Devices go low power and high performance Date:   Thursday , September 08, 2011 Cambridge Silicon Radio has recently launched its first single-mode, single-chip Bluetooth low energy platform, CSR µEnergyT, a highly optimized extremely low-power version of Bluetooth that can run for years on a single button battery. In a candid conversation with SmartTechie, Ashu Pande, VP & GM, ISBU, CSR talks about the product and the technology behind it. 1. What are the features of CSR µEnergy? CSR µEnergy unlocks the potential of the new Bluetooth low energy standard enabling the creation of a new market for tiny, cost-effective and power-efficient wireless consumer products. As CSR's first single-mode Bluetooth low energy solution, CSR µEnergy enables ultra low power connectivity and basic data transfer for applications previously limited by the power consumption, size constraints and complexity of other wireless standards. CSR's µEnergy platform provides everything required to create a Bluetooth low energy product with RF, baseband, microcontroller, qualified Bluetooth v4.0 stack, and customer application running on a single chip. 2. What is the advantage of CSR µEnergy over traditional Bluetooth technology? By optimising the µEnergy platform for purely Bluetooth low energy, device manufacturers can produce products to be tiny, cost-effective and power-efficient. Bluetooth low energy is a highly optimized extremely low-power version of Bluetooth that can run for years on a single button battery. It was started as a clean sheet of paper design a few years ago that combines the strengths of Bluetooth with a highly focused design optimized around button cell batteries. It reuses the radio parts of a classic Bluetooth chip, allowing the integration between Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy in a so called dual-mode chip. This allows for the Bluetooth low energy only chips, so called single-mode chips, to use very little current. CSR µEnergy was designed for infrequent communication of small amounts of data. It keeps its radio on for as little time as possible, and has small, simple packet overheads. Some of the power-hungry elements of the PHY have been removed, and the functionality is a little lower, along with a lower data rate. With the right application Bluetooth low energy can use as much as 1/10th of the power of 'classic' Bluetooth, but spends less power on keeping the link 'alive'. 3. Where can one see application of CSR µEnergy in everyday life? CSR µEnergy has the potential to enable new markets for wireless accessories or wireless-enabled products. The technology could be put into devices such as heart monitors, trainers, weighing scales and watches and used to synchronize and upload data to your phone, tablet or laptop. It could allow your phone to act as the remote control for your Bluetooth low energy-enabled TV or central heating, and is applicable to any number of other use cases. Earlier this year at Mobile World Congress CSR demonstrated a mobile handset and watch demo in collaboration with NEC Casio, showing how consumers can now remotely operate their phone from their pocket. Through CSR’s Bluetooth low energy technology implemented in the handset, CSR showed the watch being used to provide caller ID, receive SMS, synch date/time, or activate a proximity alarm if the phone is accidentally left behind somewhere. Within the field of health-and-wellbeing. Bluetooth low energy can be considered as the ‘missing link’ between small sensors and mobile devices, extending Personal Area Networks (PANs) to include Bluetooth enabled devices. Data can then be transferred to the Internet by asking web-connected products such as a mobile phone to forward the data. 4. Market adoption and outlook for CSR µEnergy? Analyst house ABI Research recently forecast that Bluetooth low energy device shipments (both dual and single mode) will grow at a 61 per cent CAGR to ship 2.9 billion devices in 2016. It has also predicted as many as 467 million health care and personal fitness devices will ship in 2016 using Bluetooth Low Energy.