2.4GHz Wireless Sensor Networking Out of the Box

(Product News, 12 Sep 2007)

Nordic Semiconductor ASA and ANT have launched the ANTDKT3 wireless sensor network Development Kit. By using the kit, engineers avoid the design complexity traditionally associated with wireless sensor networking and are able to build a functioning 2.4GHz wireless sensor network within minutes to test their specific applications.

The ANTDT3 allows the user to:
- Evaluate ANT as the practical solution for wireless sensor networks;
- Design wireless network control and sensor nodes based on ANT chips, chip sets and modules;
- Develop PC applications connecting to ANT products.

Key to the Development Kit's ease-of-use is the inclusion of a number of modules, interface boards and software applications that are optimized for wireless sensor networking. Modules include RF drop-in modules based on Nordic nRF24AP1, ANT's AT3 RF drop-in sensor development modules based on Nordic's nRF24L01 and ANT SensRcore, plus various interface boards allowing ANT to be evaluated in embedded and PC environments. Also included is an ANT monitoring and control PC application (ANTware) and SensRcore configuration PC application (SensRware). In conjunction with the ANTDKT3, these software applications considerably ease wireless sensor node and network set-up and configuration by using a PC based GUI that requires no specialist programming knowledge.

The ANTDKT3 Development Kit comes complete with a range of example applications, including a relay device, auto-shared channel—slave, LED control and frequency hopping (master and slave). Users also have access to application notes on topics such as device pairing, burst transfers and SensRcore mode example use. Direct technical support is provided for registered customers.

"This is an impressive Development Kit," says Thomas Embla Bonnerud, Nordic Semiconductor's Product Manager for Standard Components. "It allows designers to build and fully evaluate functioning 2.4GHz wireless sensor networks based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF24AP1 transceivers and ANT wireless networking protocol straight out of the box within minutes. This has been made possible by cutting through all the traditional complexity and development work that typically has to be done to set up a fully functional wireless sensor network."

"This Development Kit sets the benchmark standard for ease-of-use and end-user focus to which Nordic Semiconductor aims to aspire in all of its development kit and reference design solutions—the ANTDKT3 really is that good," added Bonnerud.

"The ANTDKT3 reinforces ANT's policy of ease-of-implementation and high efficiency as a wireless sensor networking protocol," says ANT's Director, Brian Macdonald. "To realize the huge potential of wireless sensor networking, design engineers need to be able to build complex networks easily without years of specialist programming experience. With the ANTDKT3, network construction is that simple. And the ANT protocol allows nodes to be added in an ad hoc manner$#151;avoiding the need to reconfigure the whole network. We call this whole approach 'Practical Wireless Networking'."

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