EmberNet™ Product Suite Overview

The EmberNet product suite is a family of hardware, development tools, and software products designed for embedded wireless networking. Optimized for sensing and control applications requiring speeds of less than 192 Kbps, EmberNet has proven successful in harsh environments including water treatment plants, manufacturing lines, and power stations. Ember's intelligent mesh-based topology is scalable into the tens of thousands of nodes, and is poised to set the standard for embedded wireless networking.

EmberNet products eliminate barriers to embedded networking with robust, easy to use, secure, and scalable technology. Utilizing a patented routing algorithm, EmberNet devices route around the typical interferences found in difficult industrial, building, and defense applications using a mesh-based architecture as opposed to a star architecture that most wireless solutions utilize. The mesh architecture eliminates the single point of failure problems wireless solutions have encountered to date. Additionally, EmberNet enhances the value of sensing and control equipment products by adding decentralized communications and intelligence capabilities to the equipment it supplements. (Pictured, EmberNet Gateway)

Operating in the 900 Mhz ISM band, EmberNet hardware products use a direct sequence spread spectrum radio with 12 channels and employs hardware-based encryption based on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Each hardware device delivers on the advantages of the EmberNet Protocol Stack, which includes the patented routing algorithm and the EmberNet Host API (Application Programming Interface) for programmability. (Pictured, EmberNet Node)

Specifically, the EmberNet product suite consists of the following products:

• EmberNet Node: The core element of an EmberNet that consists of an 8 bit microcontroller hardware running the EmberNet protocol stack. The EmberNet Node is used with an external processor to which developers can write application-specific sensing and control software, delivering a highly customizable and programmable solution.


• EmberNet Gateway: A Linux-based hardware device that includes the EmberNet Protocol Stack, the EmberNet Gateway enables communication between an EmberNet and TCP/IP networks. The EmberNet Gateway also runs EmberNet View, comprehensive monitoring software that provides a window on the EmberNet network.


• EmberNet Serial Node: The EmberNet Serial Node supports RS-232 or RS-485 serial interfaces and can be connected to instrumentation products, instantly creating an EmberNet. The EmberNet Serial Node comes pre-loaded with the Modbus RTU protocol, enabling interoperability with Modbus-based devices. It also provides end users the ability to easily retrofit serial devices with a wireless communications capability.


• EmberNet Developer Kit: Designed with developers in mind, the EmberNet Developer Kit enables the design of application-specific programs to run over an EmberNet. It consists of EmberNet Nodes, EmberNet Gateways and comprehensive software and development tools. The software package includes a service-aware API and advanced tools consisting of node simulation tools that simplify code development and significantly reduce development time for OEMs.