Infrastructure, Platforms
Business Wire | August 29, 2023
Aqara, a leading provider of smart home products, introduced a multipurpose, RGBCCT lightstrip, the LED Strip T1, to the global markets. As the Company’s first smart lighting device that is widely sold across multiple continents, the LED Strip T1 not only displays up to 16 million vibrant colors but also provides tunable white accent lighting. Moreover, it supports a wide range of third-party smart home platforms and can be seamlessly integrated into various smart home setups. The new light strip is now available on the Company’s Amazon brand stores in North America (US, Canada) and Europe (France, Italy, Spain, UK) as well as via selected Aqara retailers worldwide1.
Built upon the Zigbee protocol, the LED Strip T1 has a lower idle power consumption than the Wi-Fi based lightstrips, making it eco-friendly and cost-efficient. It also serves as a repeater of the Zigbee network, which further strengthens network reliability and responsiveness. With a compatible Aqara hub such as the Hub M2, the LED Strip T1 supports the new IoT standard Matter as well as popular systems like Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home and IFTTT, and can be controlled by major voice assistants2.
The LED Strip T1 is 2 meters (ca. 6.6 ft) in length, and can be extended using the Company’s 1-meter Extension Kit3. It supports a maximum length of 10 meters (ca. 33 ft). The lightstrip can be cut at 20 centimeter (ca. 7.9 in) intervals4, making it highly customizable. The cut or unused part of the lightstrip can also be reattached to a separate Aqara LED lightstrip using extra standard 5-core ribbon cables and 5-pin connectors5.
More importantly, the RGB effects of the LED Strip T1 are independently addressable with a 20-centimeter interval, which means that it can display up to 10 different colors with dimming and other effects6. The Aqara Home app provides various built-in effects for the LED strip - both static and dynamic- and allows users to customize the lighting effects as they prefer. All these built-in and customized effects can be used for home automations and scenes so that users can integrate smart lighting into the holistic smart home experience.
AboutAqara
Aqara has rapidly grown into a leading smart home brand. Consumers consistently choose Aqara products for its elegant industrial design, high quality & cost efficiency.
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Infrastructure, Certifications and Training
businesswire | August 09, 2023
Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723, “Renesas”), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, and Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS, “Sequans”), a leader in 5G/4G cellular IoT chips and modules, today announced that the two companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding (the “MoU”). Pursuant to the terms of the MoU, Renesas will, following consultation of the Sequans’ works council and favorable recommendation by the Sequans Board, commence a tender offer to acquire all outstanding ordinary shares, including American Depositary Shares (ADS) of Sequans for $3.03 per ADS (each ADS representing four ordinary shares) in cash. The transaction values Sequans at approximately $249 million, including net debt, and is expected to close by the first quarter of calendar year 2024, subject to confirmation of tax treatment from relevant authorities, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Upon closing of the transaction, Renesas intends to integrate Sequans’ breadth of cellular connectivity products and IP into its core product lineup, including microcontrollers, microprocessors, analog and mixed signal front ends. The acquisition will allow Renesas to immediately expand its reach to the Wide Area Network (WAN) market space encompassing a broad range of data rates. It will also enhance Renesas’ already rich portfolio of Personal Area Network (PAN) and Local Area Network (LAN) connectivity products.
The market for cellular IoT technology provided by companies like Sequans is growing rapidly, fueled by demand for smart meters, asset tracking systems, smart homes, smart cities, connected vehicles, fixed wireless access networks, and mobile computing devices. An industry study forecasts the number of cellular IoT devices will continue to grow by more than 10 percent annually.
“We are thrilled to take our partnership with Sequans to the next level,” said Hidetoshi Shibata, President and CEO of Renesas. “Sequans is a leader in the fast-growing cellular IoT market with wide cellular IoT network coverage. The company’s technology gives Renesas a path to offer broad connectivity capabilities across IoT applications to address the evolving customer needs.”
“We have been working closely with Renesas to serve the growing market demand for massive IoT and broadband IoT customers,” said Georges Karam, Chairman and CEO of Sequans. “As many telecom operators around the world continue to invest in 5G infrastructure and with the expanding deployment of IoT applications, combining with Renesas opens up vast opportunities to usher in a new era of seamless connectivity and digital mobility that can transform a multitude of industries.”
The acquisition of Sequans is the latest effort by Renesas to expand its offering of connectivity products through strategic acquisitions, including the purchases of Dialog, Celeno and, most recently, Panthronics. Renesas and Sequans have been collaborating since 2020 to deliver full-scale solutions that combine Renesas’ embedded processors and analog front-end products with Sequans’ wireless chipsets for massive IoT and broadband IoT applications.
