Rabbit, a Digi International (News - Alert) brand, has launched industry’s first embedded wireless communications and control System on Chip, the Rabbit 6000. It is considered ideal for industrial automation applications.

 

To reduce the time to market of network-enabled industrial devices, it combines wireless communications and an industrial control feature set on a single chip. Based on this new processor, Rabbit will release versions of its popular MiniCore series of easy-to-use, ultra-compact, low-profile, low-cost networking modules.

 

“This chip allows us to further expand our MiniCore series and offer modules designed specifically for flexible networking and control of industrial devices,” Larry Kraft, senior vice president of global sales and marketing, Digi International, said. “The networking speed performance of the new MiniCore modules will be six times faster than previous MiniCore modules, and the already low power requirements will be reduced.”

 

The Rabbit 6000 features integrated 10/100 Base-T Ethernet and secure 802.11a/b/g with WPA2 support for the highest levels of security.

 

An industrial control feature set including Pulse (News - Alert) Width Modulation, Pulse Position Modulation and Quadrature decoder outputs for efficient industrial motor control and an on board analog-to-digital converter with 12-bit resolution to enable measurement of sensor data such as water, temperature and humidity, is offered by Rabbit 6000.

 

In addition, it also features USB 2.0 full-speed host and two on-board Flexible Interface Modules that enable further protocol support such as CANbus, Secure Digital and Secure Digital Input Output.

 

Based on the Rabbit 6000, pin-compatible and interchangeable wired and wireless MiniCore modules will also be introduced by Digi.

 

A rich embedded feature set on an ultra-compact mini PCI (News - Alert) Express form factor is provided by the MiniCore family. Its small size makes it easy for customers to place wired or wireless network connectivity anywhere on a mother board. The MiniCore family products can also be easily interchanged by system developers to tailor connectivity for any given application.

 

In related news, Digi International has introduced the programmable XBee-PRO ZB, the industry's first foolproof programmable ZigBee module for easy and safe ZigBee application development.