GreenPeak Technologies has announced that it is teaming up with the world’s top Consumer Electronics companies, Service Providers and the ZigBee Alliance to help roll out the next big thing – The Third Wireless Network for home and office that is Green and conserves energy. Operating concurrently in the home with Wi-Fi internet and cordless phones, the third wireless network is based on the newly approved ZigBee RF4CE (Radio Frequency for Consumer Electronics) standard that is supported by the world’s leading consumer electronic manufacturers.
Remote controls are among the first applications to benefit from ultra low power ZigBee RF4CE. As ZigBee RF4CE is based on radio which penetrates walls, furniture, and floors, rather than line of sight optical IR (infra-red), this new generation of remote control means that users no longer have to point-and-shoot to their TV set or set top box to change channels or program the DVR. A single ZigBee RF4CE remote can control the entire home’s electronic systems -“ TV, games, communications, home automation, audio, security, environment, etc.
The GreenPeak ultra low power control network enables the remote controls to function on a single battery for a decade or more. “Not only are we making remotes that are essentially maintenance free,” says Cees Links, Wi-Fi veteran and CEO and Founder of GreenPeak, “but by enabling remotes to run for ten times as long or more on a single battery, we are greatly slashing the amount of heavy metals, toxic chemicals and carbon footprint required for the creation and disposal of batteries.”
Other ZigBee RF4CE capabilities include a central “dashboard” function on the remote control that includes monitoring home energy consumption as well as a cool “Find-Me” feature. Find-Me enables users to press a button on their TV set or stereo and their hidden or lost remote will make itself known by blinking, beeping or even playing music.
As part of the ZigBee family, ZigBee RF4CE is not limited to remote controls and can be used for many other low power, low data rate applications including controlling lighting, heating/air conditioning, locks, home automation, in-home health monitoring and alerts, etc. This year we expect to see the emergence of ZigBee light switches that do not require any batteries whatsoever and can be stuck anywhere in the home. The effort of turning the switch generates enough power to transmit an on or off signal to a lamp across the room.