Founded in 2003, Sequans is a fabless semiconductor company that designs and develops chipsets and modules for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Offering products with extensive 5G/4G cellular categories, including 5G NR, Cat 4, Cat 1 and LTE-M/NB-IoT, Sequans provides reliable IoT wireless connectivity without the need for a gateway. The company also has proven expertise in low-power wireless devices, which is crucial in supporting massive IoT applications operating at low data rates. Its certified solutions are designed to work with all major radio frequency regulatory specifications by leading carriers in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
About Sequans Communications
Sequans Communications S.A. is a leading developer and supplier of cellular IoT connectivity solutions, providing chips and modules for 5G/4G massive and broadband IoT. For 5G/4G massive IoT applications, Sequans provides a comprehensive product portfolio based on its flagship Monarch LTE-M/NB-IoT and Calliope Cat 1 chip platforms, featuring industry-leading low power consumption, a large set of integrated functionalities, and global deployment capability. For 5G/4G broadband IoT applications, Sequans offers a product portfolio based on its Cassiopeia Cat 4/Cat 6 4G and high-end Taurus 5G chip platforms, optimized for low-cost residential, enterprise, and industrial applications. Founded in 2003, Sequans is based in Paris, France with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland, Taiwan, South Korea, and China.
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Enterprise Iot, Platforms
Business Wire | September 01, 2023
Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC), a high-performance semiconductor, IoT systems, and cloud connectivity service provider, and Oxit, a leading company focusing on innovation in Internet of Things (IoT) services, have announced a collaboration to enable device manufacturers to build a single device with the OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module that can connect to both AWS IoT Core for Amazon Sidewalk and AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN networks in the United States, as well as to any LoRaWAN network outside of the United States.
This collaboration gives customers a single IoT cloud endpoint, AWS IoT Core, on one device with the ability to choose the best network based on coverage and enhanced connectivity regardless of whether customers use public or private networks. AWS IoT Core lets you connect billions of IoT devices and route trillions of messages to Amazon Web Services (AWS) without managing infrastructure.
“Earlier this year, Semtech announced that the first third-party Amazon Sidewalk products, based on Semtech’s LoRa® technology, are now available,” said Tom Mueller, EVP and GM of IoT System Products Group, Semtech Corporation. “Semtech’s LoRa technology is recognized as the de facto long-range, low-power wireless technology for smart IoT solutions in many industries, and it is the foundational technology powering the OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module. Being able to use both networks for applications gives diverse network requirements and reliable coverage, opening a breadth of opportunities for applications, including asset tracking, smart home, smart building, smart city, and many more.”
With coverage to more than 90% of the U.S. population, Amazon Sidewalk is a long-range, low-bandwidth, community network designed to connect billions of IoT devices securely and seamlessly. Amazon Sidewalk uses participating Sidewalk Bridges, such as select Echo and Ring devices, to provide cloud connectivity for IoT devices. The cloud endpoint for third-party devices connecting to the Amazon Sidewalk network is AWS IoT Core for Sidewalk. Oxit’s OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module is an innovative, easy-to-use module that connects devices to AWS IoT Core for Amazon Sidewalk or LoRaWAN and integrates all the hardware and firmware materials that are required. Both integration methods are independent of one another, enabling customers to use them separately, or in combination, to seamlessly develop with the same hardware for both AWS IoT Core for Amazon Sidewalk and AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN networks. Oxit’s OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module is based on the Semtech SX1262 and SiLabs EFR32MG24 chipsets and combined with the Oxit SW stack for both Sidewalk and LoRaWAN.
“Original Equipment Manufacturers wanting to build a single hardware device for both Amazon Sidewalk and AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN are now able to, thanks to the OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module,” said Josh Cox, CEO, Oxit. “Customers can now not only use the same module for connecting devices to both networks with an integrated network stack, but they can also write their own applications directly on the module, simplifying deployment and speeding time to market.”
“AWS IoT Core offers customers the ability to have a single endpoint for both Amazon Sidewalk and LoRaWAN networks,” said Yasser Alsaied, VP of IoT, AWS. “Customers building based on the OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module can easily onboard the device into AWS IoT Core using either Amazon Sidewalk or LoRaWAN without needing to change their application, reducing complexities involved in the integration of multiple networks.”
“The OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module was the only solution we found that could support multiple use cases with minimum external components,” said Jim Stratigos, CTO, Cognosos, Inc. “It also has the flexibility we were looking for to support our own and other LPWA protocols. In addition to their deep expertise with all things IoT, their development process is world class, and they are a pleasure to work with.”
“Every community deserves to be protected with the best and most reliable natural gas leak detection technology available for their home, and DeNova Detect delivers on this promise. From our compatibility with the Amazon Sidewalk network to our overall revolutionary sensing technology, we're introducing the next generation of smart home safety. It builds on our esteemed reputation of having launched the world's first residential gas alarm more than 60 years ago. We are incredibly proud of our DeNova Detect line, which is based on the OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module and Semtech’s LoRa chipset, and our ongoing commitment to delivering gas leak safety products that protect life and property," says Ron Lazarus, COO, New Cosmos USA, Inc.
"After several years of development and different technology options, we concluded using the OxTech Multi-Connectivity Module was not only the best robust solution to achieve our goal of building our debut product, the ZakTrak,” said Larry Fox, CEO, ZFLO Technologies. “But Oxit's understanding of the technology Amazon Sidewalk provides allows us to further the development of our additional products coming later this year."
About Semtech
Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC) is a high-performance semiconductor, IoT systems, and cloud connectivity service provider dedicated to delivering high-quality technology solutions that enable a smarter, more connected, and sustainable planet. Our global teams are committed to empowering solution architects and application developers to develop breakthrough products for the infrastructure, industrial and consumer markets.
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