Qualcomm announced at COMPUTEX 2016 that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, is extending its flagship QCA401x connectivity solutions with a new product. The new QCA4012 chip brings dual band Wi-Fi, enhanced security, low power and a small size at a price point that best supports the development of connected devices. Qualcomm Technologies also announced the expansion of the QCA401x software ecosystem to include support for HomeKit, Google Weave and AllJoyn, as well as new cloud providers.
Premier Wi-Fi connectivity solution for the IoT
The introduction of the QCA4012 brings dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity to complement the existing QCA4010 single-band solution, making the new chip well-suited for applications in interference-sensitive environments. It also offers increased computing performance, memory and advanced features while minimizing size, cost and power consumption. The QCA4012 integrates low-power Wi-Fi and a fully featured micro-control unit (MCU) in a single-chip solution that combines design flexibility and rich development capabilities with a comprehensive set of hardware interfaces.
Detailed features of the QCA4012 are:
- dual band capable of supporting both 2.4 and 5 GHz for more robust Wi-Fi connections, with antenna diversity for extended range coverage;
- full MCU capability with 1.5MB on-chip RAM for future upgradability of features and bug fixes, which is critical for applications with long life cycles;
- enhanced security with secure boot, over-the-air secure software update, anti-rollback, one-time-programmable memory and on-chip crypto engine for application-level security;
- rich interfaces including UART, HS-UART, I2C, I2S, up to 42 GPIOs, PWMs, ADCs, SPI/SDIO to directly interconnect to sensors, actuators, display, lighting and audio components;
- low power Wi-Fi to support energy efficient applications; and
- pin-compatible part to support I-temp.
Software Ecosystem Support for Wi-Fi Solutions
The QCA401x solutions now also feature pre-integrated software support for Apple’s HomeKit and Google’s Weave in addition to the AllSeen Alliance’s AllJoyn software framework. This is designed to help address fragmentation in the IoT, by allowing products to connect across different brands and communication platforms. QCA401x helps achieve interoperability among products in the home, making them easier and more secure to use.
In addition, Qualcomm Technologies is providing developers with technical tools and community enablement to help them develop new and innovative solutions for the IoT and accelerate commercialization. Based on the QCA401x software development kit, cloud service providers such as Ayla, Exosite and IOTA Labs have developed solutions such as cloud agents, API interfaces and other tools to support integration with IoT clouds.
Furthermore, Silex and various other ODMs are working on hardware platforms based on QCA4012. Silex, Lite-on, WNC and WISOL also continue to work with the single-band QCA4010 introduced last year.
Qualcomm
www.qualcomm.com
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