Xsilogy to use wireless for process monitoring

Ember Corp has teamed up with Xsilogy to develop the next generation of wireless systems for managing demanding industrial processes in chemical, energy and industrial water treatment applications.

Ember Corp has teamed up with Xsilogy to develop the next generation of wireless systems for managing demanding industrial processes in chemical, energy and industrial water treatment applications.

Xsilogy plans to use Ember's networking software and radio chip technology as the mesh networking component of its industrial process monitoring applications, which turn raw data from industrial processes into actionable intelligence.

Ember's radios and software, embedded in Xsilogy's sensor modules, will enable Xsilogy applications to gather and transmit data from harsh radio frequency (RF) environments using cutting-edge 802.15.4 technology.

Xsilogy and Ember will also work jointly to create extended range devices that are often required for industrial applications.

Xsilogy solutions are deployed through some of the world's top industrial companies, including Ashland Chemical and Nalco Chemical.

They monitor: chemical storage tanks; vibrations in motors and building structures; pressures, flow rates and temperatures in chillers, boilers, cooling towers and refrigeration systems; and reserve power levels in industrial batteries.

Companies use the intelligence from Xsilogy solutions to reduce downtime, prevent equipment failures, lower operating costs, and enable new revenue-generating customer service programmes.

Ember provides a comprehensive suite of embedded RF application development hardware and software products to OEM and enterprise customers such as Honeywell, RAE Systems and Philips Lighting.

Xsilogy and Ember formed their partnership when Xsilogy sought a source of cutting-edge radio and networking technology so it could focus on its core business.

"Our main areas of expertise are designing and marketing application-specific sensor modules, multi-protocol data aggregation gateways, and back-office database analytics", said Xsilogy President Rick Kriss.

"We needed to concentrate on those facets of our business, but not give away anything in the quality of our mesh networking component".

"With Ember, we get tightly integrated networking and radio technology and a partner that's concentrating on staying abreast of technical developments on the networking side the way we do on the application side".

Ember will provide Xsilogy with RF networking components.

These products will include Ember's EmberNet networking software and Ember products that comply with the IEEE802.15.4 standard for low-power radio communications.

Ember will also supply Xsilogy with ZigBee networking technology, when the ZigBee Alliance publishes that standard later this year.

Ember and Xsilogy are aiming at a market expected to be worth as much as $7 billion by 2010.

Low datarate wireless solutions, such as those developed by Ember, will outsell Wi-Fi (802.11) three-to-one in the next five years mostly due to the upcoming ZigBee standard, the research firm On World predicts.

The Ember-Xsilogy agreement enables both companies to take advantage of the market's growth potential.

"Companies face enormous complexity integrating wireless solutions into their enterprise applications without having to integrate the pieces first", said Glen Allmendinger, President of analyst firm Harbor Research.

"Xsilogy was one of the first companies to focus on smart software and smart data services in the infrastructure, middleware and database back end of a machine-to-machine network".

"Ember has developed one of the most robust and functional mesh networking solutions on the market".

"Both companies' technologies are at work in companies all over the world".

"Combining Xsilogy's applications and Ember's networking gives customers a sophisticated, real-world product".

This partnership with Xsilogy positions Ember in the role it wants to occupy in the wireless applications market: provider of a broad-based enabling technology that supports a wide variety of vertical applications.

"The radio and networking components of wireless mesh networking are a specialised competency, just as developing application intelligence is", said Ember CEO Jeff Grammer.

"Ember's goal is to provide the most tightly integrated wireless networking application development environment".

"Xsilogy's decision to partner with us validates our efforts".

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