Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Zilog
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 12 July 2002
Cashless transactions to join webserver
MCU
Zilog and USA Technologies are to develop a joint product that will combine Zilog's eZ80 Webserver with USA Technologies' e-Port wireless networking and cashless transaction technology.
Zilog and USA Technologies are to develop a joint product that will combine Zilog's eZ80 Webserver with USA Technologies' e-Port wireless networking and cashless transaction technology The companies have begun work on the product, and expect to have a definitive agreement in place within the next 45 days
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 7 Dec 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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"It is almost impossible to measure the importance of the relationship with Zilog because it has the potential of bringing e-Port technology to millions of customers worldwide", said George R Jensen, Chairman and CEO, USA Technologies.
"Zilog is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of semiconductors, which means the proposed partnership could give USA Technologies access to giants in the information technology and communications industries that are among Zilog's major customers.
This important new relationship, along with our current portfolio of products, is expected to help propel the company to profitability and long-term growth", he said.
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"Combining our e-Port technology with Zilog's eZ80 Webserver - which enables easy, cost-effective, direct connections to networks and the Internet - is anticipated to deliver a unique solution that could revolutionise vending, retail point-of-sale and other industries", Jensen said.
Zilog and USA Technologies are planning to jointly develop reference designs and development kits for point-of-sale and vending applications.
The vending reference design will enable wireless and Internet communications to and from vending machines.
For example, a customer would point their handheld device, such as a personal digital assistant or a cell phone, at a vending machine and wirelessly charge a candy bar or one-time-use camera to their credit card rather than using cash.
The point-of-sale reference design could enable the development of cost-effective, connected point-of-sale equipment, by integrating more system components on a single chip.
Both reference designs will enable wireless, cashless transactions including handheld devices.
"Part of Zilog's business strategy is to build reference designs around market leaders, a tactic we believe distinguishes us from our competitors and provides a strong foundation for potential customers", said Michael Burger, President of Zilog.
"USA Technologies is a leader in the vending industry and understands the requirements of wireless networking and cashless transactions.
Our eZ80 Webserver is optimised for their industry and leverages the existing infrastructure of the Internet (ie Internet protocols, software tools, and browsers) to create a powerful tool to easily web-enable applications.
Together, we have the potential to create significant value in retail point-of-sale".
Zilog's eZ80 Webserver is the first in a family of high-performance processors that provide a complete Internet development environment: evaluation board, emulator, integrated development environment, and a full-featured embedded Internet protocol suite.
The eZ80 Webserver, including its Embedded Webserver Software Suite, is designed to perform the complicated functions required by industrial control, factory automation, building and facility management, remote monitoring and control, security, online information kiosks, vending machines, home and office automation, and Internet and digital appliances.
The suite enables users to remotely manage, control, diagnose and reconfigure products from any point of Internet access.
The combination of the eZ80 Webserver and USA Technologies' e-Port cashless transaction software and turnkey network and financial services will bring enormous benefits to customers.
By offering the e-Port technology on a Zilog microprocessor and a related reference design, USA Technologies expects to be able to drastically reduce the cost of implementing e-Port technology for its target customers/industries.
Under the proposed agreement, Zilog would make the e-Port chip and a related reference design available to its largest customers and to leaders in retail point-of-sale, eventually targeting shipments of millions of chips per year.
USA Technologies intends to offer the e-Port chip to its prime markets, including the vending and office equipment markets, eventually targeting shipments of hundreds of thousands of units per year.
In most cases, customers in each of these industries using the combined Zilog and USA Technologies product will tap into the turnkey network and financial services of USA Technologies, generating increasing recurring revenues from these service fees in retail, vending and office products markets.
The Web-enabled eZ80 Webserver containing the e-Port code will initially be sold by Zilog in the retail point-of-sale market and by USA Technologies as a component of its offerings in the vending and office products markets.
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