Rabbit Semiconductor launches wireless control application kit for remote monitoring and control

(Product News, 8 Mar 2007)

Rabbit Semiconductor Inc.'s Wireless Control Application Kit, which provides a development reference to interface a low-cost, license-free 900MHz or 2.4GHz wireless data modules from Maxstream to a Rabbit-based embedded system, illustrates the versatility and simplicity of adding wireless connectivity to embedded applications such as remote monitoring, proximity sensor readings, wireless I/O control, and wireless data transmission.

The Wireless Control Application Kit integrates a low power Rabbit LP3500 single board computer, which has 26 I/O, eight analog inputs, six serial ports and a power save mode that draws less than 100µA, and two MaxStream RF Modules. Intended for U.S. applications, the 900MHz Application Kit features the OEM XCite RF modem from Maxstream; while the 2.4GHz Application Kit features the extended range XStream RF modem for projects worldwide.

Sample programs and libraries are designed for quick out-of-the box development. A Modbus master PC application allows the user to control the single board computer as a Modbus wireless slave device. In addition, the PPP Host/Client direct wired/wireless support was developed to help demonstrate how to use common protocols like HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and POP3 over a wireless connection. These added protocols allow the LP3500 to serve web pages or to be able to send data to an FTP server for remote data-logging.

The Wireless Control Application Kit, which comes complete with all the hardware and software tools including two MaxStream radio modules, is priced at $599 for the 900MHz version and $699 for the 2.4GHz version.

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