Startup Trident IoT has launched its new Taurus Z-Wave series of silicon solutions. The series will be comprised of system-on-chip (SoC) and modules that support the latest Z-Wave capabilities, including Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR) in the U.S. and the ZWLR European specification. The Taurus Z-Wave Series will ship with a software development kit (SDK) based on Open Z-Wave Specification Release 2024A.
Trident IoT, founded in 2023, is a silicon provider and RF technology company. Headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, the company recently announced the completion of a $10-million fundraising round, led by Todd Pedersen, entrepreneur and founder of Vivint and Vivint Solar, who will join the Trident IoT Board of Directors. This round will allow the company to expand the development of silicon/hardware, engineering support and certification services.
The Taurus Z-Wave series is based on an ultra-low-power, high performance Z-Wave SoC that enables Z-Wave solutions with class-leading battery life, range and memory, the company said. It also is the first to implement the ZWLR European spec.
The TC3202 SoC is the first product in the Taurus series. The Z-Wave chip features an ARM Cortex-M33 microprocessor with TrustZone, 1 MB of flash program memory and 288 KB of SRAM data memory. Other specs include an operating voltage range of 1.8 to 3.6 VDC and an operating temperature range of -40°C to 105°C. The sub-GHz radios transmit at 20 dBm and 14 dBm, enabling communication over distances up to 1+ miles.
The TC3202 offers a range of integrated peripherals, including a DMA controller, UART interfaces, 32-bit timers, a temperature sensor, PWMs, 32-bit real-time clock timers, a watchdog timer, an ADC and GPIOs. Interfaces include I2S, I2C and SPI. Other features include integrated security (SHA, AES and ECC), power-on reset, under voltage lock-out and a power management unit for intelligent power state switching as well as an integrated DC/DC converter and LDO regulator.
(Source: Adobe Stock)
Taurus chips support Z-Wave Plus, Z-Wave Plus v2 and ZWLR, enabling the development of scalable and backwards-compatible solutions for applications such as smart homes, hospitality and multi-dwelling units. The Taurus Series, using the ZWLR 12-bit addressing space, supports networks of up to 4,000 nodes.
These chips deliver low sleep current in both active RF modes and power-down states and leverage ZWLR dynamic power control, extending battery life of up to ten years from a single coin-cell battery, according to the company.
Trident IoT also announced development support to help decrease time to market for IoT devices. The company will offer engineering consultation for new products using the Taurus series silicon.
“Trident IoT was launched in response to a gap in the availability of IoT product design services,” said Mariusz Malkowski, Trident IoT CTO and founder, in a statement. “The demand for consultation has been extraordinary: in just six months we’ve had to double our engineering resources.”
Along with the SDK, customers also will have access to a library of both Z-Wave and ZWLR device and sensor reference designs. In addition, the Trident IoT lab, recently approved as an official Z-Wave device certification testing lab, provides Z-Wave, Z-Wave Plus v2 and ZWLR end-product compliance and testing.
With silicon, design services and in-house compliance testing, Trident IoT said it can help device manufacturers decrease time to market for new Z-Wave products by more than 60%.
Taurus series silicon will begin shipping at scale in the fourth quarter of 2024. The TC3202 is housed in a lead-free 5 × 5 mm, 40-pin QFN package. Samples are now available to select partners for initial testing and product development.
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