Atmel and Celeno Collaborate on Wi-Fi Direct Remote Controls for Consumer Products

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- 2013 International CES -- Atmel Corporation, a leader in microcontroller and touch technology solutions, and Celeno Communications, a leading provider of high-performance Wi-Fi chips and software, today announced that they are developing integrated solutions for high-performance Wi-Fi Direct™ remote controls intended for next-generation set-top box and video gateway platforms.

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Leveraging Celeno's Wi-Fi chipset, the joint solution enables wireless designers to bring their products to market faster, while saving overall system costs and power consumption.

The two companies will demonstrate their new set-top box platform (STB) at 2013 CES at the Las Vegas Hotel, Suite 530, January 8-13. Celeno's video-grade Wi-Fi is integrated in the set-top box and video gateway for whole-home HD video streaming to multiple devices. In addition to robust Internet connectivity, Celeno solutions now simultaneously provide a connection to the Atmel-based remote control. Atmel ultra-low power Wi-Fi Direct technology, acquired through its acquisition of Ozmo, Inc. at the end of 2012, is ideally suited for use in RF remote controls as it eliminates the need to add additional radio technologies to the host platform. Atmel Wi-Fi Direct solutions also offer the industry's best power consumption, resulting in better battery life for devices using this technology.

Universal Electronics, an early adopter of Wi-Fi Direct, will be showing their new demonstration platform LEAF remote control at CES this year. UEI Leaf offers high data rate, low latency and ultra-low power by utilizing Atmel Wi-Fi Direct RF technology to deliver features such as voice-based user recognition, voice search and motion control in a small form factor with very low power requirements and minimal integration compared to other RF technology choices.

"LEAF offers an enriched user experience, enabling new feature-rich interactive user interfaces, content browsing, motion-based navigation, voice search and gaming," said Ramzi Ammari, Vice President of Global Product Planning & Strategy, Universal Electronics, the global leader in wireless control technology for the connected home. "The STB's Wi-Fi is expected to serve as the centerpiece for in-home Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct ecosystems, linking all sorts of peripherals, including smartphones, game controllers, microphones, keyboards, headphones, speakers and, of course, the remote control."

"The use of the Atmel Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct technology for connecting to peripheral devices, such as remotes, is a logical choice," said Lior Weiss, Vice President of Marketing at Celeno Communications. "This solution eliminates the need to add other RF technology to the platform, while providing a more intuitive and feature-rich user experience with existing Wi-Fi signals."

RF remote controls are rapidly replacing traditional infrared (IR) remote controls, particularly in smart TV and set-top box applications. Unlike RF remote controls, IR remotes cannot support non line-of-sight operation, motion, bi-directional data streams or higher data rates. 

Atmel technology offers high bit rates, low latency, support for motion/audio and compatibility with existing Wi-Fi host platforms (the TV or STB), resulting in reduced costs and faster development times. Atmel also provides driver software for host platforms, creating a "virtual USB connection," which allows system developers to use existing USB software stacks for any Wi-Fi connected peripheral.

"The Celeno video-grade Wi-Fi technology is perfect for Atmel Wi-Fi Direct peripheral solutions," said Bill McLean, Vice President and General Manager of Wi-Fi Solutions, Atmel Corporation. "This joint collaboration offers a proven, end-to-end solution to cable providers with seamless connections for all peripherals, like the remote control, while enabling high data rate media streaming."

About Atmel Wi-Fi Technology

Atmel recently extended its wireless product offerings through the acquisition of Ozmo, Inc. With that acquisition, Atmel now offers the world's first single-chip, Wi-Fi personal area network (PAN) solution, ideal for battery-powered human-interface device (HID) peripherals like remote controls, wireless "mouses" and keyboards, wireless audio adapters and many other applications. The Atmel chip is optimized for low latency, long battery life and Wi-Fi a/b/g compatibility. Able to directly communicate with the integrated Wi-Fi technology found in millions of products today, the fully integrated Atmel Wi-Fi solution can be used for many wireless HID and audio applications.

About Atmel

Atmel Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on industrial, consumer, communications, computing and automotive markets.

About Celeno

Celeno provides high performance Wi-Fi chips and software for HD multimedia and entertainment home networking applications. Celeno's extensive chip portfolio and OptimizAIR™ technology enable the wireless distribution of multiple and simultaneous HD video streams throughout the home with the highest levels of performance and reliability while ensuring a superlative quality of service and user experience. Celeno's field-proven chips have been integrated into numerous OEM Wi-Fi devices and have been deployed with over 75 service providers worldwide. Founded in 2005, the company has offices and representatives in EMEA, the US and Asia-Pacific and is backed by blue chip investors including Cisco Systems, Greylock Partners, Liberty Global, Pitango Venture Capital and Vintage Investment Partners. www.celeno.com

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