Speedy setup added to USB-based radio chips

WirelessUSB radio-on-a-chip devices gain a new feature that provides a simple and intuitive method for users to pair a peripheral with the desired host.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp has added a new feature to its WirelessUSB radio-on-a-chip devices that provides a simple and intuitive method for users to pair a peripheral with the desired host.

The KISSBind capability enables users to link the devices by simply bringing them in very close proximity with one another, solving one of the most common problems experienced by wireless peripheral users - installation complexity.

The KISSBind method requires no additional hardware components, accomplishing the host-peripheral link with free firmware provided by Cypress along with its WirelessUSB products.

"Peripheral manufacturers tell us that installation problems account for more service calls than any other reason", said Marcus Kramer, Managing Director of the Wireless Business Unit in Cypress's Consumer and Computation Division.

"KISSBind solves this problem without adding cost or complexity to the end product".

"It's another way that Cypress is enabling a 'wireless out of the box' experience".

"We expect our customers to significantly reduce their support costs by implementing the KISSBind feature".

"A complicated, inconvenient method for binding a wireless peripheral with the host defeats the purpose of owning a wireless device in the first place", said Brian O'Rourke, Senior Analyst at market research firm In-Stat.

"The KISSBind feature offers a simple, elegant solution to this problem".

Peripherals currently use one of three different methods for establishing a wireless link.

The first involves pushing buttons on both the peripheral and the host in a specific sequence.

Buttons add cost and manufacturing complexity to the peripheral and host, and can lead to frustration for users.

The second method presents a list of all hosts in range of the peripheral and requires the user to select the proper host.

The list method requires a user interface on the peripheral, which is not available on many low-cost devices.

It also requires the user to know the name (or other distinguishing characteristic) of the desired host in order to select it from the list.

The third method involves close proximity linking, but requires an additional transceiver, adding cost and manufacturing complexity.

Cypress's KISSBind feature is superior to all of these current methods.

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