Corporation is a leading provider of wireless sensor network solutions. Moteiv makes wireless sensor network technology accessible through our innovative hardware platforms, robust open-source software, and whole-solution development services. Headquartered in San Francisco, Moteiv’s products are used in a wide-variety of applications, including climate monitoring, asset management, homeland security, and industrial control. Moteiv’s mission is to broaden adoption of this remarkable technology by making it approachable, affordable, and intimately familiar to those accustomed with traditional IT infrastructures.

About the SDA
The SD Card Association is an open industry standards organization established in January 2000 by Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), SanDisk and Toshiba, and is supported by a consortium of over 900 companies. The SDA’s mission is to set industry standards and promote SD Memory Card acceptance in a variety of applications. SD Memory Card standards are currently being built into a wide range of digital products such as cellular phones, audio players, automotive multimedia systems, handheld PCs and digital video and still cameras.