A technology partnership announced today between Ember and Tendril Networks will enable companies to quickly and easily build applications that draw information from ZigBee™ networks. ZigBee is a wireless, standards-based radio technology that addresses the unique needs of remote monitoring and control, and sensor network applications.
Tendril is developing the industry’s first Web Services-based technology for ZigBee networks, called a “service broker,” using Ember’s ZigBee-ready semiconductor and software platform. Tendril’s new service broker will shield developers from having to learn new programming skills or master the intricacies of the ZigBee networking stack.
Instead, they can build applications in familiar, higher-level languages, like Java and Web Services, using the service broker to automatically extract and manage data transactions across the ZigBee network. For example, a company could use Ember’s technology and Tendril’s service broker with BACnet – a popular building automation and control application language – to create a new wireless control and monitoring system for HVAC equipment.
“ We’re eliminating the need to ‘node code’,” said Tim Enwall, Tendril CEO. “With the standardization of ZigBee, we saw an opportunity to help the larger community of developers accelerate the market by easing the system-wide application development. Similar to the way WebSphere and WebLogic middleware accelerated application development for the Internet, we envision building a comprehensive set of Ember-enabled wireless network services enabling rapid application development using languages/environments like Java, Web Services and .NET.”
How it works
Tendril’s service broker provides a rapid application development and deployment platform utilizing Ember’s ZigBee-ready chips and networking software. The service broker’s service-oriented architecture (SOA) provides network discovery, extraction, commissioning, configuration, management, security, rule logic and data management functions for ZigBee networks. The service broker extracts network capabilities into an abstraction layer that developers can tap to build the application without needing to learn all the complexities of the underlying ZigBee network infrastructure.
Tendril partnered with Ember because it offered the industry’s first complete, end-to-end ZigBee-ready platform which was already proven in numerous real-world applications, as well as Ember’s ZigBee expertise and leadership. Ember’s technology is helping buildings consume less energy, enabling industries to improve their environmental impact, making our homes safer and more comfortable, helping factories run with fewer breakdowns, and protecting the country’s borders. Ember is a promoter of the ZigBee Alliance, and its semiconductor system is the National Technical Systems’ (NTS) “Golden Suite” for evaluating IEEE 802.15.4 products for interoperability.
“ Tendril Networks is taking advantage of Web Services technology to bring easy-to-use and to-deploy solutions for sensor and control network application developers,” said Venkat Bahl, Ember’s vice president of marketing. “The beauty of Tendril’s solution is in its broadness and openness. It supports a variety of hardware platforms and programming platforms, delivering the system as both a developer and deployment kit.”
About Tendril Networks
Tendril Networks is a software and services company focused on turning wireless sensor/ZigBee networks (WSN) into general purpose computing resources. It offers WSN node developers, application developers and end users a method of rapid application development and deployment. Tendril Network’s custom application development services use its Service Broker to enable faster successful application development. For more information call 303-951-4365 or visit http://www.tendrilnetworks.com.
About Ember Corporation
Ember Corporation develops wireless semiconductor solutions that help buildings consume less energy, manufacturing plants run with fewer breakdowns, and the country’s borders and infrastructure remain safe and secure. Its vision is to help create an “Internet of things” by enabling the eight billion microcontrollers built into products each year to support low-cost, low-power networking applications in any industry. Headquartered in Boston with offices and distributors worldwide, the company was named one of Fortune Magazine’s top “Cool Companies” for 2004. For more information, please visit www.ember.com
