Wibree Open Spec for Low-Power Devices Announced

Small devices, low power. You can't have one without the other. But this is easier said than done. Addressing this conumdrum, however, is Nokia's Wibree technology--an open industry initiative that extends local connectivity to small devices.

This radio technology, developed by Nokia Research Center and announced on the 20th anniversary of the lab, offers connectivity between mobile devices or Pcs, and small button cell battery power devices such as watches, wireless keyboards, toys, and sports sensors.

Sound like Bluetooth? No surprise. Wibree builds extends Bluetooth by making it possible for devices to operate at lower power. It can do this, says Bob Iannucci, head of Nokia Research Center, because it is based on variable-length packets which deliver low data rates. Bluetooth is bounded in how low it can go by fixed packet length.

Nokia expects to license the technology to others in the market, likely in the form of Wibree chipsets. According to current estimates, the first commercial version of the interoperability specification will be available during the second quarter of 2007. "Our aim is to establish an industry standard faster than ever before by offering an interoperable solution that can be commercialized and incorporated into products quickly," said Iannucci.

Wibree can be seen as a competitor to Zigbee, however, from the Nokia perspective, Wibree is "free" in that it makes use of existing Bluetooth support in mobile devices without additional support.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 03:40 AM  Permalink